Bracing Height - A Beginner's Question?

tony08

New member
It seems (and correct me if I'm wrong) that most bows have a bracing height tolerance of about half an inch, say between 8" and 81/2", or whatever depending on the bow etc.

My question is how many twists can you put into a string to adjust this? Is is acceptable to put enough in to move the bracing height up by half an inch?
How many twists would it require to shift a bracing height from 8" to 81/2"?

I know that it all depends on the material of the string, bow spec. etc. but as a general guide, is this 1/2" range normally dealt with by twisting, or is a shorter string normally advised?
 

Kae

The American
American Shoot
Generally, you can put as many twists into a string as you like, as long as it doesn't cause it to "bunch up" when unstrung.
There are however "optimum" numbers of twists. You are trying to balance between too few twists (which allows the string to "balloon" when released, thus slowing it down) and too many twists (which makes the string unnecessarily heavier and can cause "bunching".

To answer your question, yes it is acceptable to adjust the bracing height, purely by twisting, as long as it falls within the above limits.

Kae.
 

StevoNilo

Member
Hi Tony,

It is trial and error to see how many twists you need to move 1/2 inch. Depends on the thread you have that makes up your string.
I use Fastflight and to shift by 1/2 inch I would have to put in about 20 twists..

All strings that are supplied by your Bow shop generally require some sort of twisting to approach what is the optimum brace height. ie what gives the bow the least amount of noise on release and more energy to the arrow ie higher impacts on the target for a given sight mark.

Please also note that twisting strings can vary your nock point - check this before and after you twist..

Nice..
 

Kae

The American
American Shoot
But you can adjust your nocking point back again by putting more twists in the top of the string (to bring it up) or into the bottom of the string (to bring it down).




























This is a joke!

Kae.
 

tony08

New member
So, is it advisable to 'even out' the twists - say 10 above and 10 below the nock point?

Sorry this is sooo basic. Many thanks for the info.
 

Kae

The American
American Shoot
So, is it advisable to 'even out' the twists - say 10 above and 10 below the nock point?

Sorry this is sooo basic. Many thanks for the info.
It's a piece of string, the twists will even themselves out!

I was joking guv'!

Kae.
 

tony08

New member
It's a piece of string, the twists will even themselves out!

I was joking guv'!

Kae.
Doh! Clearly I have much to learn.

I'm just sitting here itching to use my new gear. I've had it a week now and no chance to get out there...

rain rain rain rain...
 

Whitehart

Well-known member
Hehe, I tell it to any of my coachee's that annoy me... usually keeps them perplexed long enough for me to coach someone else.

Kae.
Classic:thumbsup: now someone will post about right and left handed and serving direction. Recently I told someone the reason I was not shooting well at a shoot was because the string I was using was bent.

Was also asked to shorten some arrows the other day because they had adjusted their bracing height and the arrows were now too long.

Kae has answered the original question though.
 

matthew3791

New member
It's a piece of string, the twists will even themselves out!

I was joking guv'!

Kae.
Nice one (and yes - I did pause momentarily to think about it!!). Seems like the archery equivalent to 'left handed screwdrivers' or being sent to the warehouse for 'a long weight [sic]'!
 

addo

New member
My question is how many twists can you put into a string to adjust this? Is is acceptable to put enough in to move the bracing height up by half an inch?
How many twists would it require to shift a bracing height from 8" to 81/2"?

I know that it all depends on the material of the string, bow spec. etc. but as a general guide, is this 1/2" range normally dealt with by twisting, or is a shorter string normally advised?
16 twists will be about the amount to adjust the 1/2".Or 4 twists to increase bracing height by an 1/8".

Hoyt recommend a minimum of 10 twists to prevent the string from ballooning.The maximum amount is so that the end loops don't start to twist.
 

tony08

New member
Thanks Addo. That makes sense. I was concerned about there being an upper limit but it looks like it's about 20 or so.

Perhaps though, any problems I encounter are due to my purchase of 'left-handed arrows' instead of getting 'right-handed' ones. Should have told them at the shop, my fault. (in style of this thread).
 

BorderBows

New member
you might find that the number of twists to get 1/2" change will depend on the bow length and the number of twists that were in it to start with, for example 1twist ontop of one twist does nothing, 1twist on 200 twists will do alot more in comparison. So again there will be differences between answers as to how much you need to twist it by. Trial and error...
On another note, was asked by a guy we were teaching to tiller, if the direction of rotation on the string can pull a limb off line... I thought id keep that one in the bag for a later day!

Kae: here is one for you, get them to put clockwise twists in the botton and anticlockwise on the top half so that the dont torque limbs into being twisted.
 

Alumei

New member
Kae: here is one for you, get them to put clockwise twists in the botton and anticlockwise on the top half so that the dont torque limbs into being twisted.
lol very clever :cutie:
 
Top