Stickbow Target Archery Forums

seriously todd, an endless string will add at least another 1fps or more. with the right build, you can add nearly 10fps to yer hill bow.

i don't wanna start a 'this is better than that' dialogue, however, there is more stored energy in a spun endless string than a twisted flemish.

i think this is worth all the following typing ...

for those that feel that the divided endless loop makes for a weaker string, tim baker reports on p.218 of the trad bowyer's bible #2.

"Many archers and writers of the past and present have assumed the loop of an endless string is weaker than the string itself. The following argument is presented (to supposedly corroborate such a statement) -

The loop is only half as thick as the main string, therefore only half as strong. For the loop to have sufficient strength, string thickness has to be doubled, doubling the entire string's mass in the process.

This seems to make perfect sense, and if my engineer friend Dick Baugh hadn't set me straight on the matter the above argument might have stood.

It's easy to prove that an endless string's half thickness loop is a s strong as its full thickness body: Determine the strength of a single strand. Loop it over a smooth hook of a pull-scale, two strands hanging down. Pull on both strands, noting the scale weight at the breaking point.

Double that of a single strand.

There are other very significant reasons why endless is simply better than flemish.

Be glad to spin you up one ...

I appreciate the offer, and I have no doubt that endless loops are superior. However, I'd be more comfortable using something that I can immediately duplicate should the need arise Also, I'm not that much of a performance buff to worry about a couple fps here and there.
Thanks again.
-Todd

yer most welcome, and the string offer still stands!