# New endless loop string jig



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Gents -

In my book, I described a classic wooden endless loop string jig. It's the kind I've been using for 30+ years. I've been playing around with a slightly different design. It's a little easier to make and pretty heavy duty. A lot of wooden endless loop string jigs flex more than some people would like. This one shouldn't. I was able to put this one together in about an hour and the cost of components was less than $30. Only issue is that it will not sit on a totally flat surface, due to the exposed goal post pivot bolts. That hasn't been an issue when held in a B&D Workmate, etc.









Clicking on the picture will make it bigger. 

Viper1 out.


----------



## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

Viper1 said:


> Gents -
> 
> In my book, I described a classic wooden endless loop string jig. It's the kind I've been using for 30+ years. I've been playing around with a slightly different design. It's a little easier to make and pretty heavy duty. A lot of wooden endless loop string jigs flex more than some people would like. This one shouldn't. I was able to put this one together in about an hour and the cost of components was less than $30. Only issue is that it will not sit on a totally flat surface, due to the exposed goal post pivot bolts. That hasn't been an issue when held in a B&D Workmate, etc.
> 
> Viper1 out.


I can see a simple solution with a cross piece under it or possibly drilling out with a forstner or something similar a bore on a crosspiece for your pivot bolts.

Nice setup.....


Aloha.. :beer:


----------



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Tom -

The problem is that the moveable arm is, well moveable and has to slide to change string length. You'd have to route out a slot deep enough to make the bolt head flush. I wanted a rig that wouldn't require routing,like the one in the book did, since a lot of people may not have a router. Since the jig is 6' long and I have it sitting on a 4' table, problem solved.

Guys who are good at woodworking can certainly improve on it.

Thanks!

Viper1 out.


----------



## BowmanJay (Jan 1, 2007)

Thanks Viper, I will be building mine this month and I refuse to pay those crazy prices they want for the apple or others in the shops!


----------



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Jay - 

There's one commercial one out there that I LOVE, but at over $300 + shipping (and it weighs a ton), not planning on getting it anytime soon. The 2x4 jig is a lot sturdier than the one I've been using for over 35 years, and that one has made many thousands, may be tens of thousands of string. 

Here's a picture of the finished product from the other thread.









Viper1 out.


----------



## rattus58 (Jul 9, 2007)

Viper1 said:


> Tom -
> 
> The problem is that the moveable arm is, well moveable and has to slide to change string length. You'd have to route out a slot deep enough to make the bolt head flush. I wanted a rig that wouldn't require routing,like the one in the book did, since a lot of people may not have a router. Since the jig is 6' long and I have it sitting on a 4' table, problem solved.
> 
> ...


 Yeah... I'm thinking of copying it just for grins.... Thanks..


----------



## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Concrete anchors make even better posts. They are threaded and smooth in the right places, you can even make the top parallel with just a little work on the grinder. An added bonus is that they bolt into commonly available Uni-strut and can be used to make a much more rigid jig.
Of course when you are dealing with recurve strings you really don't need to pre-stretch so having a rigid jig becomes less important.

-Grant


----------



## Scott.Barrett (Oct 26, 2008)

Brilliant!


----------



## LBR (Jan 1, 2004)

> The 2x4 jig is a lot sturdier than the one I've been using for over 35 years, and that one has made many thousands, may be tens of thousands of string.


Sorry, that's just misleading. 

Looks like a dandy jig for a hobby, to help out a scout troop or yourself and your buddies that shoot...but it's wood. Wood simply isn't that durable. If you could build a wood jig that would hold up for that kind of use, someone would be selling it. Pitch it to 3 Rivers or BCY or Lancaster and see what kind of reaction you get. Even just selling the plans might be an idea...just don't try to tell them it's a wood jig that will hold up for ten thousand strings. 

I used a wood jig for a lot of strings, but thousands? Even though it was hardwood, and very well constructed...well, it was wood! And I had a uni-strut, the only wood part was the uprights. It wore out, period, in well under 1,000 strings. More like a few hundred. I'm sure a better one could be made, but that much better? I don't think so--can't make wood act like metal.

I now use a Yellowstone Dream Machine--the Caddillac of endless jigs--and I don't know that it will hold up to "tens of thousands" of strings, at least not without replacing the uni-strut. Even metal wears. I've made probably no more than a few thousand strings on this jig, and the uni-strut has a lot of wear and tear.

The wood one looks like a great project for a scout troop or hobby string maker, but lets keep it real. There's a string and arrow forum here for anyone that would like to ask other string makers their opinion, rather than take my word for it. I don't mind--heck, I encourage it.


----------



## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Thanks Viper for sharing.


----------



## jcs-bowhunter (Jul 7, 2007)

Thanks Viper!


----------



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Guys -

There's a good thread in the FITA forum, if you have to have a metal jig. 

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1991801

Just remember that wooden jigs have been in use for the better part of a century. 
Don't know of too many that wore out, mine is still working after 40 years, even if it looks like something the cat dragged in. 
The new version is just easier to build (don't need a router) and more rigid.

Viper1 out.


----------



## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

If you want to make it more rigid, just make the posts shorter, and use 4x4's for the post holders .

When I do the servings to close the loop, I just do it on the string stretcher anyway. Even with a metal jig, it's hard to get much tension on it for those servings. Real issue, for me, is keeping the strand tension even before you start serving the ends. Serving the ends you can't have THAT much tension on it anyway, because the string itself isn't secure.

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE an all metal jig. But for those of us not doing this full time, the wooden alternative is a nice thing. Thanks again for sharing it with us. I might modify the wooden frame I'm using with my Jerassic string posts...


----------



## LBR (Jan 1, 2004)

> But for those of us not doing this full time, the wooden alternative is a nice thing.


I agree--great for folks who don't make enough strings to justify spending the money on a professional jig. Some of those guys on the other thread even figured out some good looking uprights (all metal), for cheap. I'd wind up spending more time and money on an inferior jig if I tried to do that.

The Yellowstone Dream Machine from BCY is great, but now I'm giving this little jewel the eye.....

http://www.specialtyarch.com/products-page/archery-shop-equipment/

I should have checked it out at the ATA show earlier this year, but the station I was working at was super busy and I never made the time to go find it. I'll have to wait until the end of July when I go visit CT and see the one they have in the shop. If things go according to plan, I'll be investing in that one next year, if not before.


----------



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Barney -

The "goal posts" themselves don't flex, on my version they are 3/8" x 8" bolts. The 2x4s, don't flex much either, since the tension is on the long (4", OK 3.75") dimension. I use a single C clamp to hold it on my work table, but one at each end would reduce the almost non-existent flex even more if you are so inclined. 

The flex point will always be the the goal-post to cross-member joint. John (limbwalker) reduced some of that by epoxying the parts together. Fact is the flex either is minimal and honestly, not an issue, for the reason you mention. When making an endless loop string, the key is to have equal strand to strand tension, and that's pretty easy to do on any jig, by working the ends back and forth with moderate tension. Kinda string making 101. 

Reality time. Any 5 - 6' long jig, wood or metal is going to flex, unless it's secured to something pretty stable at each end. And to properly (and expediently) serve the binding servings, you really need the slightest bit of flex. 

Sure, you could make a titanium and concrete jig with virtually zero flex, but you could also put 110 race fuel in your Toyota, but it won't make the string any better or the car any faster.

Viper1 out.


----------



## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Viper1 said:


> Barney -
> 
> The "goal posts" themselves don't flex, on my version they are 3/8" x 8" bolts. The 2x4s, don't flex much either, since the tension is on the long (4", OK 3.75") dimension. I use a single C clamp to hold it on my work table, but one at each end would reduce the almost non-existent flex even more if you are so inclined.
> 
> The flex point will always be the the goal-post to cross-member joint. John (limbwalker) reduced some of that by epoxying the parts together.


Sure, but less length, less torque applied to that joint!


----------



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Barney - 

Yup, but you also need enough room to spin the serving jig. 

My "old" jig, like the one in the book had 8" goal posts made from oak table legs on an oak crossmember, so I just went with that length for the new one.

Viper1 out.


----------



## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

Viper1 said:


> Barney -
> 
> Yup, but you also need enough room to spin the serving jig.
> 
> ...


Yes, that's true! You could make a double framed/crosspiece jig, so that it braced the posts on the top _and_ on the bottom, but using it, storing it, setting it up, etc., would be a real hassle. but, it sure wouldn't flex much


----------



## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

Barney -

I actually though of that, just using a drilled piece of metal but having enough room to spin the serving would start to become problematic if you wanted to keep it to a reasonable size. Like everything else we do here, always compromises. 

Happily, the one I have works, and some of the stuff the other guys are doing in the FITA tread is pretty cool too. 
More than one way to skin a cat.

Viper1 out.


----------



## Houngan (Oct 19, 2007)

I made this over the weekend, my first string came out perfectly. I got too frisky with my second string and crunched a goalpost inward (I overdrilled one countersink hole by accident) so I'm going to upgrade to 4x4s. It just feels better to me if I can put some serious tension on the strands when I'm first laying them out. Thanks Viper!

Oh, and one critique: Your drawing specifies 4 3/8" nuts when you actually need 8.


----------



## BarneySlayer (Feb 28, 2009)

My solution to tension...

Use the string jig to put the first end loop servings on. You're not going to put a lot of tension on them anyway. Then, apply the servings that close the loops while the string is on a dedicated stretcher, and you can have whatever tension you want  I built mine with 2x4s, a couple sections of 2x12, some angle iron and, threaded hooks and nuts. It takes more time, but if you were going to do this professionally and in real volume, it would make more economic sense to just pony up for the more serious hardware. But, you can make some really nice strings if you take the time, and it's fine for low volume stuff, particularly if you just enjoy the process.


----------



## LBR (Jan 1, 2004)

> ...if you were going to do this professionally and in real volume, it would make more economic sense to just pony up for the more serious hardware. But, you can make some really nice strings if you take the time, and it's fine for low volume stuff, particularly if you just enjoy the process.


Yep. I've made 400+ strings on my Yellowstone just on the last month or two. I can do them start to finish, including pre-stretching, on it. Simply no way a wood jig would have held up to that kind of abuse...but the one I had when I first started making endless strings was handy, when I only made a few here and there....before I replaced it with the Dream Machine. It wasn't totally used up, but not far from it. I donated it to my friend who is a Cub Scout leader, and he finished it off in a short time. The base was uni-strut--the wood uprights just couldn't hold up. Could have made new ones, but for me a professional model is well worth the money.


----------

