# My AT inspired draw board



## TennJeep1618 (Dec 31, 2009)

That looks great! I've got the winch and the coupling links but I haven't bought the other parts yet to make mine.


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## lc12 (Jul 30, 2009)

I was lucky enough to see the real thing. Looks awesome and worked great!
I was surprised at how quickly Highball was able to assemble this thing since he had not built one before.
The winch he selected works very well and you do not have to worry about letting the bow down.
One suggestion was to remove the handle and use a cordless drill with a socket to operate the winch.
Even thought about mounting the winch up by the bow and running the cable through a pulley at the bottom of the board to keep the bow closer at hand when winching.
He used a clevis link for a "safety" just in case the D-loop would break, which was a good idea.
He has a couple of rubber bushings for resting the bow's riser on and to make it more level with the winch cable.
I like his so much that now I am going to have to go and build one!!! :thumbs_up


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## pbuck (Mar 30, 2010)

:thumbs_up


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## kpcoupe (Aug 6, 2009)

just a suggestion but on mine i cut the original hook of the which and replaced it with a smaller turnbuckle for finer ajustment!!


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## Twiztd1 (Oct 17, 2002)

Highball, The only thing you need to add is a turnbuckle at the hook. that way you can make very minute adjustments for timing.


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

I've thought about it but I haven't had any issues doing fine adjustments on the worm-gear winch. I was able to get my Accomplice timed spot-on. Also, once I add the scale I'm not sure there would be room for a turnbuckle.


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## Blue Tick (Jul 16, 2007)

Looks really nice....


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## DMBfan (Jul 19, 2009)

ok, please tell me what this is used for? thanks


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## rigginuts (Dec 27, 2008)

Nice job.

Just one question, did through bolt the pipe or just use wood screws ?


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

DMBfan said:


> ok, please tell me what this is used for? thanks


A draw board is used to safely and accurately draw your bow back specific distances so you can measure things like draw length, check timing of cams, peak weight and letoff, and to check for cam lean at full draw. There are many other things that can be measured and checked, these are just a few.



rigginuts said:


> Nice job.
> 
> Just one question, did through bolt the pipe or just use wood screws ?


I used 12x1-1/4" wood screws. If someone can pull those out, even with 100lbs of pressure, much less the 67lbs I'm currently pulling, I'll give them my drawboard.


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## hunt1687 (Aug 22, 2008)

Could you take one more pic with the bow being drawn. Very nice by the way. With all the dual cam bows now I can see this being very useful.


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## 05_sprcrw (Aug 18, 2009)

Twiztd1 said:


> Highball, The only thing you need to add is a turnbuckle at the hook. that way you can make very minute adjustments for timing.


That is the nice thing about a worm gear winch you can stop it at any point there is clicks that it has to settle in like most draw boards. The only down side is that it takes a little longer to crank to full draw. :darkbeer:


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## lc12 (Jul 30, 2009)

kpcoupe said:


> just a suggestion but on mine i cut the original hook of the which and replaced it with a smaller turnbuckle for finer ajustment!!





Twiztd1 said:


> Highball, The only thing you need to add is a turnbuckle at the hook. that way you can make very minute adjustments for timing.





Highball said:


> I've thought about it but I haven't had any issues doing fine adjustments on the worm-gear winch. I was able to get my Accomplice timed spot-on. Also, once I add the scale I'm not sure there would be room for a turnbuckle.





05_sprcrw said:


> That is the nice thing about a worm gear winch you can stop it at any point there is clicks that it has to settle in like most draw boards. The only down side is that it takes a little longer to crank to full draw. :darkbeer:


As I stated above, I got to personally see this drawboard in action and I was greatly impressed. There is NO need for a turnbuckle, AT ALL, as the worm gear winch held the bow at full draw without any creep whatsoever!
I was skeptical at first myself, until I saw it in use.
There are NO CLICKS to worry about either. You just turn the handle on the worm gear any where you want it and then proceed to work on your bow!
It does take LONGER TO CRANK because of the worm gear though!
That is why we were thinking of using a cordless drill and a socket in place of the handle. With a various speed drill you can crank as slow or fast as you want, and then finish finite adjustments with a wrench if necessary!
This is one useful too! Right up there with the bow press!!!
May not need it often, but when you do it is invaluable.
Good job Highball!!!:thumbs_up


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

Twiztd1 said:


> Highball, The only thing you need to add is a turnbuckle at the hook. that way you can make very minute adjustments for timing.


The only advantage I could see to having a turnbuckle available when timing the cams would be not having to reach back for the winch to draw it in or out but if you get really close you could use a feeler gauge as a sort go/no-go gauge between the limb and draw stop. That, and being able to adjust some slack to hook up to your d-loop.



hunt1687 said:


> Could you take one more pic with the bow being drawn. Very nice by the way. With all the dual cam bows now I can see this being very useful.


I will try to take some better pix tonight with the bow being drawn.




A couple other mods I have done since: 1) I moved my "hook holder" up closer to brace height to eliminate half of the 5 billion cranks it takes to wind out the spool. 2) I had some rubber feet from the bottom of my bench-top metal lathe that I bolted above the flange to keep the riser at a consistent height. I ran out of nuts for my 3/8" bolts or I would have put some rubber under the flange as well.

I'll add a couple more pix when my scale comes in so you all can see that setup as well with taking a measurement of peak weight and holding weight to check your letoff %.


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## 05_sprcrw (Aug 18, 2009)

05_sprcrw said:


> That is the nice thing about a worm gear winch you can stop it at any point, there are no clicks that it has to settle in like most draw boards. The only down side is that it takes a little longer to crank to full draw. :darkbeer:


oops I left a few words out see the red added words :wink:


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## ckrich (Oct 14, 2009)

Looks good man. Lets see it in action


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## Jerry/NJ (Jan 17, 2003)

I would suggest adding an arrow to that set up so if something cuts loose, your bow doesnt dry fire and you only ruin an old arrow. (pointed safely of course).


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

Jerry/NJ said:


> I would suggest adding an arrow to that set up so if something cuts loose, your bow doesnt dry fire and you only ruin an old arrow. (pointed safely of course).



I use the last clevis pin to the left as my safety around the string itself. The quick link attaches to my d-loop. The 2000lb cable would have to snap to have a dry fire. Not saying it couldn't happen, but very unlikely.

On a side note: Why is your bow...or yardstick...upside down?


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

A few pix of the bow being drawn on the board and the scale:


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## Twiztd1 (Oct 17, 2002)

Looks good. How does that scale work, heard mixed reviews. 

Can't wait to get my Athens.


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## dieseltech (Jun 22, 2008)

*Draw Board*

I used 12x1-1/4" wood screws. If someone can pull those out, even with 100lbs of pressure, much less the 67lbs I'm currently pulling, I'll give them my drawboard.[/QUOTE]


If someone manages to do that, there won't be a draw board left


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

Twiztd1 said:


> Looks good. How does that scale work, heard mixed reviews.
> 
> Can't wait to get my Athens.


For $12 I can't complain. It shuts off after 1 minute of non-use but that's plenty of time to get your readings. It reads in Lbs, Kgs, or Lbs/Oz. I have mine set for Lb/Oz to get the most accurate readings possible.

For instance: I'm currently pulling 68lb 13oz or 68.8125lb peak weight with a hold of 17.0lb. That puts me at 75.3% LO. More accurate than I need to be? Yes. Would I rather be *TOO* accurate? YES!


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

dieseltech said:


> If someone manages to do that, there won't be a draw board left


That's why they can have it! :wink:


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## Twiztd1 (Oct 17, 2002)

12 bucks from where?


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

Amazon. I bought two just in case and got free shipping.


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## noonesbusiness (Dec 31, 2008)

Highball said:


> For $12 I can't complain. It shuts off after 1 minute of non-use but that's plenty of time to get your readings. It reads in Lbs, Kgs, or Lbs/Oz. I have mine set for Lb/Oz to get the most accurate readings possible.
> 
> For instance: I'm currently pulling 68lb 13oz or 68.8125lb peak weight with a hold of 17.0lb. That puts me at 75.3% LO. More accurate than I need to be? Yes. Would I rather be *TOO* accurate? YES!


Thats the same scale i have and it works great but i have mine attached to a board up against my wall.


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## kc hay seed (Jul 12, 2007)

when you place the yard stick on the board do you measure 13/4" behind the peg or in front of the peg? i think i read some where it was behind the peg. thanks for the help.


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

You would measure 1-3/4" in front of the peg. If you notice in my 1st set of pegs, I cut my rule down so that it starts at 3-7/8" when mounted directly behind the flange.


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## Jerry/NJ (Jan 17, 2003)

Highball said:


> I use the last clevis pin to the left as my safety around the string itself. The quick link attaches to my d-loop. The 2000lb cable would have to snap to have a dry fire. Not saying it couldn't happen, but very unlikely.
> 
> On a side note: Why is your bow...or yardstick...upside down?


Nice job, glad to see you took safety in consideration. :thumbs_up

Thats an old pic and I dont know


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## badddwithabow (Oct 29, 2008)

hey brother if you don't mind where did you get that scale?


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## BrownDog2 (Feb 26, 2009)

badddwithabow said:


> hey brother if you don't mind where did you get that scale?


+ 1


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## TennJeep1618 (Dec 31, 2009)

badddwithabow said:


> hey brother if you don't mind where did you get that scale?





Highball said:


> Amazon. I bought two just in case and got free shipping.


:darkbeer:


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## nycredneck (Nov 9, 2007)

Nice.


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

Yeah, amazon.com


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## sean7559 (Nov 13, 2009)

nice job on your draw board in the pics it looks like the 2x8 is cupping u can get flat steel at home dopo or lowes cheep just mount it alone the edges and it wont allow the board to cup anymore


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## Tim Truna (Jun 7, 2006)

Highball said:


> Finally got time to take a few pix with my phone. This is one of the easiest and most useful things you can build! I put this together in the matter of a couple hours.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Has your clevis or chain link ever slipped at the time of breakdown and let all that hardware slide down into the cams? It'll be an ahh **** day when that happens.


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

sean7559 said:


> nice job on your draw board in the pics it looks like the 2x8 is cupping u can get flat steel at home dopo or lowes cheep just mount it alone the edges and it wont allow the board to cup anymore


Yeah, the board was slightly warped when I bought it. If it starts to be an issue I will screw some 1" angle iron to it.



Tim Truna said:


> Has your clevis or chain link ever slipped at the time of breakdown and let all that hardware slide down into the cams? It'll be an ahh **** day when that happens.


I put the quick link through the d-loop so it won't slip. I haven't tried to draw a bow yet that didn't have a d-loop. I probably just nock an arrow and install quick link under the arrow. It could get ugly if any of that stuff ever got stressed to the breaking point but that's why I bought hardware with atleast a 1000lb rating.


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## lc12 (Jul 30, 2009)

*Highball inspired me to build this drawboard!*

After seeing Highball's drawboard, and how fast he put his together, I knew I had to build one!:cheers:
I bought the worm gear winch, per his suggestion, because you can do finite adjustments with it and NOT worry about the bow "jumping" when tension was released. You turn it in, or you turn it out. No lock down tabs. VERY EASY! :thumbs_up
I made a few modifications on mine though.
I added a "Tee" on the bow end of the drawboard. That way I could offset the flange that holds the bow to keep my loop more in line with the winch, and it provides more support for the bow's riser!!!
I also added a 2 X 4 between the "Tee" and the winch to screw my yardstick to, per Highball's suggestion, as this brings the ruler closer to the string and is easier to read. GOOD IDEA! :thumbs_up
I also removed the stock 3/16" X 25' cable and hook that came with the winch, and replaced it with 1/16" cable and a small quick link. This is MORE than enough to hold the weight of any bow! AND, I did not have to wind 25 feet of cable onto the winch spool! This is the one downside of the worm gear winch. VERY SLOW TO WIND UP!!!:thumbs_do
My thanks to Highball too, for providing me with the digital scale for my drawboard!! Thanks buddy! It works great!!!:icon_salut:
I modified this slightly, because the handle was too BIG for my quick link to fit and I did not want to buy a larger link. So I removed the handle and took it to the grinder and put two notches in the handle, reducing the width to where I could use my smaller quick link. This also keeps the scale centered with the cable a bit better, preventing it from wanting to slide a bit off-center.
On the "Tee" end of the board, where I mounted the six inch x 3/4" pipe and flange, I took some high density foam and cut it to fit over the pipe. I then used zip ties to attach to the board. This provides padding for the bow and keeps from scratching the finish on the bow. 
I also used a "ball bungee" that wraps around the bow's grip and the pipe. I don't want to take a chance of the bow slipping off of the board before I can get the string under tension.
As for the yardstick, it is just a cheap aluminum stick that I drilled and countersunk for screws. I measured 1 3/4" in FRONT of the pipe, to get the correct draw length, and marked the end of the yardstick, near the winch.
I then cut off seven inches of the yardstick, near the pipe, so that I could attach the pipe. Don't need the first couple of inches anyway!!!
Please see the pic, which may better explain what I did.
This is probably more "overkill" in construction than most drawboards, but as Highball knows, I have always been like that. If two nails is good, four is better! Right?!
Once again I wish to thank Highball for his inspiration and assistance in this project. And my thanks to those on AT that have offered their ideas and pictures too! :darkbeer::wav:


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

lc12 said:


> After seeing Highball's drawboard, and how fast he put his together, I knew I had to build one!:cheers:
> I bought the worm gear winch, per his suggestion, because you can do finite adjustments with it and NOT worry about the bow "jumping" when tension was released. You turn it in, or you turn it out. No lock down tabs. VERY EASY! :thumbs_up
> I made a few modifications on mine though.
> I added a "Tee" on the bow end of the drawboard. That way I could offset the flange that holds the bow to keep my loop more in line with the winch, and it provides more support for the bow's riser!!!
> ...


Looks good...and heavy!


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## dbowers (Mar 24, 2004)

Great lookin boards fellas...glad i look at this thread.


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## lc12 (Jul 30, 2009)

Highball said:


> Looks good...and heavy!


Yea, a bit on the heavy side, but enough "meat" to it to make it stable.
Trying to decide whether to mount it horizontally on legs, vertically on a wall, or set it up to use both ways which is how I am leaning right now.
This was a fast, and fairly simple project and was worth the time and little bit of money.
By the way Highball. In return for the scale, I got you some of that 1/16" aircraft cable for your winch if you want it.
And I am still thinking of using the cordless drill to operate the winch.


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## jlnel (Dec 22, 2009)

great job Brother, i'll have to copy it..:wink:


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

jlnel said:


> great job Brother, i'll have to copy it..:wink:


Copy away!


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## kblair88 (Aug 12, 2010)

*Drawboard*

Highball, 
I am getting ready to build a drawboard i was just wondering how you mounted your winch without the bolts hanging through on the bottom? Thanks for your help,
Kyle


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

kblair88 said:


> Highball,
> I am getting ready to build a drawboard i was just wondering how you mounted your winch without the bolts hanging through on the bottom? Thanks for your help,
> Kyle


I bought 1-1/4" long bolts and used a forstner bit just larger than my washers to countersink the backside of the board.


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## kblair88 (Aug 12, 2010)

Alright thanks for your time. Im making one almost identical to yours its looked to be the easiest. lol


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

No problem. The only thing I would definitely do different is mount the bottom of the flange flush with the bottom edge of the 2x8. Make sure you post up some pix when you're done and don't be afraid to ask questions along the way.


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## kblair88 (Aug 12, 2010)

Alright i definately will. I should be doen today ill post some pics tonight. Thanks a lot, Kyle


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## lc12 (Jul 30, 2009)

ttt for a simple, and inexpensive project that is worth the time and trouble.


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## thwackaddict (Sep 1, 2006)

Puts some legs on it....use your release to draw the bow and you have yourself a hooter shooter!


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## eflanders (Dec 8, 2007)

Here's an idea: I used a 1" pipe and drilled a 1"hole in double stacked 2" x 4" wall studs. I put the pipe into the hole 3-1/2" deep. This holds the pipe so that a pipe flange is not needed. I placed the post at just above eye level so that I can view the cams and draw stops easily without bending over.


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## ex-okie (Mar 1, 2004)

Highball said:


> Amazon. I bought two just in case and got free shipping.


I can't seem to locate the scale on Amazon.com. What am I looking for? A part # or something?
Thanks.


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## bkp_80 (Jul 25, 2007)

Looks like one of these, http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1284769952/ref=sr_pg_1?ie=UTF8&keywords=hanging%20scale&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ahanging%20scale&page=1


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## 0zarks2 (Feb 9, 2007)

I put a Makita on my wormgear. It'll take you all day to time a bow cranking a wormgear by hand. That or you'll have carpel tunnel before you're done…lol.


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## Highball (Jul 17, 2007)

ex-okie said:


> I can't seem to locate the scale on Amazon.com. What am I looking for? A part # or something?
> Thanks.





bkp_80 said:


> Looks like one of these, http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1284769952/ref=sr_pg_1?ie=UTF8&keywords=hanging%20scale&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ahanging%20scale&page=1


Yep, the top one is what I use.


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## Drenalin70 (Apr 17, 2008)

So i can find later


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## EPLC (May 21, 2002)

I've had one of those $12 scales for about 4-5 years now. Works great and I'm only on the second battery.


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## McDragon (Oct 30, 2011)

0zarks2 said:


> I put a Makita on my wormgear. It'll take you all day to time a bow cranking a wormgear by hand. That or you'll have carpel tunnel before you're done…lol.


I like that you turned the winch around 180 degrees and put a strap on it. Really nice. The drill is a plus and points out that it could be electrified with say a junk yard power window motor. The carpeting is a nice touch.


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## McDragon (Oct 30, 2011)

McDragon said:


> I like that you turned the winch around 180 degrees and put a strap on it. Really nice. The drill is a plus and points out that it could be electrified with say a junk yard power window motor. The carpeting is a nice touch.


And on the electrical note: a light duty electric boat winch could be put in place of the mechanical on. It would mean having 12V power source available but if your doing a lot of drawing/shooting  it could be worth the investment.


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## NHLHVECTRIX (Jan 3, 2008)

AWESOME tagging..


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## lc12 (Jul 30, 2009)

This is an update to the drawboard I had built.
I was having issues with the bow wanting to "slip" away from my "handle" since I mounted the drawboard vertically on the back side of my bench.
To prevent this I went to Bass Pro shop and purchased a "vee" roller that is used on the front of a boat trailer to protect the bow of the boat, and a TOGGLE CLAMP from the local hardware store.
As you can see in the pic, I shortened one leg of the "vee", that is closest to the board. The reason for this was so that when I closed the toggle clamp there was room for the bow's grip.
The toggle clamp is adjustable as to the tension you put on the grip, and this setup will accomodate all sizes of grips. You will just have to play with the adjustment and maybe do a little more cutting to the rubber mount to fit your needs.
This has proven to be an excellent method of holding my bows while I get the cables, scales and such ready for attachment to the bow, and I no longer have to fear dropping my bow.
It was a cheap addition to an already great design, and once again, my thanks to Highball for giving me the incentive to build this very useful piece of equipment!


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## mdewitt71 (Jul 20, 2005)

I know its an older thread.... but way cool. I just bought the worm gear winch from Harbor Freight...$24. Think I will turn it 180 degree and put strap on like previosly pictured....


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