# How to serve a Bow string?



## LKN4ELK

All,

Just wondering if there is something more informative out here that will help teach me how to re serve my bow string? I am wanting to get more involved with my shooting and one task I have yet to take on is serving a bow string. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

LKN4ELK


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## AR Archer

Try doing a search. I think that there is at least 1 picture thread showing how to do this.

AR Archer


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## wblackfin

Try this link

http://www.texasarchery.org/Documents/DiStefanoStrings/serving.html


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## wblackfin

Here's some more info:

The Basics of String Serving
By Larry Wise
The most common repair customers bring to me is the center serving. Most are broken or loose and need some routine maintenance. At least it should be routine. If you haven’t learned to install and repair servings or if you aren’t doing a good enough job of it then the following procedure will be of help to you.
Many of those same customers also want a peep installed. I’ll include a long-proven method for keeping the peep in place with the serving info so you can do complete string repair with the knowledge that what you’ve done will take some abuse and stay intact for the people who shop at your store. 
The Center Serving
The center of the bowstring should be served with either monofilament or Polygrip braided serving thread. I use monofilament in size #18 or #20. A 12 strand DynaFlight string with #18 mono serving will fit the ACC .088” nock well. #20 mono is thicker and will fit nocks with wider throat sizes as will strings of more strands. 
Another combination I can give you as a rule of thumb applies to the bigger Uni Nocks on aluminum arrows. Indoors I shoot the 2413 XX75 shaft with the Super Nock system. They fit well on a 14 strand 450 Premium (from BCY Fibers) string with #18 monofilament for center serving. 
My first recommendation is to install any new string on the bow before doing the center serving. If your repairing an old one then leave it on the bow and fasten the bow in a press or some type of holding device so you can remove the old damaged serving from the string. If the serving is broken you should be able to unwind it. If you do need to cut it, be extremely careful not to cut the string strands themselves. 
When you install the new serving, I recommend placing at least 3 inches of serving above the nocking point. This will prevent the serving from slipping up the string under the pressure of your customer’s fingers or release aid. Eight or nine inches of center serving should be sufficient to protect the string where it may rub your arm or cable guard. If your customer has lots of frayed string below the nocking point then use more than 9 inches. (You may have to remove the cable guard to do this.)

Repair
You may want to start serving near the cable guard and serve up to the string until you get three inches above the nocking point. This method doesn’t require removing the cable guard unless you want to serve lower than that. 
In any case, the following steps for serving a string can be followed. You will have to practice them several times, especially the “finish” steps.
Steps To Follow 
Begin the serving process by separating the strings from the cables. I use two 4-inch pieces of arrow shaft with nocks on both ends as shown in figure 1. 
Next place the end of the serving thread between the strands of the bow string about 3 inches above the nocking point allowing a loose end to lay downward along the string (end A in figure 2). Serve down the string and over top of that loose end for about ¼ inch before pulling the end until it is snug. Continue serving until you have 1 to 1 ½ inches of serving over the loose end. Now pull the loose end out of the way (it can be cut off later) and continue serving down the string the desired distance. The finish of the serving can be done using only the serving tool if you follow these steps.
*See Pictures below* 
a.	Keeping tension on the serving, pull out about 12 inches of serving to form loop A in figure 3. 
b.	Hold it at the middle and loop the serving back to the bowstring several inches away from where you last served (point B in figure 3). 
c.	Continue serving with the tool inside the loop you just made but back toward the original section of serving. Wrap in the same direction around the string as before creating one-half inch or more of auxiliary serving B in figure 4. 
d.	Now lay several inches of serving thread C along the original portion of the serving as shown in figure 4. 
e.	Continue wrapping the original portion of serving by hand keeping even tension at all times. As you continue to increase the length of original serving you will wrap over thread C in figure 4. 
f.	As the original serving, D in figure 5 increases in length, the auxiliary serving will unwrap until all that remains is the 12 inch loop A in figure 5. 
g.	Now pull the serving tool from point C, figure 5, until the 12 inch loop is pulled through and under the last one-half inch of original serving. Snug and cut off the serving thread to finish.


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## LKN4ELK

*Thanks*

Thanks to all that posted. I completed the task at hand and it came out pretty good. Not as hard as first thought. Thanks again.

LKN4ELK


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## Spotshooter2

Now you know the only knot needed to make a bowstring from start to finish


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## jrivera1

tag


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## b0w_bender

Here is my Video on how to do it


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## stuffguy

Best explanation I've ever seen. Thanks!


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## LAWhitetail

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...ED9EC043EA6836701424ED&view=detail&FORM=VIRE4


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## jdgator

excellent video!!


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## MIGUELGOMZ

Question anyone knows what is the diameter of the serving??


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## Anynamewilldo

FYI bow bender two earth tones are really hard for color blind people to see the contrast. LOL. Anyways to me since I cant see it well it looks like the bow string was twisted counter clockwise. Am I wrong? As soon as I finish my jig I was going to make my first string and I thought the serving went the direction of the string which if Im thinking right would be twisted string clockwise for the direction your serving. Course I might be seeing the string wrong.


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## tacoper8er

Great video....thanks for posting it up


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## Huntinsker

Serving diameter is completely dependent on what you want it to be. If you want to tighten your nocks, use a bigger diameter. I use .021 for my center serving for most of my strings and .014 diameter for my end serving. I use some .007 halo for going through roller guards and I use .025 on some of my lower strand count Flemish twist strings. Strand count, material diameter and use all play a factor in what diameter to use.

One thing to make sure you do when serving a string for any length is to serve in the proper direction. An example would be when I make my own strings. For consistency I always have the top loop of the string on my left side. When I twist my strings I twist it so that the top loop is coming towards me. That means that if you are standing at the end of my jig, looking up the string from the bottom loop to the top loop, I am twisting the top loop counter clockwise. Because of this when I serve up the string (going away from the bottom loop and toward the top loop) I need to wrap my serving away from me so I don't untwist the string with my serving. If you go the wrong way on say an end serving, you will have severe peep rotation and your string will untwist itself. 

I serve my end serving toward the loop so when I do the bottom end serving, I have to switch the direction because I will be going from top to bottom toward the bottom loop. It sounds confusing and complicated but basically as you are serving, you want to add twists into the string in front of your serving tool*.

* = Really you don't actually add twists but if you did, you would want your serving direction adding them in front of the serving tool.


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## b0w_bender

Anynamewilldo said:


> FYI bow bender two earth tones are really hard for color blind people to see the contrast. LOL. Anyways to me since I cant see it well it looks like the bow string was twisted counter clockwise. Am I wrong? As soon as I finish my jig I was going to make my first string and I thought the serving went the direction of the string which if Im thinking right would be twisted string clockwise for the direction your serving. Course I might be seeing the string wrong.


OMG, this is so true, the most common colorblindness is orange\green so what colors did I choose? Yes that's right orange and green, can you say bone head move everyone. Ha! Oh well my apologies to all those out there suffering from colorblindness.


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## Anynamewilldo

Wouldnt say bone head. If your not color blind you would never give it a second thought. I have some strings that are two different colors but its a dark green and brown I believe and I can tell its two differnt colors but I cant see it clearly to divide the string in half. Just thought it was funny you used white serving so we could see but the two colors in the string blur to me.


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