Re-strung / re-stringing compound bow, need some pointers

[melocal]

Too many poor experiences with bow shops, decided to put a new string on my compound myself. I thought I could use my old string and get me through spring turkey, but its got another bad spot with a couple broken strands, so I decided to try and do this myself... I wish it wasn't three days before opening day of turkey, but I have already gone beyond the point of no return.

Bowtech, Provider - single cam bow

So last night I took a bunch of pictures and went at it with my portable press.

1. Measured axle pin to axle pin to try and give myself a reference point to come back to once I had the new string / cable in place. The new string I got is not exactly the same length as my old string, but LCA said "just put a few extra twists in the new string to shorten it up".

2. Measured top axle pin to center of peep sight to try and have a reference to come back to with new peep.

3. Removed old string and put on new, same with cable. Took a few times with different numbers of twists to get axle axle measurement back to within 16th of an inch.

4. Then noticed top wheel was to off camber, so put a couple twists in one side of cable to try and get it straight. Got it so its straight as far as I can tell with eye.

5. Eventually got everything so it looks straight and axle to axle distance measure same.

6. Got hung up on the peep. Every time I put the peep in I struggled to get the orientation of the peep to stay where I need to to look through it.

Questions - so I am sure there are ALL KINDS of things I should have done differently, feel free to comment.

But specifically:

1. The string did not come with a piece of string to mark two equal halves of the string for the peep, so do I just guess and split the string equally as best I can by eye?

2. Advice for getting peep to stay without rotating? I watched a couple YouTube videos on it, but didn't find anything that was exactly what I am having trouble with. If I get the peep at the right height, the alignment is off. Get the alignment right, height seems off.

I really don't want to throw in the towel and go to the shop. Its not about the $, more about being able to get this done myself. I have a collection of some bow tuning tools, probably not everything, but some.

Thanks for input!

 

[drew13]

Hey Maine -

Before you put in your peep it would be best if you could shoot the bow a bunch so the string can stretch and settle. Otherwise you will likely have to adjust the peep over and over again.

What I have done in the past is to use my press to take some tension off the string and then move one or two or three individual strands to the other side of the peep until it is square at full draw. It can take a number of iterations and can be a bit of a pain, I admit!

For the last little bit of squaring it up, I often twist my d-loop around the string and cinch it up tight on the string where it is perpendicular to the peep opening. Essentially so the d-loop will help ensure that the peep is square to your eye at full draw.

 

[shamus275]

Regardless of the strings I buy, I always shoot them in with a minimum of 50 shots. Then checks specs and put back it where it needs to be in case there is stretch. Any time you work on the string with a peep, you always have to draw and shoot a few arrows to get that string to settle again. Like @drew13 I’ll move a strand or two from one side or the other to get the peep square. If that doesn’t work I’ll give the string a twist until the peep is where I want it and then lock down my d-loop.

Single cam bowstrings can be a pain because you’re dealing with twice the length as a normal bowstring.

 

[melocal]

Thanks for replies!

Should the cables and string have equal load, 50/50? If so, how do I make that happen?

 

[drew13]

Regardless of the strings I buy, I always shoot them in with a minimum of 50 shots. Then checks specs and put back it where it needs to be in case there is stretch. Any time you work on the string with a peep, you always have to draw and shoot a few arrows to get that string to settle again. Like @drew13 I’ll move a strand or two from one side or the other to get the peep square. If that doesn’t work I’ll give the string a twist until the peep is where I want it and then lock down my d-loop.

Single cam bowstrings can be a pain because you’re dealing with twice the length as a normal bowstring.

Good call @shamus275 - I totally forgot to mention trying a few string twists before moving individual strands! Thanks for the reminder!

A half turn to the top seems to bring the peep around more than a half turn to the bottom. Just make sure you keep everything with tolerances of spec.

 

[shamus275]

Good call @shamus275 - I totally forgot to mention trying a few string twists before moving individual strands! Thanks for the reminder!

A half turn to the top seems to bring the peep around more than a half turn to the bottom. Just make sure you keep everything with tolerances of spec.

Yeah I actually said it backwards so thanks for correcting me. A twist or two can usually straighten it out and if not, move a strand or two to square it up. I always twist from the top too.

 

[CamoMan]

Thanks for replies!

Should the cables and string have equal load, 50/50? If so, how do I make that happen?

The cables will most likely have more tension on them, and it is not necessary to have it be 50/50. Peep rotation is a common issue for new strings. Like others have said above you want to get at least 50 shots in to settle the strings before making any drastic changes. Then you also want the peep sight to be in the middle of the strands, which can be tedious if there was no middle marker but you just have to press the bow in and count the strands and put it in the middle. If it is at the height in the string you want, but not lining up then you just add a twist to the string to rotate the peep. Typically a half twist to the string is about a 45degree rotation of the peep.