Serving Australia and New Zealand
Bowstring Material
for Making Your Own Bow Strings
Making your own bowstrings isn't hard and after making just one or two, you'll be an expert. Nor is it necessary to have expensive jigs like we have here at NZAP. Two nails driven into a long timber plank will do the job. Some fairly clear instructions on spinning a continuous loop bowstring and building a simple string jig can be found on the Moorabbin Archery Club web site.
Flemish-twist strings are a little trickier but not difficult after you do a few to get the hang of it. Click HERE to see some pretty good instructions on spinning a Flemish Bowstring and making a jig.
Brownell B-50 Dacron String Material
Brownell B-50 Dacron String Material is the one to use for strings on older traditional bows and compound bows with the old-style steel cables and new bows that were designed for it.
Dacron has a much higher modulus of elasticity than the Dyneema-based strings and the extra streatch acts as a shock absorber to dissipate much of the surplus energy before it can stress and possibly damage your bow.
NZAP sell Brownell B-50 String Material in 1/4 pound spools. That should be enough string material to make at least 20 first-class bow strings. We usually have red, green, gold(yellow), brown, bronze, black, and white in stock.
The Australian Price on this Item reflects the differences in the exchange rate and GST between New Zealand and Australia.
Don't forget! Shipping is free on this item to anywhere in New Zealand or Australia if your order is over $250.00. Click the kanga for details
BCY 8125 String Material
BCY Formula 8125 String Material is one of the most popular hi-tech materials we carry. It is excellent for both recurve and compound strings provided your bow was designed for HMPE materials. BCY 8125 bowstring material is made with Dyneema, the strongest fiber known to man, so it can have a smaller diameter than some of the materials listed below. This gives a slightly faster string than DynaFlight 97 or Fast Flite Plus. 8125 is very strong and durable with very low creep.
Because of the thin diameter of 8125, you should use at least 18 strands for most strings.
NZAP sell BCY 8125 String Material in 4-ounce spools and try to have red, green, brown, black, and white in stock.
The Australian Price on this Item reflects the differences in the exchange rate and GST between New Zealand and Australia.
Don't forget! Shipping is free on this item to anywhere in New Zealand or Australia if your order is over $250.00. Click the kanga for details
DynaFlight 97 String Material
DynaFlight 97 is the original high-strength Dyneema string material from BCY. It is very durable with very low creep and is an excellent choice for compound bows and Dyneema-rated high-performance recurve target bows and traditional hunting bows.
NZAP usually have black, and white DynaFlight in stock. Price is for a 1/4 pound spool. Please specify your choice of colour using the drop down menu.
The Australian Price on this Item reflects the differences in the exchange rate and GST between New Zealand and Australia.
Don't forget! Shipping is free on this item to anywhere in New Zealand or Australia if your order is over $250.00. Click the kanga for details
Fast Flight Plus String Material
Fast Flite String Material, from Brownell, is the is famous bowstring material in the world and the one that started the HME string revolution as the first bowstring material made with Dyneema, a super-strong polyethylene fiber that is 15 times stronger than steel wire. Fast Flite Plus has minimal creep, exceptional strength and maximum durability.
Fast Flite Plus should only be used on strings for newer traditional bows and on compound bows with cables made from string material. It should never be used on older compound bows with plastic-coated steel cables. We usually have black, white, red, bronze, and green in stock. Please specify colour.
The Australian Price on this Item reflects the differences in the exchange rate and GST between New Zealand and Australia.
Don't forget! Shipping is free on this item to anywhere in New Zealand or Australia if your order is over $250.00. Click the kanga for details
QUICK TIPS
How to Tell Dyneema Strings From Dacron Strings
Most if us know that we shouldn't use Dyneema-based string materials, such as Fast Flight Plus, DynaFlite 97, 450 Plus or 8125, for strings used on older bows that weren't designed for it, but how to tell if your existing string is Dyneema or Dacron? That is a question we get quite frequently here at NZAP, and it isn't as easy as it might seem because to a casual visual inspection the various materials can appear to be identical. One way is to burn a small sample strand with a cigarette lighter. If a hard ball forms on the end, it is Dacron; if the burned end turns to a fuzzy ash that crumbles when you touch it, you have a Dyneema based string.
Another way to tell the difference that doesn't involve taking the string apart is to mount the string in a sturdy string jig and push against one of the carriages to apply as much tension to the string as possible. A Dacron string will have a noticeable springy stretch to it and a Dyneema-based string will have no give at all.
Whichever of these methods you use, it is a good idea to test them first with a string or material of known composition. Once you experience the difference between the two in the stretch test, or view the differences in the charred ends of a test strand, you aren't likely to forget.