PETE WARD
PETE WARD
"WELCOME TO MY OUTDOOR WORLD"
"Gear Review"
Chad Weaver
Champion Custom Bowstrings
2716 Patton Flat/Oakland Road
Fulton, MS 38843
Phone: 662-231-4817 (cell)
662-652-3499 (shop)
http://recurves.com/DVD-Doing_the_Twist.htm
Chad Weaver
E-mail Address(es):
chad@recurves.com
Joe Stark
Wolf Traditional Archery
St. Joseph, Il
Phone 217.469.7392.
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The DVD contains almost two hours of instruction on building your own Flemish strings. It features Joe Stark owner of Lone Wolf Traditional Archery and Chad Weaver, your contact at Recurves.com and Champion Custom Bowstrings. Photography by Rob Burnham and others, music by Jim Bowman.
**No bull - no advertising - just start to finish instructions**
$20.00, plus $5 for Priority Mail Shipping in the US! |
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DVD MENU: 1. Let's Get Started. 2. Building a 2 Bundle String 3. Building a 3 Bundle String 4. Installing Beaver Silencers 5. Installing Rubber Silencers 6. Building an Endless String Jig 7. Describing a Flemish String Board 8. Building a Flemish String Board 9. Making an Endless String 10. Making a Stretching/Serving Jig 11. Tying a Timber Hitch or Bowyer's Knot |
Before starting to build my first ever Bow String I watched the DVD "Doin the Twist" twice, just to become familiar with what I was about to start.
For those wanting to watch a Hollywood produced video you will not find it here. What you will find is two good old boys, Chad and Joe, from the South that have a passion for traditional archery showing us with very clear and easy to follow demonstrations how to build a bow string.
Chad in not a novice to string building, and many of you have been shooting his strings for years. Some of you have shot them without knowing it as he also builds strings for some of the top bowyers. His string company, Champion Custom Bowstrings, is well known to many of us. The Video is not hard to follow. Each step is demonstrated, and explained in simple, easy to understand words that even a child could follow. The clear and simple directions are always accompanied by Video, of course, that you can stop and rewind if you are unsure or unable to keep up.
The only thing I did different from the video was to use a different stringboard design than the one in the video. The board I used is a shorter version that fit the board I had to make it with. By going on line you will find many links to string board designs that you can choose from if you want a different design. They all do the same thing, measure the string strands, and place them in bundles for you to start twisting.
The first string I decided to make was for a Penobscott Bow I have that desperately needed a new string. I measured the existing string and set out following step by step along with the video. At first things seemed to be going to well as I began to start twisting the bundles. I kept feeling I was missing something, but my progress seemed to be just like I was watching on the Video. This is to easy I kept telling myself, and it is easy. Shortly I had a loop built and I was preparing to start the other end, I think this took me about 15 minutes. Within a half hour I had completed my first string, and it looked pretty good must say.
My first string is a shooter.
The Mystery of building a Flemish twist has been solved. Fortunately for me the first string is Dacron and it will stretch, as I did make it a bit to short, by about 3/4". Because Dacron stretches so much I decided to use it anyway, and after shooting my first string a few times it is nearly stretched to where it needs to be. A few more shots and it will be perfect. The best part though is it stayed together, and shoots just fine. If you look at the photos above I think you will agree this is a darn nice string for my first attempt.
An hour later I decided to try again, this time without watching the Video. It was close by, just in case it was needed though. This string was to be for a new self-bow I made last week. I needed a 65" string with smaller loops this time. And within about 20 minutes I had a new string ready for the new bow. The loops are neat, and the length turned out perfect. The bundles on this one, like the first one are as round as they could be and the braids are tapered even better than the first string. It is a shooter.
If I can produce 2 good strings like this at the first sitting I think that anyone can.
The other lessons on the video are just as easy to understand as the Flemish string sections. My strings are 2 bundles, and for those that want a 3-bundle string Chad shows us how. It is really the same method, just with 3 bundles instead of 2.
The sections on serving are excellent. It has very clear demonstrations and easy to follow descriptions. Installing silencers is covered, and again the video makes it simple to learn. I did watch the Endless loop section also, but I will not be making these. They are not what I like; however if this is your type of string I think you will find it very easy to make one if you watch "Doin the twist".
Chad and Joe have done a very good job of showing us how to build a string, install silencers and more. I wish that I had watched Doin the Twist when it first came out. I was of the impression that string making was difficult. It is easy, and the Video is almost like having a coach at your side.
This is a good video for every shooter to have and watch. The entertainment value is low,{unless you enjoy watching Chad suffer from the Mississippi heat.} but this is about learning, and the learning value is very high. We all should know how to build a string, and after watching Chad and Joe I have the knowledge to build my own Flemish Twist strings. I feel confident saying that anyone can learn to make strings in an evening with this Video.
Pete Ward
"Welcome to my outdoor world"