Hoyt Tuning ?'s

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I am fairly new to tuning. I've set my own bows up the past couple years but never got really into checking all the specs and bareshaft tuning to try to reach perfection. I have a bow press, bow vise, all my own arrow making supplies, a bow draw weight scale and made a frame to shoot through paper as well so pretty much all I am missing is a draw board.

I bought another bow with the intention of using it as my test dummy until I get this somewhat figured out and that way I still have a bow to hunt with while I am farting around with this one!

The bow I am working with is a 2013 Hoyt Spyder 34 70# limbs 30 inch mods #3 Cam.

Here is where I am at now and a few questions for now.

Bow is good on BH at about 6 7/8 in with grip removed

ATA seems a little long at 34.5

limbs are cranked all the way down and bow is maxing out at 65lbs ??

Cam sync is good with top cam 1/8th in front of bottom. had to twist the hell out of the buss and pretty much loosen the control all the way to get there.....

bow string is twisted pretty good I feel like if I twisted it much more it would be too much.

Cam lean is set up with a shaft against the left top cam set to just intersecting the knocking point with the right side of the arrow.

I guess my main ? right now is why is the draw weight so far off with the buss cable twisted up so much? seems like I should be in the 72-74 lb range?

Also I did verify my scale was spot on with a 10lb dumbbell.

 

[Snipershirt]

Are those the original limbs on the bow? Just curious, why did you twist the string and buss cable? When the cams were out of sync what cable was the draw stop hitting first?

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Yes original limbs brand new bow.

String to hopefully bring in ATA to spec.

Buss to advance top cam. Originally bottom was hitting just barely before top.

 

[RosinBag]

Hoyt specs are only correct at one of the five mods for each cam to begin with.

I would put strings and cable back to factory length, as they will not be terribly off from the factory .

Did you weight the pulling poundage when you got it? Hoyt's generally come in 2-4 pounds over advertised weight.

1/8" cam difference seems a touch on the high side , I prefer about a 1/16 or so.

Twisting the string up doesn't change ATA very much, it just rolls your cam over and reduces pulling or drawing weight.

 

[Tilzbow]

Two things:

1) Build a draw board to check timing, I wouldn't believe the readings otherwise. The draw board will open up a new realm of tuning.

2) Twist cables equally to adjust draw weight and ATA. The string will have little impact on either.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Hoyt specs are only correct at one of the five mods for each cam to begin with.

I would put strings and cable back to factory length, as they will not be terribly off from the factory .

Did you weight the pulling poundage when you got it? Hoyt's generally come in 2-4 pounds over advertised weight.

1/8" cam difference seems a touch on the high side , I prefer about a 1/16 or so.

Twisting the string up doesn't change ATA very much, it just rolls your cam over and reduces pulling or drawing weight.

Ok didn't know that they were only to spec on one setting thanks.

What is the correct way to measure them? Untwisted? Center to Center of each eye? I should mention they are factory strings.

I did weigh it at 71 lbs when I got it. I've twisted an untwisted so many times since then I can't figure out how to get back to there though lol...

 

[RosinBag]

Strings and cables are measured under 100 pounds of weight or tension. So you need to twist and or untwist until they measure spec under weight.

Once you get back to starting point that is spec, write down what you do with each adjustment you do so you can get back to spec if need be.

 

[RosinBag]

Also ATA can be off a little and affect nothing adversely.

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

Definitely need to measure the strings and cables to see if they match Hoyt's specs. Sounds like your cables are too long. If it's a used bow, someone may have swapped the cams out so your limb deflection would be too light if they went from #2 to #3 cam. Like Rosin said - your bow should hit about 72+ pounds when it's buried.

To measure accurately, drill a 1/4 hole in your bench and drive a 1/4" pin into the hole. Put the loop over and use another 1/4 pin to pull very tight - the factory does it at 100#. Pull a tape from the pin to get your lengths. If you're way off you may need a new harness, otherwise twist to correct length and see where that puts you.

Put a stout hook in a stud in your shop wall to check cam sync - pretty tough to do accurately on a spring scale.

Good luck!

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Ok thanks.

When measuring am I taking a measurement center to center or end to end?

 

[Rent Outdoor Gear]

far edge of post to far edge of post

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Thanks guys! I ended up ordering a new set of strings from Bluff Country Bowstrings here on RS. Great strings by the way! The factory Hoyt strings I was working with were almost a 1/4" too long just like you said Darin.

New strings measured out perfectly. I was able to get everything setup this weekend. DW is now 73 lbs BH is in check ATA is good and top cam slightly advanced. First shot through paper was a bullet hole.

Just need to bare shaft tune now. I've never done that before so I may be asking more questions!

 

[jmez]

I've twisted an untwisted so many times since then I can't figure out how to get back to there though lol...

Keep a notepad and pen on your archery bench. Every time you twist or untwist something write it down. You can always get back to where you started that way.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

I started doing that at one point but after I took the cables off measured them correctly and twisted them a tad shorter than spec under tension I found that everything started coming together nicely.


The one good thing about struggling is that it gives you some good experience so now I'm feeling a lot better about the process although I know I've just started to scratch the surface.

 

[fire arrow]

Your cam lean method is new to me. Could you go into more detail. I usually square up cam lean under full draw. That draw board will come very handy as stated. Also what scale are you using to check the draw weight. Sometimes the old apply style mechanical scales have been off as much as 4-5 lbs. We always used them as a reference so that we could bring things back to where they were when we changed out string/cables, yearly cleaning, ect ect.

 

[boom]

craig. i live in the same town as you. (if you are the correct Craig).

concord? i'd love to buy you a coffee or beer one day. i am putting together a pile of cash, under the wife radar to buy my own press. i have a draw board in the making. i would love to gather bow tune intel from you as you learn it..

i dont know why it makes me nervous. i can take a motor out of a vintage porsche and redo the clutch..but twisting and untwisting cables makes me nervous. i dont get it

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Your cam lean method is new to me. Could you go into more detail. I usually square up cam lean under full draw. That draw board will come very handy as stated. Also what scale are you using to check the draw weight. Sometimes the old apply style mechanical scales have been off as much as 4-5 lbs. We always used them as a reference so that we could bring things back to where they were when we changed out string/cables, yearly cleaning, ect ect.

I'm not really sure to be honest that's just what I have read is a good starting point for cam lean on the Hoyt cam and a half system.

The scale I am using is a Pelouze 100 lb digital hanging scale. I've tested it with a couple know objects and it's surprisingly accurate.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

craig. i live in the same town as you. (if you are the correct Craig).

concord? i'd love to buy you a coffee or beer one day. i am putting together a pile of cash, under the wife radar to buy my own press. i have a draw board in the making. i would love to gather bow tune intel from you as you learn it..

i dont know why it makes me nervous. i can take a motor out of a vintage porsche and redo the clutch..but twisting and untwisting cables makes me nervous. i dont get it

Boom, yes I'm in Concord as well. Just off Kirker Pass....

I felt the same way about it at first but there are just no good shops close by so I'm diving in!

I don't know a whole lot yet but but I'll be glad to meet up with ya and help as much as I can.

 

[fire arrow]

I'm not really sure to be honest that's just what I have read is a good starting point for cam lean on the Hoyt cam and a half system.

The scale I am using is a Pelouze 100 lb digital hanging scale. I've tested it with a couple know objects and it's surprisingly accurate.

Have not run into a digital scale that is right. Was talking about the old spring style scales.

 

[fire arrow]

craig. i live in the same town as you. (if you are the correct Craig).

concord? i'd love to buy you a coffee or beer one day. i am putting together a pile of cash, under the wife radar to buy my own press. i have a draw board in the making. i would love to gather bow tune intel from you as you learn it..

i dont know why it makes me nervous. i can take a motor out of a vintage porsche and redo the clutch..but twisting and untwisting cables makes me nervous. i dont get it

Because if you don't make sure your end loops are secured to the bow, your bow will have an inability to stay in one piece when you pull it back, and you will probably knock your self out when your fist hits your face when the cables fall out of the cam slot. . Seen it happen a few times.

It's no big deal , as long as you make sure the end loops and string/cables are seated. Check twice pull once without pain in your nose.