String replacement: Shop or DIY?

[philcox]

I have a powermax I bought last spring, it’s a 60 to 70 pound bow, and I have the limbs maxed out but it’s only pulling about 66 to 67 pounds. DL is 27.5.

I have been told to check strings. I am wondering if that is some thing I could really mess up, so go to a shop, or fairly straight forward and good to learn anyway?

what are the chances of needing a new string with a bit over a year on the original Hoyt?

My press is a Bow Mechanic

Thx.

 

[Hoot]

It’s not necessarily that you would need a new set, but you most likely have creep and need to twist your cables to get them back to spec length. You need a press, but also a draw board to check cam timing.

 

[philcox]

It’s not necessarily that you would need a new set, but you most likely have creep and need to twist your cables to get them back to spec length. You need a press, but also a draw board to check cam timing.

I have a home made draw board. My concern is that I mess something up, or forget to do something. I guess that is what YouTube is for /)

 

[packer58]

Give Wilderness Archery a call, they can get your strings back in spec for a few bucks......Doing it yourself is not all that difficult but you do need a few tools.

 

[Hoot]

I’d say if your string doesn’t appear to be frayed or serving coming apart anywhere, practice twisting your cables to get your bow back into spec with your old strings, get a new set if that doesn’t work out. Gotta learn somehow and not that there aren’t good shops out there, but you got a press and built a draw board for a reason...

 

[Planopurist]

Sounds like you’re ready to start DIY and have the press and draw board. I’d order a spare set as I always like to have one particularly going into hunting season. Plus, many factory strings have a tendency to not be from the top shelf anyway.

Twisting your cables is a good idea. If that works, you’d have a spare set. If it doesn’t work, you have a new set to throw on there and try. I believe that bow has a yolk system on a hybrid cam. If the timing is already good, twist the cables equally. If you end up having to change strings & cables, measure your peep position and nocking point before you remove the string. That should help you get close when you replace them on the new string.

Give https://www.wickedtwistedbowstrings.com a shot on your strings.


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[Rob5589]

Make sure it is within spec first. If you do need new threads, it isn't difficult to diy, just takes some patience. You have a press so you are more than half way there.

I let Wilderness Archery work on my bow once. Never again. Those clowns are the reason why I now do all of my own work.

 

[philcox]

Any recommendations for a bow vice? Also, how many folks are using a portable vice like I am, or just pulled the trigger and bought some thing like an easy green? Kind of the “buy once cry once” scenario

 

[Planopurist]

Any recommendations for a bow vice? Also, how many folks are using a portable vice like I am, or just pulled the trigger and bought some thing like an easy green? Kind of the “buy once cry once” scenario

I think you mean a “press”. I started with a portable and used it a couple of times. It’s definitely not as efficient, so I retired it to my hunting gear. It was too cheap to sale.

I won an LCA Easy Green which is all I need. I just set it up to build my target/3D/backup hunting bow. LCA makes a takedown press that is pretty neat. It carries in a case about the size of a soft bow case.

Best LCA prices are at https://www.fulcrumarchery.com.


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[Billy Goat]

What did you use to verify the poundage?

Are you certain that your draw length is 27.5?

Most Hoyts are going to run a few pounds heavy, what you are seeing for poundage is more like a 65# model.

Look up the tech specs for your model, check that your brace height and axle to axle are close. Might be worth pulling each cable and the string and checking the length on each. I don't think your buss cable stretching is going to cost you 6#.

I used a portable press for a while. It will work. I feel a lot better using a bench mounted bow press now.

 

[Hoot]

I think it’s worth it, if you factor in trips to the shop, time spent at the shop, how much they charge each time you’re in there. Different clowns, different circus, but like said above, I don’t let anyone work in my bow. 2-3 times of them messing something up and having to keep my bow for a couple days, driving back and forth, time wasted, and then charging me $60 and a press is paid for.

 

[philcox]

I think you mean a “press”. I started with a portable and used it a couple of times. It’s definitely not as efficient, so I retired it to my hunting gear. It was too cheap to sale.

I won an LCA Easy Green which is all I need. I just set it up to build my target/3D/backup hunting bow. LCA makes a takedown press that is pretty neat. It carries in a case about the size of a soft bow case.

Best LCA prices are at https://www.fulcrumarchery.com.


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No, I did mean to bow vice, to hold the bow while I use that portable press. Obviously if I had a bench mounted press I wouldn’t be looking at a vice.

 

[packer58]

I let Wilderness Archery work on my bow once. Never again. Those clowns are the reason why I now do all of my own work.

I can't disagree with this at all, just giving the OP a fairly close option if he doesn't feel comfortable doing the work himself.

 

[nphunter]

I do all of my own work, I use to use a bowmaster cable press and it worked fine for the most part, did several sets of strings and cables with it. I now have a LCA press which is so much better, I wish I would have bought it a long time ago, I'm also constantly working on 4 bows in my house so it totally made sense for me to have a good press.

If your string and cables have stretched enough to loose 6lbs then your timing is probably way off anyways so you're not hurting anything messing with them. Sounds like you have a draw board so you should be good to go, Hoyt has all of their tune charts online so you can just google hoyt tune chart and find your bow and get all of the specs that way, IMO your bow probably set up incorrectly in the first place which is much more likely than having the weight change that much in such a short amount of time.

My previous bow dropped 4lbs in draw weight from when it was first put together to when I got rid of it, we set it up initially and after tuning, adjusting draw length, getting rid of peep rotation, timing, bare shaft tuning and shooting it for a year it lost draw weight. I always just set up to hoyt specs from the tune charts and then adjust the bow to shoot the best for me, sometimes I add twists and sometimes I remove them depending on how the draw length is feeling, I personally don't really care what the weight ends up being as long as it will spit out the arrow the way I like it and the draw length is adjusted to the spot where I am the most accurate.

I've really enjoyed tuning myself and seeing what does what to the bow when making adjustments. One thing that I learned is you can go around in circles chasing specs, after tuning you may lose or add a little weight, after bare shaft tuning your timing might not be in the position you expected, after broadhead tuning your bare shaft or paper tune might not be perfect. I quit worrying so much about every aspect and focus on the end result I want, for me that is.

#1 Set bow to Hoyt suggested specs with timing hitting very slight top cam advanced, set top cam with a very slight pre lean. Check weight is at or above rated spec.
#2 Set center shot where I like it so the arrow is coming out of the center of the bow
#3 Set D-Loop where I want it, level or very slightly tail high
#4 Shoot at 3 yards and 9 yards at a vertical line and adjust rest so both hit the same line
#5 Shoot a bare shaft make sure it is close to a fletch at 20, also make sure I'm executing a good shot before adjusting. Make small adjustments to timing or yoke to fix any issues. I can shoot a perfect bare shaft with my evolution and it will be off with my thumb button so make sure you can shoot a bare shaft well before adjusting.
#6 Walk back tune out to 60 yards
#7 Shoot broadheads and make very small adjustments if necessary to rest, start close, end at 70 yards.
#8 Document or at least check setting to see where your specs end up, wright it down or take pictures on your phone.
#9 Shoot bow for the rest of the summer, start shooting broadheads about a month before the season to ensure they still fly as they should fly. If not Check #8 to ensure nothing has changed and fix what has.

 

[Planopurist]

No, I did mean to bow vice, to hold the bow while I use that portable press. Obviously if I had a bench mounted press I wouldn’t be looking at a vice.

Gotcha. That’s the other reason I don’t like the portable press is the inability to hold it. I think I’ve seen people use something like a bicycle repair stand to hold the bow. I guess you could use something like that?


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[philcox]

Ok, I ended up playing with it. Cams were out of time (upper lagging). I put 2.5 twists in the lower Control Cable.

• No Cam lean
• Cams timed (as close as possible)
• Drop-Away Rest timed
• Draw length is 28.5 (per bow settings "G", not sure why I thought 27.5)
• ATA 30 7/8 (spec)
• Draw Weight ~69
• 443gr arrow @ 275fps

I now am comfortable using my portable press (and bike stand to hold bow). Next year will be new strings, and a bunch of tuning.