Serving for S5 use

[MR. GADGET]

DO you need to have the serving cover the contact points were the S5 hits the string?
I just picked up the S5 system, have 5 strings, all are stock from Excal ranging from new to a few hundred shots. Only one is FFF. Shooting an Exomax.
No one local will reserve them so I was thinking that I may need to start over on the strings to get the longer serving.
A few shops had people that would put serving on them, but only if they built and sold the strings.

Any thoughts on this would be good.
Thanks

[awshucks]

Back when the STS was the only option for string stops, they included a small piece of serving matl w/ your order. Turned out to be meaningless................

[j.krug]

Your serving does not need to go out past the S5's. It will be fine the way it is.

[Dash]

Shorter serving length shouldn't be an issue.
In your situation it would be worth learning how to serve your own strings. Boo and Munch both have an online tutorial how to serve your string. If you give it a go you'll realize its not so hard, and likely to save yourself money and hassle. Then you could also serve your strings the length you want too

[Cossack]

Not a problem. Longer serving only increases the weight of the string, slows it down.

[ComfyBear]

When I first starting making strings, my centre serving was only 3 3/4". I figured a longer serving wasn't necessary and would only reduce speeds. Later I decided that the little extra weigh of a 4" serving would make the bow a little softer shooting. When I purchased my Exomax, I noticed an increase noise and vibration, so I increased the number of strands of my strings which reduced some of the noise and vibration. Later when I installed the S5 system, I didn't like the fact that the serving wasn't long enough to cover the entire area of the S5 bumpers, so I increased the serving length to 5 1/2". After doing so, I noticed not only a further decrease in both vibration and noise, but that the bumper's wear and tear was reduced.

Having also tested it on my other Excaliburs which don't have the S5 system, I noticed a slight improvement in performance. Therefore, even though one can get away with using a shorter serving with the S5 system, personally, I've found that using 5 1/2" serving has improved my shooting experience.
Needless to say, now I serve all my strings with a 5 1/2" serving.

[MR. GADGET]

Can anyone point me to some links of what I will need for serving, what string to use and what tool is best?
I don't do Paypal so I would like to find a shop on line. Or someone trusted I can send a check for the tools and thread. Just need to know what to get for the basic start up for serving.
Been looking at some of the youtube how toos and think I can do it.
I also do a bunch of welding so building a string jig should not be a problem at all.
Just don't really know anything about the thickness or type of thread to use for what.
Need to work on a string or two I have now that are showing a little use.

[awshucks]

Well, since Danny is gone right now, if you can wait a few days, he'd be the guy who supplied me.............

[Dash]

From over here I can't help you with material supply. We pay about double for all our archery supplies here
But here's some info to get you started.
BCY Halo serving, Brownell Crossbow serving, or Angel majesty are all appropriate materials to use for Excal center serving. It may depend on what you can get hold of and what your budget is. For material size, stick to .026 .030 or .036
Here's 2 links to a wooden and a metal jig to get some ideas. they're simple to make. http://boocustomstrings.com/importantstuff.html
http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... =1&t=43685
And here's one of many Utube links on serving to get you started on serving - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lssFGXq ... ure=relmfu
Cheers