Guide · Compound restring

How to string
your bow.

A compound restring is press work. One piece off, one piece on. Photos first. No dry-fire at the end.

Stop if you do not have the right press. Hoyt and other makers void the warranty if you use an unapproved press — some past-parallel limbs will fail in a standard press. Press at the limb tips / axle area, not the riser. If that already feels thin, bring the bow and the VTX set to the Factory Pro Shop or to your local Dealer.

What you need

Press. Photos. The new set.

A press rated for that bow. Allen keys. Masking tape and a marker. The new VTX string and cables still clipped so they do not unwind. Keep the old set. It is the spare.

The work

Do this in order.

01 — Record the bow

Write it down. Shoot photos.

Measure peep to D-loop. Note axle-to-axle and brace if you have the numbers. Photo both cams, both cable tracks, the yoke side, and which cable sits in which side of the roller slide. Tape a mark on each cam even with the limb — that is your timing reference when you come out of the press.

02 — Prep the new set

Do not let it unwind.

Leave factory clips on until that piece goes on the bow. Top of the string is the end with the peep serving or the tied split. Count twists only if you are matching an old spec. A VTX set is built to length. Do not strip twists out of it on the bench.

03 — Press

Slack. Not folded in half.

Follow the bow maker on limb bolts before you press — some parallel-limb bows want bolts backed out, then put back after. Seat the press on the reinforced limb-tip / axle area. Crank only until the string is soft enough to come off the posts. More than that is how limbs get marked.

04 — One piece at a time

Old off. New on. Next piece.

Start with the string. Pop one loop, seat the new loop on that same post, lay it in the cam track, do the other end. Then each cable the same way. Taking everything off at once is how a cam gets dressed backwards. Some bows need the roller guard cracked open so the cables will pass. Put it back before you let the press down.

05 — Seat it

Posts, tracks, yokes.

Every loop all the way down on the post. String in the groove the whole way around the cam. Yokes on the correct limb, passing the axle the same way the old ones did. Run a finger around every track before you touch the press handle.

06 — Let down. Hold tension.

Watch both cams.

Keep a hand on the string so nothing walks out of a track. Ease the press off. If a cam jumps or a loop climbs a post, go back in. Compare the tape marks to the limbs. Off by the same amount on both cams is length. Off on one cam is timing.

07 — Peep, loop, bolts

Put the shot back together.

Install the peep at the height you wrote down. Tie or set the D-loop. Return limb bolts to the shooting setting — do not leave them backed out. Wax the string.

08 — First draw

Arrow on the string.

Pointed at a target. Short draws first. Listen for serving hop. Confirm the peep comes to your eye. Then paper and walk-back. A new string is a new tune. Never dry-fire.

No press. No guess.

Build the set.
Let the shop put it on.

Custom VTX. Three days. Anoka will press it, peep it, and send you out the door. That is the job.