Should I buy a bow press?

[awatson]

I have a couple of older bows for my wife and I (like 5 years old, not 20 years old) and I bought my son a used Diamond Nuclear Ice youth bow last Christmas. They really all need new cable/string kits.

 

When I talk to people at Sportsman's, it seems that it runs + - $15O to re-cable most bows, if done at a shop. None of these bows are worth a whole lot more than that. The Sportsmans guy says "time to upgrade, let me sell you a new bow". Maybe next year or two, but not now.

 

I did some looking, and I can buy each of the cable/string kits on ebay for $42, and I'm seriously thinking about making an investment in an entry-level bow press and learn to do the work myself. It makes sense at that price, but I don't want to spend the large money at a shop.

 

Anyone have any advice for me? I'm ultra-mechanically inclined, but no experience with this other than tweaking the Allen heads to tighten accessories.

[creed]

I have been using a Bowmaster for years. I have changed out many sets of strings and cables on my Hoyt bows. They have their limitations but have been adequate. If you have split limb bows you need to get adapters.

[Scooter]

Not really sure I would make that investment to do a one-time fix on older bows. I'd much rather network a little and find someone with a press that I could borrow or use for the job. If I was planning on doing some work for other people in the future- then yeah I'd probably get one.

[standman]

I think having a portable press of some kind is a good investment. Never know when you may need it. It could save a day or two of hunting should something go wrong when finding a shop is not feasable. I use this one : RAM Ratchet Lok Bow Press, Portable.

 

Here is a link to it.

http://www.eders.com/products/ram-ratchet-lok-bow-press.html

 

The Bowmaster as mentioned above also works well.

 

 

Brian

[awatson]

Thanks for the input. Standman, that one in your link looks pretty slick, and reasonably priced.

 

I'm not so much looking at it as a one-time thing. I'm looking at it as saving some money now, and being able to do some work on my own stuff down the road. More of an investment in being able to save on future work. I can't justify dumping cash into older bows, and this seems like an option, with the restring kits for my bows running around $42.

[jmall]

Be careful I found out the hard way that it is easy to crack a limb if you don't have a press that fits your bow correctly.

[trophyhnter]

Basspro..............Firststring ( i think) is what they sell. I think, $50ish gets you new string and silencers..they will restring and dont charge for service..Cannot beat that if your not looking to spend a lot of money. Call and find out...cannot hurt to see if Im right.

[sjvcon]

If you are mechanically inclined, get on www.archerytalk.com and go to the DIY section. There are some great threads on there about building your own press ... either inline or x-press. Most of the guys spend about $150 max on their creations, and they seem to work on just about everything.

 

There are also some GREAT string builders on that site. 60X are supposed to be first rate strings. John's Custom Strings ... goes by the name Breathn. There are other guys on there too.

[awatson]

sjvcon, thanks! I'm gonna check out building a press if I don't find one on Craigslist.

[TOBY]

If they are not beyond parralel limb bows I have one that you can have except Im in wickenburg and you are in tucson.if interested shoot me a pm with a n email or cell number and i will send you a pic.

[sjvcon]

Make sure the one that TOBY has will work on a Split Limb for the Nuclear Ice. You probably need to push from the tips on that bow.