The Axial library
Every article, organized by topic. Written from mechanics and manufacturer documentation, not from "that worked for me" folklore. Live articles are linked; the rest are on the bench.
String Building
The core of what Axial teaches. Building a bowstring is a sequence — each stage sets up the next, and shortcuts anywhere in the process show up as creep, peep rotation, or peaking noise months later.
- Part 1Equipment & jigs — what you need at the bench
- Part 2Layout & length planning — starting length, post-twist length, pre-serve length
- Part 3Strand equalization — the light pull that makes the bundle honest
- Part 4Twisting — one twist per inch, measured to a real target length
- Part 5Tensioning & burnishing — where the bundle actually stabilizes
- Part 6Serving — end loops, center serving, and the peep-strand question
- Part 7Stretching — the final 300-pound hold
- TechniqueCenter serving — how to start, how much tension, how to back-serve
String & Serving Repair
When a string can be saved, when it should be replaced, and how to fix the parts you can without making things worse. Honest diagnosis over cosmetic patch-ups.
- RepairServing separation: causes, and when the string is telling you to retire itComing soon
- RepairRe-serving a center wrap without pulling the whole stringComing soon
- RepairEnd-loop damage: field-repairable vs. bench-onlyComing soon
- RepairFuzz, wax loss, and cosmetic damage that is not actually damageComing soon
Diagnostics
Symptoms first, then causes, then real fixes. The difference between managing a symptom and correcting the underlying condition.
- DiagnosticsPeep rotation: forcing a straight object into a helical form
- DiagnosticsReading nock travel from arrow flight, not from cams aloneComing soon
- DiagnosticsCam lean and cam timing, without a spec sheetComing soon
- DiagnosticsPersistent creep — when it is the string, and when it is notComing soon
Material Choices
Fibers, servings, D-loop material, nock sets, peep sights, and the small parts most builders default to without thinking. What each material is good at, and where it quietly costs you.
- Material ChoicesStrand counts — main strings do not have to match control cables
- Material ChoicesString materials — what to build with, and why
- Material ChoicesString color — does it matter, and when
- Material ChoicesServing fit by purpose, not by folkloreComing soon
- Material ChoicesChoosing serving thickness against groove width and peep clearanceComing soon
- Material ChoicesD-loop material and how it interacts with center servingComing soon
Bow Maintenance
Owner-level bow care. Not full technician work — the checks, cleaning, and small adjustments a serious archer should do themselves between real service visits.
- MaintenanceString wax vs. string lube — two products, two opposite jobs
- MaintenanceCam and axle inspection you should do once a seasonComing soon
- MaintenanceLimb bolt care: threads, torque, and the myth of "back it out one turn"Coming soon
- MaintenanceWhen to service the bow yourself, and when to hand it to a technicianComing soon
Bow Technician
Real bench work — for archers going deeper than owner-level maintenance. Press safety, draw-length work, cam adjustment, center-shot, and the tuning procedures that actually earn their name.
- TechnicianCam timing: a draw-board procedure, not an arrow-flight fix
- TechnicianBow geometry: draw length, brace height, the Berger hole, and the fixed references
- TechnicianBow-press safety, and the decisions you make before you pressComing soon
- TechnicianSetting draw length: module, rotating mod, and draw-stop, without folkloreComing soon
- TechnicianCenter-shot and cam-lean measurement without the marketing toolsComing soon
- TechnicianTuning to broadheads without chasing your tailComing soon
Shot Sequence
The shot as a mechanical sequence — anchor, back tension, follow-through, release — described the way a technician would describe it. Geometry and muscles, not mysticism.
- Shot SequenceTarget panic — understood
- Shot SequenceThe anchor is a geometry problem, not a feelingComing soon
- Shot SequenceBack tension, explained without the mysticismComing soon
- Shot SequenceFollow-through as a diagnostic, not a disciplineComing soon
- Shot SequenceTrigger surprise: why archers who chase it never find itComing soon
Science & Mechanics
Why strings and bows behave the way they do. The physics is settled, but very little of it makes its way into shop advice. Connects measurable behavior to the choices at the bench.
- ScienceThe helix, in one page: why a bowstring is a helical bundle
- ScienceTension and dwell: what a string is actually doing during pre-tensioning
- ScienceCreep vs. stretch — different mechanisms, different fixes
- ScienceCam energy storage and let-off, in one page
- ScienceDraw length and biomechanics: what your body does when the number is wrong