Care and safety

Check your string and cables before every trip

A quick look before every trip catches a fraying string or cable before it lets go. Here's what to look for on any Oneida, how often Oneida said to replace them, and what to tell us when you order.

  • Difficulty Easy
  • Time 5 minutes
  • For All Oneida lever bows

Every Oneida. Schedules come from the Black Eagle, C.P. and Kestrel manuals; the older manuals just say replace on wear. Family-specific checks say so.

All how-to guides

We're still double-checking this guide against how we do it in the shop. If anything doesn't match your bow, stop and text us or call 270-318-2020.

Before you start

  • Do this with the bow at rest. Never draw and release without an arrow.
  • Broken wires are sharp. Move your fingertip slowly.
  • A worn string or cable can snap without warning. If you find damage, don't shoot until it's replaced.

Steps

  1. Look along the whole string for frayed or broken strands and worn serving.
  2. Look over the yoke and timing cables at the same time.
  3. Cam bows: look for broken wire whiskers where each power cable bends over the back corner of the cam, then run a fingertip slowly along that bend.
  4. Newer synthetic cables: look for fraying.
  5. Discovery: check the cables where they ride in the slides; a broken strand stretches the cable so the bow loses tiller and weight.
  6. 1980s–90s bows: check each yoke cable where it bends over the saddle corner. A permanent bend there keeps the limbs from staying lined up; new yokes fix it.
  7. Notice changes: a bump while drawing can mean worn timing-cable coating, and lost weight can mean worn power cables.
  8. Replace both power cables if either shows wear.
  9. Replace worn cables before they break; Oneida warns a broken cable can damage the bow and hurt you.
  10. Follow Oneida's schedule: Kestrel, new string and cables every 5,000 shots or 12 months; Black Eagle and C.P., power cables about every 5,000 shots (60 lb, 540 gr arrow), sooner with lighter arrows or more weight.
  11. Black Eagle family: replace the yokes every second power-cable change.
  12. Extreme Eagle, Falcon and Switchblade: use the Black Eagle schedule; Phoenix and 2017+ Osprey: the Kestrel schedule, until we confirm.
  13. Stealth: replace the timing cable if it won't hold even tension after a dry-fire or limb hit.
  14. Check more often if you shoot light arrows (around 5 grains per pound).
  15. Hunt the cause if strings break early: sharp limb-tip grooves, an over-tight nock set, sharp accessories, low brace height, overdraw contact or rubbing in transport.
  16. Wax the string now and then; the Kestrel manual says lightly each time you shoot, but not on the loops.
  17. Keep broadheads covered so they can't cut the string.
  18. Order a string of the same length (see your model page), and give us your model, size, string length and cable end colors for cables.

Tips

  • Photograph your cable ends and string the day you get the bow, in case the paint wears off later.
  • Oneida's Stealth and Kestrel warranties didn't cover the string, so a spare is cheap insurance. (Stealth Eagle Instructions p.2; Kestrel Manual p.2)