Know your bow

Know your cables: power, yoke and timing

Before you order cables or read cable colors, know which is which. Most Oneidas have two power cables, two yoke cables and one timing cable, plus the parts around them.

  • Difficulty Easy
  • Time 5–10 minutes
  • For All Oneida lever bows

Cam-and-lever Oneidas, with extra detail for the 1980s–90s pylon bows. The Discovery is laid out differently.

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

  • Lay the bow down in good light, string toward you. You don't need to loosen anything.
  • Keep fingers clear of the cams and wheels. Never dry-fire.

Steps

  1. Count the cables: 2 power, 2 yoke and 1 timing. On pylon bows the timing cable loops between the wheels, so you see two runs.
  2. Find the power cable, closest to the string. On pylon bows its crimped end sits in the cam under a retaining screw, it wraps the cam nose, and its ring end pins into the clevis at the hinge.
  3. Find the yoke cable, closest to the riser, running to the saddle. On pylon bows it passes a yoke fitting, loops around the power limb and sits in the saddle slot; the power cable runs through its middle.
  4. Find the timing cable, the smallest, running under the grip between the timing wheels (and around the pylon idlers on older bows). Oneida's 1990 catalog calls the one-piece cable new for 1990.
  5. Learn the other parts: riser, power limb, outboard limb, hinge, saddle, weight bolt and end cap; on older bows the pylon (holding each cam on needle bearings), yoke and clevis.
  6. Find the slotted timing wheel on a pylon bow: bottom on 1990-on right-hand bows, top before 1990, reversed for left-hand. The other wheel carries the take-up spool on 1990s bows.
  7. Aero-Force: note the two stacked idlers on two of its pylons; the other two have none.
  8. Know the factory materials if asked: oil-soaked 7x19 galvanized power cables, nylon-coated 3/32 in yokes and a 1/16 in nylon-coated timing cable (1992 catalog).
  9. Discovery: note there are no cams or timing cable; cables run through power slides and a center slide on a rod, and draw length is set by an axle in each limb.
  10. Tell us which cables you need: we sell power sets, yoke sets, timing cables and full sets.

Tips

  • Photograph the cam, timing wheel and hinge on both ends; it answers most 'which part' questions.
  • For sizes and cable-end colors, see the 'Label worn off? Find your size' guides.