# Putting Chinese tubes on American forks



## poekoelan (Jan 1, 2013)

I finally got my first batch of Chinese tubing ( 1745 ) a few weeks ago and I am impressed so far. Finally decent power with awesome longevity. But I don't have any Dankung frames. So I researched here a bit to see how to attach them to my naturals and boardcuts.

Some folks ran the loops through a piece of larger tubing to keep the tubes together over the top of the forks. Others suggested gypsy tabs. Since I didn't have any larger tubing, I took the gypsy tab route. It worked well.

But something occurred to me today as I was about to band up another frame with 1745. Looped tubes are nothing more than two single tubes that are connected on the end. Because they looped on the end, they tend to spread apart over the top of the forks. Hence the need to bind them together with larger tubing or use gypsy tabs. I decided that for this frame I would just cut the loops and attach them like my normal flat bands. It worked great! I suppose if your forks are really narrow it could cause a problem, but it worked just fine on my boardcut frame.

Just thought I'd pass this along in case someone doesn't have larger tubing or gypsy tabs.


----------



## LVO (Sep 25, 2011)

good thinking.... got any pics?


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

Depending on the ammo you are using, you may find that single 1745 is more than adequate. Looped 1745 is way overkill for 3/8 steel,for example. Singles can be tied on just like flats.


----------



## poekoelan (Jan 1, 2013)

No way to take pics at this time. I'm using 3/8 hex nuts, ( they are almost exactly double the weight of 3/8 steel ) and .44 lead balls at 126grains. I normally don't shoot anything lighter than this. And I'm tying my double tubes on just like flats. I think most people associate Chinese tubes with loops. Loops are awesome for Dankungs and ring shooters because of how quickly you can change bands. But for naturals or boardcuts two singles per side will perform just like a loop and they will be easier to attach than loops. At least for me anyway.

1745 is the only elastic I've tried so far that will put me in the 200 fps neighborhood with my chosen ammo and still have an excellent life span. 107s give me excellent life span too, but I just cant get the speed from them that you get Henry. I tried again last night with a fresh set cut to your length. I weighed my available pouches too. The lightest I had was 26grains so I used it. The best I could get was in the high 160s with both types of ammo. Temperature was 71 degrees in my basement at the time and I tried to max them out and release as soon as they maxed out. I wish I could get your speeds with those bands.

But anyway, I think from now on I'll be using two single 1745s per side instead of a loop. Unless I'm shooting my ring shooter that is.


----------



## Henry the Hermit (Jun 2, 2010)

poekoelan said:


> No way to take pics at this time. I'm using 3/8 hex nuts, ( they are almost exactly double the weight of 3/8 steel ) and .44 lead balls at 126grains. I normally don't shoot anything lighter than this. And I'm tying my double tubes on just like flats. I think most people associate Chinese tubes with loops. Loops are awesome for Dankungs and ring shooters because of how quickly you can change bands. But for naturals or boardcuts two singles per side will perform just like a loop and they will be easier to attach than loops. At least for me anyway.
> 
> 1745 is the only elastic I've tried so far that will put me in the 200 fps neighborhood with my chosen ammo and still have an excellent life span. 107s give me excellent life span too, but I just cant get the speed from them that you get Henry. I tried again last night with a fresh set cut to your length. I weighed my available pouches too. The lightest I had was 26grains so I used it. The best I could get was in the high 160s with both types of ammo. Temperature was 71 degrees in my basement at the time and I tried to max them out and release as soon as they maxed out. I wish I could get your speeds with those bands.
> 
> But anyway, I think from now on I'll be using two single 1745s per side instead of a loop. Unless I'm shooting my ring shooter that is.


You might want to try 2040. In my tests of 2040/1842 I got 200+fps with .44 lead and 4 strands (looped) at about half the draw weight.

I'm blessed with ~90F temperatures almost every day. I do see a drop in speed when the temperature drops, so that may be the reason you don't get higher speeds with 107s.


----------



## Sharpshooter II (Apr 15, 2014)

i use single 1745 and 9.5mm steel great for target shooting not tried hunting with them yet !


----------



## Amarsbar (Aug 23, 2014)

would you recommend 1745 over 2040?


----------

