Martin Rebel String

[jtopo3]

I just purchased a used Martin Rebel recurve. From my findings on the web and looking at the limb tips it seems to be an older model (2002ish). I'd like to replace the string on it, but when I bought a string that is 4" shorter than it's length the brace height shot out to 8.5" with only 4-6 twists in the string, which is a lot more than the 7" the website claims. Other than making the bow more forgiving, will this hurt the bow in any way? What is the suggested string length for this bow? My draw length is only 26" (I'm short) if that matters.

[bfisher]

The simple answer is if the brace is way too high then put a string on an inch longer than what you have. The 2002 specs don't give the string length, but do state that the brace should fall between 7" and 7 3/4". ait shouldn't be too hard to just take the bow to a shop and try strings till you get within those parameters. Considering your draw length it won't hurt to leave it as is. The higher brace will make it more forgiving, but you'll be giving up some speed because of the shorter power stroke.