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Author Topic: Sinew bowstring making  (Read 3546 times)

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Offline Thesquirrelslinger

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Sinew bowstring making
« on: June 08, 2013, 11:04:53 pm »
How much sinew does it take to make a bowstring?
Can sinew be mixed with other fibers?
do you HAVE to chew it, or can you just soak it?
Do you need to have the sinew soaked in hide glue, or is it just like any other reverse-wrap string?
How large diameter for a #55 bow?
And many other questions...
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"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

Offline JonW

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Re: Sinew bowstring making
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2013, 12:21:07 am »
There is a real good video called Full Circle. I can't remember the guy's name but do a search for it. It has the answers to soooo many of the questions you have.
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Offline Joec123able

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Re: Sinew bowstring making
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2013, 12:29:25 am »
Quote from: JonW on June 09, 2013, 12:21:07 am
There is a real good video called Full Circle. I can't remember the guy's name but do a search for it. It has the answers to soooo many of the questions you have.


Is his name thad beckum ??!
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Offline adb

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Re: Sinew bowstring making
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2013, 01:02:50 am »
Get your hands on Jim Hamm's book: Bows & Arrows of The Native Americans. Detailed chapter on sinew string making. Best I've seen.
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Offline loefflerchuck

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    • www.heartwoodbows.com
Re: Sinew bowstring making
« Reply #4 on: June 09, 2013, 01:04:16 am »
Good backstrap sinew is the best. A 20" whitetail deer back sinew will make a 50" string. Leg sinew works fine but takes hours to find good unbroken fibers for a string. Bach sinew can be seperated just by pulling apart. split into the finest fibers possible. split into bundles of 4 fibers or so. Soak in water. The first bundle make 12 threads. Then twist wet sinew adding the little bundles to keep the twist the same diameter. My favorite strings are 3 ply. Make a narrow sinew string 3x the length you need, then fold in 3 and reverse twist
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Offline Carson (CMB)

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Re: Sinew bowstring making
« Reply #5 on: June 09, 2013, 02:24:10 pm »
I have only made two sinew strings, both from backstrap sinew.  One thing I learned is to go easy on the twisting.  If you twist the string too tightly as you are twisting it up, then you end up with a stretchy, springy string.  It does not take tight twisting to keep all the fibers together. 
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"The bow is the old first lyre,
the mono chord, the initial rune of fine art
The humanities grew out from archery as a flower from a seed
No sooner did the soft, sweet note of the bow-string charm the ear of genius than music was born, and from music came poetry and painting and..." Maurice Thompso

Offline Thesquirrelslinger

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Re: Sinew bowstring making
« Reply #6 on: June 09, 2013, 02:59:42 pm »
Quote from: Carson (CMB) on June 09, 2013, 02:24:10 pm
I have only made two sinew strings, both from backstrap sinew.  One thing I learned is to go easy on the twisting.  If you twist the string too tightly as you are twisting it up, then you end up with a stretchy, springy string.  It does not take tight twisting to keep all the fibers together.
learned that with jute. Under tension veggie fibers are not stretchy at all until you over twist them. Then they turn to rubber.
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"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"
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