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Author Topic: what kind of silk is best to use?  (Read 4525 times)

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Offline Prarie Bowyer

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what kind of silk is best to use?
« on: July 15, 2014, 11:40:31 am »
When backing a bow intende to also get snake skins what kind of slik is best?  I read the TBB 1 secion on backing and found it interesting but it dosent say much about what kind.

I've seens places selling silk strips but I figured Id just buy a yard.  Or is there a wide ribbin?  Is it satin? Shoould it be bias cut?  TBB talks about applying it slightly stretched.  Could one use silk threads and lay them out like sinew?

What thickness should be used?
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blackhawk

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2014, 12:04:56 pm »
You want to find silk made from the herpatosa moth that only lives high up in Mongolian tulip trees only found in Mongolia  8)
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Offline dwardo

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2014, 12:09:54 pm »
I use raw silk from our local materials place. Its pretty heavy duty and good quality.
But I have seen bows that were backed with old ties and all sorts.

Silk doesn't stretch or store energy as far as I have experience and I have used silk quite a bit. Just protective and best, at worst just looks nice  :laugh:
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Offline Pat B

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2014, 01:55:35 pm »
You will want to use as thin of silk as you can find...or rawhide.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline chamookman

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2014, 04:53:33 am »
That was funny Chris ! Bob
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"May the Gods give Us the strength to draw the string to the cheek, the arrow to the barb and loose the flying shaft, so long as life may last." Saxon Pope - 1923.

Offline soy

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2014, 05:04:23 am »
Quote from: blackhawk on July 15, 2014, 12:04:56 pm
You want to find silk made from the herpatosa moth that only lives high up in Mongolian tulip trees only found in Mongolia  8)



Shhhhhhhhh.....that is ancient Bowyer secret Grasshopper >:D
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Offline Badger

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2014, 10:54:38 am »
  I have been making some silk bow strings lately and it does make a nice string but has horrible initial stretch. Nothing like sinew. Sinew comes back after you stretch it. Silk slowly creeps back.
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Offline George Tsoukalas

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2014, 03:19:09 pm »
I've used silk from my daughters' old dresses. I just wrapped the seams with thread set in glue. Jawge
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Offline Carson (CMB)

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2014, 04:28:43 pm »
I used some raw silk fibers with hide glue.  Very messy experience.  The tensile strength of the combination of silk and hide glue was incredible though. 
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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 Carson (CMB)

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2014, 04:29:18 pm »
...and of course it was the herpatosa variety  ;)
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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 Prarie Bowyer

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Re: what kind of silk is best to use?
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2014, 06:06:29 pm »
TBB makes similar statements about flax.  but i'm not clear what state it was in.  I think similar to sinew application of the raw fibers.  I'm really interested in this but sounds like it can easily over power a bow.
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