sinew processing questions

[upstatenybowyer]

I spent the majority of this past Sunday digging through deer legs that I got from a local deer processing guy in trade for my homemade maple syrup (there'll be much more come Feb and March  ) Anyway, I put it in the dehydrator overnight last night and started processing this afternoon. I'm new at this, and my first question is...

has anyone else had trouble differentiating between the surrounding tissue/casing and the sinew itself?

Here's a couple pictures of what I think is the casing, but is there sinew there?

and the second question...

It seems like the casing gets stuck to the sinew and when I try to remove it, it ends up splitting the sinew into smaller threads, which I do not want.  Can this be avoided?

[osage outlaw]

That is some greasy sinew.  I get legs from a local processor also.   When I cut the sinew out I put them in a bucket of water and rinse them multiple times to get as much hair out as possible.  Then I take each piece and separate it into the individual bundles.  I remove any film or fatty looking tissue.  When they dry they are a solid amber color.  It takes some time but it makes it a lot easier to process and I get cleaner sinew fibers. 

Here is a picture of my sinew drying

[upstatenybowyer]

Dang. Now that's the way to do it. I was just so happy to get the stuff out, I rinsed it and put it in the dehydrator. I think that's my problem. I've gotta clean it up way more before drying. Man, is there anything about bow making that doesn't require tons of patience? 

Thanks

[PatM]

You're also getting the superficial flexor tendons and the deep digital flexor tendon mixed up. The more cylindrical center ones will break down more predictably while the exterior section is not as uniform.

  Soak and wash them and get the initial separation done before they dry out.

[Chief RID]

I am a 35 year novice at sinew. I processed some deer leg sinew at least 30 years ago and have never used it. After all connective tissue removed it was just very white thin threads. As far as I could tell, all the amber colored material was connective tissue.

[upstatenybowyer]

I hear ya Chief. I'm always amazed when someone posts pics of a sinew job with lots of long and fluffy fibers perfectly arranged into bundles of different lengths. How do they do it?!

[BowEd]

Elk & moose leg sinew/buffalo & beef backstrap for your extra length.It's gotta be grease free.A person will get all sorts of lengths.Their all useful.Organize them to length.1.5" overlap with shorter  and all strands.Small example here.

[osage outlaw]

All deer leg sinew

[BowEd]

Looks like your ready OO.....lol.That's the way to organize them.Then their ready.I've built up a surplus like that too especially if my intentions are to apply quite a bit to a bow.

[Chief RID]

Here is my 35 year old stash of deer leg sinew. I don't think it will back a bow. I will need more.

[osage outlaw]

Looks like your ready OO.....lol.That's the way to organize them.Then their ready.I've built up a surplus like that too especially if my intentions are to apply quite a bit to a bow.

I gave/traded all of that away.  I'm working on replenishing my supply.  I want to back a bow or two this winter. 

[High-Desert]

How much time do you guys spend stripping out sinew? It seems like it takes me a good 8 hours to process enough for one bow. Am I reeeeaallllly slow, or is this normal?

Eric

[osage outlaw]

It's a slow process for leg sinew. 

[PatM]

I don't break it down nearly as much as most people do. I don't believe it needs to be as fine. It will still soak up glue and stick to adjacent strands just fine.

[High-Desert]

I've read books that mention they break the sinew to strand the size of a horse hair. Who in their right mind would do that. I think I may be going too thin at about 1 mm thick.

Eric