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Author Topic: String Substitutes  (Read 3636 times)

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Offline Peter133

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String Substitutes
« on: January 05, 2012, 04:42:11 pm »
I am working on a bow right now and need a temporary string. I cant get any Dacron or other legit string materials at the moment. Is there something that they sell at Homedepot or I might have lying around that I can use to test fire. It doesnt have to last long, I just dont feel like waiting till I get a real string
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Offline Bevan R.

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2012, 04:51:58 pm »
PM me your shipping. I will send either some B50 or a single loop string if you want.
Most of that stuff at HD and the like will stretch or snap. Not worth rushing.
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Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2012, 04:57:52 pm »
Bevan is right.  I tried using some stuff from Lowes for tillering and it stretched like crazy when I tried to string the bow.  If you need it right now and can't wait for a string to arrive by mail, you might try some braided  spider wire fishing string.  I haven't used it, but I heard it will work as string material.  You will still have to make a string out of it.
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I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline Peter133

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #3 on: January 05, 2012, 04:58:34 pm »
Bevan: I was going to order some but Im moving back to school in like 4 days so it wouldnt get here in time and I dont have a place to shoot in Chicago I wanted to have it finished before I left, hence the time crunch. Thanks for the offer though
Outlaw: I heard that too, I was  thinking about doing a flemish twist with dacron fishingline
« Last Edit: January 05, 2012, 05:01:45 pm by Peter133 »
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Offline Bevan R.

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #4 on: January 05, 2012, 05:58:56 pm »
Quote from: Peter133 on January 05, 2012, 04:58:34 pm
I was  thinking about doing a flemish twist with dacron fishingline

Not much into fishing but PLEASE do not use mono line. The braided spider wire mentioned is actually Kevlar (that is what a guy at Cabala's told me anyway). If you use that, you will need to 'pad' both the loops for the bow and the arrow nock area. It is so fine, it can cut the ends off unprotected bows.
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Bowmakers are a little bent, but knappers are just plain flaky.

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #5 on: January 05, 2012, 06:05:03 pm »
Ha, I've used 200 - 500 pound strength paracord for a temporary string, but not on anything over 50 pounds.
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline PatM

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2012, 07:17:31 pm »
Spiderwire is actually not kevlar. It's spectra/dyneema which is the same as fastflite.
 It doesn't really seem prone to cutting nocks  because it is braided. It wouldn't do much good to have fishing lines slicing the ferrules of a rod.
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Offline toomanyknots

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2012, 07:26:29 pm »
I really like linen. The stuff I got, I only use 6 strands for bows up to 70#'s, for lower poundage I use 4. Haven't had a string break yet. Stringing a bow is so easy cuz theres no stretch. And you don't have to worry about cutting threw nocks like with fastflight. The only thing that has ever stretched less than linen for me was a string of pure straight nettle fiber. It sounded like a guitar string on my bow when plucked too, even though it was pretty thick. It was pretty cool. The hideglue I used to make it cracked all to heck though, ended up being pretty crappy glue. Ok, ill stop rambling in your topic Peter,...  :laugh:
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2012, 07:40:07 pm »
I switched to 8 strand  D10 strings quite a while back. So far not a single tip has been sawed off any of my bows that wasnt done by a saw.
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Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline bubby

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2012, 07:59:30 pm »
para chord will do in a pinch, makes goods tillering string too, Bub
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failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
The few the proud the 27🏹

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2012, 08:02:50 pm »
Quote from: bubby on January 05, 2012, 07:59:30 pm
para chord will do in a pinch, makes goods tillering string too, Bub

I always use it for tillering strings. Also, for stringers.
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"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline dbb

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2012, 12:30:28 am »
If you have some industies or other buisnesses that recieves goods on pallets in your area it might be a idea to look at the bands that is used to secure it.
Sometimes they use a flat syntetic made up of 15 strands that is easily separated and just slightly thicker than B50.
It is a little more elastic,but good enough for tillering and practice stringmaking.
And best of all its free  ;D

/Mikael
« Last Edit: January 06, 2012, 11:44:37 am by dbb »
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It's better to ask and look like a fool than not to ask and remain one...

Offline DRon knife

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Re: String Substitutes
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2012, 12:56:40 am »
I use spectra for my strings,I've found that wrapping the loops helps to keep the string tidy and prolong its life too.
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