strings on bows with sijahs

[stuckinthemud]

How do you make a string for a bow with sijahs?  Big loops, small loops; very confused,all advice welcome!

[PatM]

 It all depends on siyah shape and whether the string actually straddles a ridge on a sharper angled siyah or  stands well off a lesser angled one.

   Big loop for the first one, smaller for the second.

[stuckinthemud]

So big loops on the long string, take it to brace and see how the string lies on the sijahs?  Do you measure the string length the same way as for a straight bow?

[PatM]

 Yes. You'll have to gauge string length according to your desired brace height and angle of the siyahs. Can't really throw out set numbers. You'll also need to consider that large twisted loops run the risk of having the loop itself twist if you have to overly shorten the string by twisting.
   

[mikekeswick]

If you make them endless you won't have to deal with any twisting. They are also a lighter and less stretchy string than a Flemish string.

[stuckinthemud]

Thanks both - got to re-make the string on my primitive as I made a too long Flemish twist and shortened it by over-twisting; now it creaks when I draw the bow and I think it is un-winding at the end of the stroke, effectively de-powering the bow. :embarassed: Never made an endless loop, something new to try 

Pat, What does the button on the corner of the sijah do? Do you wrap the v-splice before or after sinewing?

[PatM]

The string bridge just allows you to control where the string lands and raises the effective brace height a bit.
 It doesn't have to be there if there is sufficient belly width as there is on a Turkish bow.

 I wrap after sinewing but it's not really necessary to wrap longer splices

[stuckinthemud]

The splice on the bow I am currently working on is 3" long but the limb is only 1/2" thick so wrapping could be a good idea, besides, it looks really cool and hides my poor glue lines

[loon]

if your bow's siyahs face towards the belly enough, you can have the loops very short which was the case with historical non contact siyah bows

if the loops are twisted around the same as the main string, there should be no twisting.. or you can do it the turkish way, no twisting on the endless string, short sections of serving around the string to avoid ballooning. or you can just twist it a little, at least if the siyahs aren't too reflexed?

[stuckinthemud]

I haven't taken it to brace yet - still some stiff spots at floor tiller to deal with - but the sijahs are 7" long and at 45 degrees so probably will have string contact.  Sorry but what is "ballooning"

[PatM]

45 degrees will require  a bridge or wider transition. You can also just do a belly groove if the tips are wide enough.

   loon probably means more like "parachuting" where an untwisted string potentially flares out on the loose.

[stuckinthemud]

I think the tips are likely to be pretty narrow, there is room for a belly groove but I think a bridge would be a safer option

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

And a bridge doesn't have to be large either, I have two styles of phony pony bows, a manchu and a turkish, the manchu has the large/wide string bridge typical of the type, the turkish has really tiny bridges that are about the thickness of a chicklet and maybe twice as long and wide, it has a slope towards the center to align the string and that's it. I had one come off and I shot it a time or two and the string started to misalign so I stopped until I could glue it back on.