Need help on string and arrows.

[Bitterguy]

As I'm sure most of you can assume, I'm building a bow. And I have reached that point, as I do in most of my projects, where I do not have enough supplies nor the money to obtain said supplies. So in order to save money I had some questions about strings and arrows:
1. I'm planning to buy a spool of white b-50 Dacron for $9.50 could I make a tillering string and shooting with one .25lb spool, and how long should I make my tillering string for my 84" longbow? (I read that your longbow should be 1 foot longer than you and I'm 6'1" that's why my bow is 7 feet if you are wondering)
2. Would it be okay for while I wait for the string to get here if I found some straight grained pine 2x4s and turned them into arrow shafts?
3. Once X-mas is over would it be okay to use my tree to make arrow shafts out of as well?

Thank you for your time.

[Pat B]

A spool of B-50 will make lots of bow strings. AS tiller string should be just slightly longer than your bow. Put a loop in one end and tye a bowyers knot in the other so you can shorten it when necessary.
 Pine makes pretty good arrows. Fine a clear, knot free board for them.
 Christmas trees have too many branches to be used for arrows and bows for that matter.
  Most long bows were "man size" meaning they were about the same length as the shooter is tall or slightly longer. Is your long going to be a high poundage war bow?  If not a 6" long bow should be plenty long enough for you.

[Bitterguy]

Ohh... Well it's a board bow and it's already cut and profiled so i don't want to hack off a foot of it. I was planning to make it 45# but with your adivce maybe i should bump it up to 55# ?

http://www.bowhuntingoutlet.com/b-50-dacron-white-1-4-lb-spool.html this is the cheapest I could find as far as string goes, can anybody find a better deal?

[Ifrit617]

If the board is that long and you have not begun tillering yet, I would re-lay it out and re-cut it... A bow as long as yours will rob performance, unless made in a very specific way... It may be a little extra work but wil yield much better results. Good Luck.

Jon

[Bitterguy]

If the board is that long and you have not begun tillering yet, I would re-lay it out and re-cut it... A bow as long as yours will rob performance, unless made in a very specific way... It may be a little extra work but wil yield much better results. Good Luck.

Jon

So I should just take 6" off of each end, then plane and sand it back down to where it should be? Then tiller it

[Pat B]

You shouldn't have to plane and sand the back to change the length. What are the dimensions now?

[Ifrit617]

Pat,

I think he is talking about re shaping the sides down to where they should be. And yes. i personally would cut the bow down to about 6 foot if it is your first.

[Bitterguy]

Ifrit had it spot on.
dimensions are 7' tall, 2.5" at the handle, .5" at the tip, and 1" thickness. Pics included

[johnston]

BG please note that I don't know much but what I have learned has been from the people
on this site. Yes, you should shorten your bow and lay it out again. Six feet is plenty long
and you might want to narrow down from the 2 1/2" at the fades also. You either did not say
 what type of board or I missed it but 2" is a gracious plenty for a six foot 45# bow.

Is that a glued on piece at the handle? Or is that the handle? Might get better results
if you do the handle a little later in the process.

Don't know where you read about the length of a long bow but you were on the right track
to be studying the situation. A first class investment for beginners like us is reference
books. The TBB series is a great place to start. The absolute best place is this website.
Be patient and have fun.

Lane

[Bitterguy]

BG please note that I don't know much but what I have learned has been from the people
on this site. Yes, you should shorten your bow and lay it out again. Six feet is plenty long
and you might want to narrow down from the 2 1/2" at the fades also. You either did not say
 what type of board or I missed it but 2" is a gracious plenty for a six foot 45# bow.

Is that a glued on piece at the handle? Or is that the handle? Might get better results
if you do the handle a little later in the process.

Don't know where you read about the length of a long bow but you were on the right track
to be studying the situation. A first class investment for beginners like us is reference
books. The TBB series is a great place to start. The absolute best place is this website.
Be patient and have fun.

Lane

That is a glued on handle, I was at the tillering process (at least i thought I was before i shortened it) and I didn't want to tiller in a working handle, as this is supposed to be a stiff handled bow

[Bitterguy]

My dad ordered me some B-50 Dacron black and a stick of wax, it should be here around monday or tuesday. I will be updating my progress on this thread (http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,28733.msg387993.html#msg387993), if anyone is interested

[Del the cat]

make a tillering string a bit longer than necessary and it will do for all future bows, you can make a handy 'string shortener' to adjust it as you are tillering and then use that length to make the final string.
The string shortener is just an off cut of good hard wood or ply about an inch or so long and half an inch wide  (about 3/16" thick) with two holes drilled through it with about a 1/4" between the two holes , a bit like a figure 8 smoothe the edges of the holes and thread the stringin one hole and back through the other, repeat the threading through and back to shorten the string. It will save a lot of messing about The 'Del the Cat String Shortener patent # 83467794231' 
This pic shows it in use on the string (on the right side of the draw point)

BTW, the bow is an old Elm longbow which I re worked as a Saxon short bow @ 30# for re-enactment use.
Del

[osage outlaw]

Bitterguy, you might check out 3rivers.com for any bow/string making supplies.  They are a top notch company and have just about anything you will ever need.  I think they are a sponser of this site also.


Del, I would be interested in the plans for patent # 83467794231   

[Bitterguy]

make a tillering string a bit longer than necessary and it will do for all future bows, you can make a handy 'string shortener' to adjust it as you are tillering and then use that length to make the final string.
The string shortener is just an off cut of good hard wood or ply about an inch or so long and half an inch wide  (about 3/16" thick) with two holes drilled through it with about a 1/4" between the two holes , a bit like a figure 8 smoothe the edges of the holes and thread the stringin one hole and back through the other, repeat the threading through and back to shorten the string. It will save a lot of messing about The 'Del the Cat String Shortener patent # 83467794231' 
This pic shows it in use on the string (on the right side of the draw point)

BTW, the bow is an old Elm longbow which I re worked as a Saxon short bow @ 30# for re-enactment use.
Del

It took me a bit to find it, I don't why, but that is very nifty del, thanks for the tip.

Bitterguy, you might check out 3rivers.com for any bow/string making supplies.  They are a top notch company and have just about anything you will ever need.  I think they are a sponser of this site also.

That brings me to a non archery site.

[Matt S.]

Bitterguy,
try 3 Rivers Archery or Kustom King Archery.
Here are links to the B-50 Dacron on 3 Rivers and B-55 on Kustom King. I purchased 2 spools of B-55 from Kustom King and have made at least half a dozen strings and haven't even made a dent in the spools.

3Rivers B-50: http://www.3riversarchery.com/Strings+String+Material++Brownell+B-50+Bow_c40_s78_p0_i4144X_product.html

Kustom King B-55: http://www.kustomkingarchery.com/BCY-B55-String-Material/productinfo/3204/

I believe both are sponsors of this site and I've done business with both companies with great results.


Also, where are you located? Good chance there is a knowledgeable PA member close by who would be willing to help.