how much sinew will a tendon yield, by weight

[stuckinthemud]

Afternoon!

I have posted this question in horn bows as well but thought it might reach a wider audience here.  Everyone seems to say how much dried and processed sinew to use to back a bow but my supplier wants to know how many unprocessed, wet, frozen red-deer tendons I need.  So, on average, how much sinew can I expect to get from, say 10 tendons?  I am gathering materials together for a Magyar horn-bow......

[wizardgoat]

Sinew comes in different lengths and thicknesses, and different bows call for different amounts of sinew. Just get all you can get, you will not be sorry having more than you need.
10 decently sized leg tendons should yield plenty of sinew for one bow

[osage outlaw]

Back sinew, front leg, or back leg?  Each one is a different size.  It depends on how you cut it out also.

[bradsmith2010]

yes it varies quite a bit 200 to 500 grains per tendon sometimes, so hard to tell you,,,
if its its the back leg ,, maybe 300 grains per tendon,, I am just guessing,,

[BowEd]

Like said just get enough.That's the answer.It's always good to have a little more than is needed anyway.Some people are more efficient about preparing sinew too and have less waste.So there is no exact answer to that because it depends on the preparer.
Red deer are as big as elk correct?I know the back leg  tendon from an elk leg 14 to 16 inches long will yield around 400 grains give or take 100 grains per tendon with me preparing and stripping it.
10 back leg tendons from red deer sounds like you will have plenty for your horn bow.More than enough.

[mikekeswick]

See...I told you
It also depends on how good you are at processing it.
Your question is a little like how long is a piece of string?

[chamookman]

Got some Emu tendon one time - WHOA about 30" long  ! Bob

[loon]

If you have "waste", turn it into sinew glue!

[stuckinthemud]

Thanks guys, that's great info - since I never prepared any before, I think I'll go with 15 and boil the waste into glue - gonna need a lot of glue......

[osage outlaw]

When you make your glue try to keep it below a boil.   A slow cooker works good for making sinew glue. 

[stuckinthemud]

If I touch the slow cooker, I may not live to see the sun rise  

[bubby]

You can get crock pots at yard sales and salvation army for a few bucks, plenty cheap enough to get one for making glue and keeping you out of the dog house

[Pat B]

I use a small crock pot I got for $5 at Good Will. I use it as a double boiler by adding water to the crock pot and float a stainless steel bowl with hide glue in it. I keep another bowl of warm water and a damp towel along side to keep the glue off my hands and to add water to the glue to keep it the right consistency.
 Also, have plenty of sinew bundles separated into usable sizes so you can work without interruptions.

[stuckinthemud]

Just googled 'Crock-pot',    you guys mean slow-cooker.  Oh, ok, now it makes sense.  Yes, should be able to find a used one, thinking about it I might even have one with a broken lid buried somewhere in the attic, I'll have to take a look.  Also, the washing machine died last week, so I might liberate the glass door before I scrap it - that would make a lovely big bowl to work from

[Stick Bender]

Like was said thats a hard question to answer not all white tail tendons if thats what your going to use  are created equal some times in the end I dont like the feel of some of the threads & I seperate those & only pic the best some tendons to me are just to wirey to use Just speaking for me I dont start a sinew bow unless I have 20 tendons on hand but I over make so I have exstra better more then not enough ,good luck with your bow I dont know what the deference is with Red tail ?