Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Amkap on June 18, 2013, 03:53:05 pm
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So i am a new Bowyer, and i am at the tillering stage of building my first English long bow. i used maple with a walnut handle. i have been having trouble getting the Dacron b50 that I've been reading about and had heard that you can use Dacron fishing line (which i have a lot of being an active fisherman). so i have an abundant supply of that, but zero knowledge of what do do next...
Ive made a string jig. but now what? how many strands of this stuff should i use?
My bow is 68" long so how long should my string be?
I'm lost.
ANY info coinciding with tillering/ short string and Dacron fishing line would be extremely appreciated.
Thanks so much in advance.
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I can't tell you about the fishing line strength.You can do a breaking test.Otherwise 3 Rivers has B 50 for you and 14 or 15 strands will be more than enough for your bow.
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How heavy is the bow, draw weight I mean. Up to 50# of draw, I would use 10 strands of B50, 12 strands for up to 65#.
The general rule of thumb is to provide 4 times the draw weight of the bow in bow string material. For example if you were using 12 lb test, you would need 17 strands for a 50 lb bow. Fishing line may have too much stretch, though.
Send me a Private Message and I can spool up some B50 to send to you.
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The Dacron fishing line I have seen doesn't stretch much. I have played around with it( I found a half-used spool on the beach 3 years ago on vacation) a bit, and even tried making a sling from it.
Wax it well. Then test the breaking strength... I would say 5 times the pull strength of the bow(it doesn't make a big difference in string weight, but it does affect the likelyhood of a broken string) because of shock loading when the limbs slam home(if you use knots).. without knots go for 4. Also if you use knots... use a blood knot or hangmans noose... it keeps 95% of the line strength under a shock load.
On here, many people have said 3" shorter than bow length is a good starting point. You can always twist to shorten string.
Here-
http://poorfolkbows.com/flemish1.htm
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Thanks guys all of that really helped! I actually was able to order string material from three rivers so I'm good there.
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Glad to hear it. 3R is a reputable organization and I always get good customer service from them.
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Glad to hear it. 3R is a reputable organization and I always get good customer service from them.
Same. I've never had anything but exceptional dealings with them.
I would recommend watching videos of how to make a flemish or endless loop string on youtube. I am only familiar with the flemish string, and I know that a quick search on youtube will yield very good video tutorials. My favorites are by a guy whose youtube handle is rbsettergren I think.
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for a tillering string go to youtube, master bow builder, it's mike yancey and he builds one and if you watch it it's a pc of cake