Author Topic: strings  (Read 13743 times)

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Offline stuckinthemud

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strings
« on: September 13, 2017, 04:06:41 am »
Hi guys,
I think this is just a moan, but let's see where it goes. I hate making bow strings and occasionally I find myself making bows to fit a string I already have on another bow just to avoid making a new string. Am I alone in this??

Offline Steve Milbocker

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Re: strings
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2017, 05:11:39 am »
Definitely not alone!!
I'm no where near as smart as my phone!

Online Pappy

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Re: strings
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2017, 05:19:11 am »
Don't really love making them , but don't dislike it enough to make a bow to fit a string I already have, new bows always get new strings. ;) :)
 Pappy
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Life is Good

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: strings
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2017, 06:02:06 am »
I don't mind making them.  It doesn't take very long once you get it figured out good. 
I started out with nothin' and I still got most of it left

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: strings
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2017, 06:18:39 am »
I enjoy making them and choosing colors to accent my rigs. I started making them in the mid 90s. Wouldn't want to guess how many I've twisted up. Maybe a thousand.
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 Stick Bender

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Re: strings
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2017, 06:22:27 am »
I dont mind making them some times I like doing things that dont require a lot of thought like strings,chasing rings or sharpening tools the one I dont care for is when I have to shread 2 oz of sinew when I only have one day to do it !
If you fear failure you will never Try !

Offline Pat B

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Re: strings
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2017, 07:06:17 am »
I don't mind making strings at all. I use a bowyers knot on the bottom so they fit any bow.   :OK
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline stuckinthemud

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Re: strings
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2017, 07:31:58 am »
I've got to give that a try, its mostly twisting up the second loop that is killing me.

Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: strings
« Reply #8 on: September 13, 2017, 09:12:04 am »
Not crazy about making strings but certainly do not make a bow to fit a string
Home of heat-treating, Corbeil, On.  Canada

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Offline GlisGlis

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Re: strings
« Reply #9 on: September 13, 2017, 09:27:57 am »
Quote
I don't mind making strings at all. I use a bowyers knot on the bottom so they fit any bow.

+1   :OK

Offline BowEd

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Re: strings
« Reply #10 on: September 13, 2017, 09:32:10 am »
Not keeping those center strands parallel and untwisted before putting pulling or stretching pressure on the string or loops has pissed off many a bowyer watching their feathered in hand twisting disappear below their loops.
I'm usually a little excited so to speak to shoot in a new bow so making strings is part of the anticipation of that and don't mind it then.
BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: strings
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2017, 09:53:55 am »
Stuck if any part of it is kicking your butt, you probably aren't doing it right. Its incredibly simple and takes maybe 20-30 minutes to make one. Including serving it. See if you can find a local who can help you through the part that you're struggling with.
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 High-Desert

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Re: strings
« Reply #12 on: September 13, 2017, 10:11:44 am »
I absolutely hated making strings when I used B-50, one I switched to D97, and made a decent string jig, it's been so much easier not dealing with the 9 feet of stretching from B50. But yes, I have made bows to fit strings because I hated it so much. Once I switched, I just made a bunch of various lengths so once I get to that point of tillering, one of the stings will fit. Then eventually it gets its own string.
Eric

Offline stuckinthemud

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Re: strings
« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2017, 10:16:18 am »
I'm very good at making an easy job really difficult according to a Team Leader I used to work with.  ;)

It takes me about 20 minutes to twist up a string, I just don't really make them often enough to get the method ingrained in my muscle memory. Its not helped by being ambidextrous so I take a few attempts to twist both strands the correct way and roll them the correct direction, usually three tries at the first loop before it stops untwisting itself when I let go, then I struggle with positioning the second loop and frequently have to un-twist the string when the distance is too long or too short.  That means I tend to make three or four strings in a session (and some end up left-twist and some end up right-twist), by the time I'm on my third I'm on a roll, but the first and second are a re-learning experience.  I clearly need to build more bows so I can spend more time twisting strings, but, since I don't like making strings, when I get workshop time, I avoid it by roughing up another bow (I have three finished on the long string waiting for me to make their proper strings, one horn bow under way a three piece just started and a set of arrows ready for fletching, that's in addition to two other bows needing re-stringing) ;D :D :) ;)

Offline DC

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Re: strings
« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2017, 10:24:15 am »
I sat down one day and forced myself to make a dozen strings all roughly the same length. The last few I had it pretty much figured out. For a while I was making bows to fit strings ;D but I've only got one left.