primitive string material

[ozy clint]

what are some natural string materials and their pros and cons? performance and durability? looking for something for a 70# selfbow

[SCATTERSHOT]

Don't really know much about their use, but flax, silk, sinew, and twisted squirrel hide have all been used at one time or another. I think waxed linen would come closest to what we have today.

[michiganbowguy]

 

[michiganbowguy]

http://good-times.webshots.com/slideshow/569258209VRzQBz;jsessionid=abcYjGaom_Xx5aKv46L_r

[michiganbowguy]

they are just like other natural materials...just like "picking the right stave"...as some skins are better than others...they all will work tho.

you just have to build them accordingly.
the two strings up top are deer rawhide and next ia a how to build along for a tree rat string.
they are very tough indeed.

jamie

[michiganbowguy]

here is an ironwood selfbow i made and is still shooting after i bet 1000 shots.  :D  

its only 53 lbs but its shooting heavy rivercane arrows with authority!

[the bow lost more moisture and settled in from 47# to a nice 53#!]    

 

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

           

[tippit]

This hickory bow with a waxed linen string made by Eric Ackerman helped me harvest my last bear...Doc

 

[john fletch]

I use an artificial sinew that is Dacron based and they look quite a lot like the michinganguys.

They are single loop (sort of a flemish twist braided loop) and just a stopper knot at the other end.  I attch the string to the lower limb of the self bow with a Bowyer's knot ITimber Hitch) after adjusting for correct string height.

They look quite authentic and hold up much longer than linen or real sinew.  The only place they were frowned upon was a very 'historically correct' reinactment Rendezvous in Oregon.  It turned out a lot of folk had equipment that did not meet the muster there.

I need to figure out how to post pictures so I can show some stuff as well.

[Falk]

The supposed to be 'original flemish bowstring' would be made from very long fibred Hemp. Due to anti drug politics this plant is long gone from where I live. Manila hemp may be used if good quality is available, but Silk and Flax (Linen) are stronger and should be easier to get anyways. However, it is still difficult to find the correct size and quality for string making.

Flax is rather low stretch material. Due to the mass needed for a strong enough string, there is no advantage though. For your task you need to be aware of the fact that linen (hemp too) gains up to about 20% in strenght when moist - or will loose the same amount when dried out. If the string breaks, the bow might follow and you're a dead man     :(     ELMER (1952: 55) descriebs how Homer Taylor broke 6 strings in a row, because they were dried out        

I do have some valuable 18/3 linen thread left. I've always been to much of a sissy to use it on my 70# Yew ELB because of the above mentioned problems, but I will do some experiments on lesser bows. Maybe even today ...
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edit: did some breaking strenghts testing for the 18/3 linen thread I spoke of above and got 11# (dry!) - which is about okay. BTW: Saxton Pope used Irish linen no.12, which broke at 6# per strand.

You would want your string to hold at least 4x the draw weight; for a 70# bow this are 27 strands, going into a three ply string. My own string thickness formular calculates me a final diameter of 4.5mm (.178") with standard serving material. This is about the minimum for your nocks throaths ...