[Loch-Ruadh] String

[pcrandal at sbcglobal.net]

BTW: Red Sands is closed. 

Sluggy! <sluggy9912 at swbell.net> wrote:On Fri, 2005-06-24 at 01:10 +0000, donmckinnon1 at netzero.net wrote:
> To all those who attended the Bow making class at Gulley's, has anyone 
> be able to locate a source for the thread recommended to make a bow string.

I did not attend the class, but I have made a bowstring or two. If the
thread in question was sort of bowstring specific, there are two very
good products that are available all over the place internet and mail
order, but only a few places locally.

One of the most common materials is a Dacron thread called B-50. It's
very strong and has very limited stretch. B50 is used in many other
applications and is available in many colors, but as bowstring material,
it's probably best to get it waxed in 1800 ft spools. That's usually
about $7-10 and 1800 feet will make about 45 typical 60" bowstrings for
a 50# bow.

As for finding it on the internet, Google for 'b50' and you will get
about 1000 hits, many of which will be places selling it. I like Three
Rivers Archery, but only because I've ordered from them before.

Locally, and locally to me is Fort Worth and environs, I've seen it at
Springfield Archery on Davis in North Richland Hills and at Red Sands
Archery on Arbrook (?) in Arlington. Most places stock it in black,
sometimes in red. Online and mail order, you can usually get it in LOTS
of colors. If you are spinning Flemmish strings, contrasting colors are
very cool, though I don't think they would be period. :)

Another less common, but more specialized material for bowstrings is
another synthetic polymer thread called DynaFlight. For the same pull
weight, DynaFlight is lighter than B50. Conversely, you can have a
stronger string for the same weight. A lighter string means a faster
arrow, which usually means a flatter flight and thus, easier to shoot
consistently. To be honest, though, you'll have to shoot a LOT of arrows
to tell the difference and few of us shoot enough to tell. I tend to use
a string with a larger margin for safety. Ya know, we take care of our
stuff, but leaving a bow in the sun to heat the string up, then shooting
it for a while and frequently forgetting to rewax it when you shoot a
time or two and pretty soon, you have a string that is fraying a bit.
Every fiber that is not in the body of the string is not holding the
string together! So, if the string is designed 50% stronger than needed,
then sustaining even 10% damage may prevent a bow from blowing up in
your face at full draw, an experience I do not recommend.

I am looking for a good source of waxed Irish linen thread, one of the
premier materials for making a more period string. You used to be able
to get it from Leather Factor as a shoe and boot supply material, but
they don't carry much of that stuff anymore. Linen strings are a little
heavier than Dacron and can absorb more water and thus become even
heavier, but there is ample evidence that linen was a common material
for bowstrings within our period. Cotton is more common than you might
think, especially in the orient. You'd think silk would be common, but
it stretches too much. I have a skein of flax ready to spin, but I think
I will seek expert advice on that skill.

I'm rambling now, so I will sign off here! :)

Sluggy!

_______________________________________________
Loch-Ruadh mailing list
Loch-Ruadh at ansteorra.org
http://www.ansteorra.org/mailman/listinfo/loch-ruadh



"In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should 
afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, 
contentedly, even happily wrong." 
-John Kenneth Galbraith 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.ansteorra.org/pipermail/loch-ruadh-ansteorra.org/attachments/20050623/73e9558e/attachment.htm>