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Offline HoBow

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Sinew
« on: July 08, 2010, 11:10:03 pm »
I had someone give me a bunch of sinew (about 100 pieces) that were 4-5" long.  Can I use this as a backing the same I would longer pieces?  Has anyone ever noted the difference in backing bows with longer versus shorter pieces on performance?
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Jeff Utley- Atlanta GA

Offline mullet

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2010, 11:17:35 pm »
 If it is deer leg tendons they will work just fine. I think the short whitetail tendons are better myself. I sent you a PM.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2010, 11:27:22 pm by mullet »
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Online Pappy

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #2 on: July 09, 2010, 07:27:58 am »
Yes they will done fine,just a little more work with short pieces. :)
   Pappy
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Offline HoBow

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #3 on: July 10, 2010, 09:13:39 pm »
Here is what I have.  I have read (I think in TBB) that thinner strands do not necessarily increase performance.....anyone have thoughts otherwise.  I'm doing my best to get them fairly thin.

[attachment deleted by admin]
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Jeff Utley- Atlanta GA

Offline Pat B

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #4 on: July 10, 2010, 09:57:56 pm »
Those look good to me Jeff.    Hope you aren't using the tile floor for the anvil!  :o
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Offline El Destructo

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2010, 12:18:28 am »
Never take mine down any smaller  that that...the smaller you make it...the more small pieces you end up breaking it  down to....a little bigger OS fine....just soak it till it's good and soft...and it works fine...
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Offline mullet

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #6 on: July 11, 2010, 12:32:19 am »
 After seeing James Parker's sinew jobs and talking to him about it, I seperate mine as small as I can get it. It makes a big difference in how much sinew you end up using.
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Lakeland, Florida
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #7 on: July 11, 2010, 12:55:30 am »
I am going to visit James and Becca tomorrow with Alan, Patrick and Hannah. Can't wait to see his new horn bow collection. Maybe shoot some other cool bows too. He was telling me the other night on the phone about the little Plains bow he's just about finished with.  8)
  I'll have to take my camera and get some good pics.  ;)
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline HoBow

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #8 on: July 11, 2010, 09:41:47 am »
Pat, I did use that tile once just to see....then my wife heard a bang :o ...and she wasn't happy.

Eddie,
I tend to get more OCD the longer I'm working on it and get them smaller and smaller.  You said it makes a big difference in how much you use- I'm guessing you use less tendons if you break them up smaller because of the added volume  ??? Is that correct? The picture shows about 1.5 of the smaller pieces- at that rate, how much would I need to put 3 or 4 layers on a 59" bow? 
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Jeff Utley- Atlanta GA

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2010, 06:27:20 pm »
I have found that the thinner your break it down, the fewer gaps you have running lengthwise down the bow.  And if you use lukewarm water to soak the sinew before glueing it softens more quickly. 

And the last thing I recommend is that you have a fine tooth comb next to the glue pot.  Strip the wetted sinew between your fingers several times to squeegee out the loose water, dunk and swish it around in the glue, then lay down the bundle of sinew on the countertop and run the comb down the bundle to straighten the fibers out.  The bundle ends up acting more like a flat ribbon that is easy to apply llike a strip of tape.  Be sure to have fresh wet glue under the bundle of sinew as you place it on the bow, and wet your finger with glue and press the bundle firmly down onto the back of the bow to get out all air bubbles.  Remember that a little overlap on each bundle is a good thing.
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Offline ricktrojanowski

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Re: Sinew
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2010, 10:28:53 pm »
I started out using nice long backstrap sinew for my first attempt at backing a bow.   Then I learned to cut them shorter and get the strands nice and thin.  Shorter takes longer but the job comes out much nicer and it is much easier to keep the bundles parrallel and not overlapping each other. 
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