Hickory Bow Ready for String, Dont know how long

[daj7622]

Hello Everyone!

So I have been working on a hickory bow, and it is ready for a string. The problem is, I don't know how long of a string to buy. I want Fast Flight, because everything I read says its the best. I am 6'5" so I made a bow that is 70" long, and I have read that I should subtract only 4 inches, making it a 66" string, but that seems long. Any suggestions?

[hedgeapple]

how did you make a bow without having a string to use to tiller it?

[Weylin]

I think you should buy a spool of fastflight on the internet. I got mine for about $25. Then find a tutorial for making a string jig and another one for how to make a flemish loop. poorfolkbows.com has decent tutorials. Making your own strings is cheap and easy once you've practiced a couple.

[kevinsmith5]

I figure out my string length with paracord. Make a piece with half hitches for loops initially 4" shorter than the nock to nock length and string it on the bow. Let it sit 20 minutes and check the brace height. If the brace height is good, measure the nock to nock on the string while its on the bow. If the brace is too low (probally will be) unstrung, shorten by half inch and repeat.,

[Roy]

Why would go to all the work of making a Hickory bow, then want to put on a high tech string material because you read where it's the best? You made a bow out of wood because you wanted a primitive bow, now you want to soup it up with a high tech string material to make it faster? So ya might gain 5 to 10  feet per second in arrow speed with a high tech string over B-50, you nor the deer will never know the difference. Ok, I'm off my soap box now. Congrats on your bow.

[H Rhodes]

For longbows, I usually buy a string three inches shorter than the bow's nock to nock length.  You could order one from 3 Rivers archery, or a  number of other suppliers.  For the price of the ready made string you could buy a spool of B-50 and make lots of bowstrings.  I learned to make strings from the Traditional Bowyer's Bible,  Volume 2, which has a great chapter devoted to making bowstrings.  Good luck. 

[kevinsmith5]

I'm not sure B-50 is any less modern than FastFlight. They're both synthetic fibers. I use hemp cordfrom the jewelrymaking section in the crafts store, 20 lb weight comes in 200 foot rolls. Not as fast, but boy is it quiet.

[TRACY]

how did you make a bow without having a string to use to tiller it?

This is my first thought. How do you know the draw/poundage if you made the bow? More info on how you got to this point.


Tracy

[autologus]

Here is what you do, since you made a primitive bow you have to make a primitive string to go with it.  Seeing as how you don't have a string for your bow you are going to have to use it as a club, go out to your back yard and whack a couple of squirrels with your new bow.  Skin them out and tack their hides to a board and let them dry.  After they dry cut 1/4" strips of rawhide in a large spiral like a pinwheel from each of them, try to get as long of strips as you can.  Soak the strips in warm water until they soften, tack or clamp the end of each one to something tall so that the end does not reach the ground, hang a weight on the end of each one so they stretch a bit and give them a spin to twist them up so they roll up like a small tube.  Then give them both a spin together to twist them up together to make a two ply string.  Let it hang there until it has dried and now you have you a new fuzzy squirrel rawhide string for your new bow.  Hopefully you didn't break your bow by whacking the squirrels too hard.

Grady

[George Tsoukalas]

I'd stick with B 50 and go 3 inches shorter. I'd learn how to make my own strings. There are plenty of You Tube videos showing the Flemish twist.  Let's do the twist. Jawge