need help ASAP- making tillering/short string using Dacron fishing line

[Amkap]

So i am a new Bowyer, and i am at the tillering stage of building my first English long bow. i used maple with a walnut handle. i have been having trouble getting the Dacron b50 that I've been reading about and had heard that you can use Dacron fishing line (which i have a lot of being an active fisherman). so i have an abundant supply of that, but zero knowledge of what do do next...

Ive made a string jig. but now what? how many strands of this stuff should i use?

My bow is 68" long so how long should my string be?

I'm lost.

ANY info coinciding with tillering/ short string and Dacron fishing line would be extremely appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance.

[BowEd]

I can't tell you about the fishing line strength.You can do a breaking test.Otherwise 3 Rivers has B 50 for you and 14 or 15 strands will be more than enough for your bow.

[JW_Halverson]

How heavy is the bow, draw weight I mean.  Up to 50# of draw, I would use 10 strands of B50, 12 strands for up to 65#. 

The general rule of thumb is to provide 4 times the draw weight of the bow in bow string material.  For example if you were using 12 lb test, you would need 17 strands for a 50 lb bow.  Fishing line may have too much stretch, though. 

Send me a Private Message and I can spool up some B50 to send to you.

[Thesquirrelslinger]

 The Dacron fishing line I have seen doesn't stretch much. I have played around with it( I found a half-used spool on the beach 3 years ago on vacation) a bit, and even tried making a sling from it.
Wax it well. Then test the breaking strength... I would say 5 times the pull strength of the bow(it doesn't make a big difference in string weight, but it does affect the likelyhood of a broken string) because of shock loading when the limbs slam home(if you use knots).. without knots go for 4. Also if you use knots... use a blood knot or hangmans noose... it keeps 95% of the line strength under a shock load.
On here, many people have said 3" shorter than bow length is a good starting point. You can always twist to shorten string.
Here-
http://poorfolkbows.com/flemish1.htm

[Amkap]

Thanks guys all of that really helped! I actually was able to order string material from three rivers so I'm good there.

[JW_Halverson]

Glad to hear it. 3R is a reputable organization and I always get good customer service from them. 

[Slackbunny]

Glad to hear it. 3R is a reputable organization and I always get good customer service from them.

Same. I've never had anything but exceptional dealings with them.

I would recommend watching videos of how to make a flemish or endless loop string on youtube. I am only familiar with the flemish string, and I know that a quick search on youtube will yield very good video tutorials. My favorites are by a guy whose youtube handle is rbsettergren I think.

[bubby]

for a tillering string go to youtube, master bow builder, it's mike yancey and he builds one and if you watch it it's a pc of cake