strings

[gfugal]

I actually really enjoy making strings. I find it relaxing

[Eric Krewson]

I have at least 25 used strings, when I make a bow I select one the right length and use it during the building process. When the bow is finished I always make a new string for it. I have probably made over 500 strings through the years but don't particularly like making them.

[WillS]

20 minutes?!  What are you guys doing, making strings underwater or something?!  Shouldn't take more than about 5 at most for a double loop laid in string.

If you roll both bundles over your thigh so the whole lot is twisted, then simply put them together and roll them as one the other way on your thigh, it's done in minutes.  You're not all doing that "twist left, wrap right, twist left, wrap right" thing are you?

[stuckinthemud]

You're not all doing that "twist left, wrap right, twist left, wrap right" thing are you?

? yes, but then I didn't know there was another way. So, do you space out the threads in each bundle for a tapered splice?

[osage outlaw]

20 minutes?!  What are you guys doing, making strings underwater or something?!  Shouldn't take more than about 5 at most for a double loop laid in string.

If you roll both bundles over your thigh so the whole lot is twisted, then simply put them together and roll them as one the other way on your thigh, it's done in minutes.  You're not all doing that "twist left, wrap right, twist left, wrap right" thing are you?

Does that make a cabled bow string?  I prefer them to not be cabled.

[DC]

It helps if you rolled cigars for a living in a previous life

[lebhuntfish]

Come to mojam and accidently sit down next to the string making area.  And wait till all of the new guys come over and need a string for their bows.  You will learn really fast.  I probably make about 20 some odd strings in a couple of days. 

Patrick

[PatM]

 A  good string is not rushed, just like any other thing of quality.

[WillS]

No, they're not cabled at all.  They end up just like any good Flemish twist string, you just don't have to individually twist every twist.  It's described really clearly in TBB2, but essentially every element is the same - same number of bundles, same feathering and tapering etc.  You just tightly pre-twist the areas that need twisting by rolling them on your thigh, put the two bundles together and twist again, the other way.

You actually end up with a much nicer, tighter string than doing each wrap by hand, because the thigh-rolling keeps the twists way more even and tight.  It's a much faster way of getting a much better string.  Win win!

What's really nice is that if you're doing a proper primitive string with something that has short fibres like linen, you can pre-twist the entire string using a simple drill jig, and end up with the whole string reverse-twisted just like the laid in loop area but massively stronger.  I recently used that method to reverse twist a beautiful linen string for a 135lb elm bow, and the entire string took perhaps 10 minutes, and most of that time was spooling out the starting material.

[osage outlaw]

I only reverse twist the loops until about an inch past the last string tag end.  I hand roll the rest of the string while smoothing out the bundles. 

[WillS]

I think you might have misunderstood 

There's no difference - it ends up looking exactly the same.  It's the physical process of twisting that is quicker this way.  You can either twist and wrap every single reverse twist (however many you choose to do), or roll the bundles along your thigh, flip and roll again and you're done. 

[WillS]

And when I say "you might have misunderstood" what I really mean is "this is impossible to describe via typing, I'm doing a crappy job of it" 

[Aaron H]

How about a video build a long? I would like to see your process, especially if it only takes you 5 minutes 

[stuckinthemud]

So, this is what I think Wills was going for (please correct me)
1.
measure/cut/lay out strands for first bundle, including feathering
2.
pre-twist with drill or roll along thigh to twist into tight bundle
3.
repeat for second bundle
4.
put strands together, fold back on each other to form loop and roll the other way along thigh to weave the splice.

[WillS]

^^^ That's it.  Almost exactly.

Steps 1, 2 and 3 are right, but step 4 should be:

Put (pretwisted) strands together, roll the other way along thigh to reverse twist, fold back on each other to form loop and continue rolling the other way to weave the splice.