How fine to shred sinew

[NorthHeart]

     A longer soak period in the warm hide glue will soften/hydrate them...They will soak up the glue and become like limp spaghetti...I don't just dip and squeeze, I wait a few minutes until it all is limp...I don't presoak my sinew in water because I think it robs the sinew from soaking the hide glue...Sinew does take patience sometimes...
                                                                                                                                 Don

Interesting Don i have never head of putting dry sinew straight into the hide glue i might give that a go sometime.

Stuck in the mud- one guy i know told me theres no reason to even break up the back sinew you can lay it on in strips, im really not sure if he knew what he was talking about and my concern is would the strands on the inside of the strip soak up glue properly while still attached to the strands next to them?  I may have to sacrifice a piece of backstrap sinew one day to find out.  I do not like the idea of sacrificing backstrap sinew.

[PatM]

A lot of the old literature seemed to mention dry sinew being put straight into the warm glue.  Unless you are really strict with your glue temperature the increased soaking time can destroy the sinew with a long soak if the glue is even a tiny bit too hot.

 Having your glue a little bit thick and using damp sinew is a bit safer.  The slight dampness and the thicker glue combines to make things just right and saves you the bother of adding a splash of water to the glue periodically.

 Gaps and bumps are no concern if you wrap and re-heat. It all gets squeezed down and melded together.  I have even experimented with using really irregular strands and just slapped it on with no finesse and it comes out looking great if wrapped and warmed.