How fine to shred sinew

[stuckinthemud]

So, first ever piece of sinew prep. I soaked the sinew over night and pulled it apart with a pliers. I got a bunch of pieces about 4" long and a similar amount of pieces about 8" long. As i started fining the pieces they started snapping; how fine should I be going, can anyone post a picture of what the sinew should look like in the end?

[PatM]

 Some think the glue won't get into the fibers unless they are very fine.  I have tested really thick pieces of sinew soaked in glue and the  glue has no trouble soaking in.  I leave sinew much thicker than most. 

[burchett.donald]

Stuck,
           Don't have any close ups, maybe this will give an idea...Believe me, my wife was at work when I did this...

[Stick Bender]

I shreed mine I guess I would call it medium fine there is probanly 12 to 15 strands in each of those bundles of elk sinew.

[Badger]

You mentioned soaking the sinew. I have always shredded mine dry. I don't wet it until I am ready to apply it. I think the finer you shread it the better it looks but from a mechanical standpoint I doubt it makes much difference within reason of course.

[Limbit]

The thickness of a horse hair is what they would say traditionally, but again, it may not matter all that much so long as you lay the fibers straight and they aren't getting tangled. If they do, you'll have a lot of gaps show up as it dries.

[stuckinthemud]

Thanks guys, I've now prepped 2oz; by weight, is there a rule for the amount of sinew needed? For instance is 1/3 the weight of the bow about right for the weight of sinew, eg. a 12oz bow might need 4oz of sinew??

[High-Desert]

I not sure exactly what the correct amount is, but i typically end up with about 2-3 oz on a bow, regagardless of length. The longer needs less per area, while shorter need more per area, coming out to about the same amount regardless of size. That's just what has worked for me.

[BowEd]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as high desert here in amounts of sinew.I cut away any bulbous large ends that may be on some.I like my sinew fairly fine too and apply only 3 to 4 at a time together.
While squeezing out hide glue after dipping I try to lay it down on the bow limb with no overlaps or twists etc.melding it right up to or against the previous strands well before the previous gells with 0 spaces between looking as one overall sheet.Pressing it lightly while doing this.I like my ends tapered on both ends also when I overlap them a good 1.5".
I've never gotten into combing it before applying but can see how that would give an overall nice looking even finish.
In general still to do as good a job as possible.
One thing...If it looks good immedately after completing it will look very good after drying.Applying PatM's method of wrapping with cotton strips and reheating after an hour or so will finalize the smooth overall surface too.
It's actually a fun project to do if everything is prepared well ahead of time.
PS....Be sure to size the bow limb well ahead of time also.

[NorthHeart]

Can anyone else comment regarding cutting of the bulbous ends of the sinew?  I have found that even after removing all flesh perfectly that there is something about the flared ends that makes it curl up and not soak up glue.  Anyone else noticed this?

[BowEd]

I cut off bulbous ends mostly to get the overall smooth effect look.Most are'nt that bad.

[Stick Bender]

It can seem like a confusing process but its really pretty easy , those bulb ends if not large will smooth out with your fingers after you over lap them into the previous bundle , the trick is to get them all smoothed into each other before gelling ,I think Patm has a thread around here for his method works great ! like was said sizing the surface well is real important !

[burchett.donald]

     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

[stuckinthemud]

So does anyone pre-make glued up strips of sinew for use at a future date?

[PatM]

 Guys have used strips that have popped off in one piece but it's likely not practical to make a strip and then have it match nicely with  the back of a stave.
  You'd still be doing all of the same work, just not on the final back.