Post by rollingsnare on May 1, 2014 13:42:36 GMT
My beeswaxed yucca bow string broke last week after a very long life (yucca really surprised me with its durability).
I didn't feel like going through all the effort to make another yucca string right now and I need my bow to shoot this coming Sat so I decided to make a quick squirrel hide string. I trap a lot of squirrels for materials that I will use throughout the year so thats something I pretty much always have handy. I grabbed a few hide that I had dried, some fur slippage happened because I wasn't trying to keep them protected but it doesn't matter for a project like this. I selected three hides and cut them into 1/4in spirals.
Next, soak them in cold water for an hour until they are pliable. They will be about 4.5-5ft long at this point.
Begin making a loop on one end with two of the long hide strips the same way you would reverse wrap any natural cordage. When the loop is finished splice in the third strip of hide.
NOW TWIST
That's right, no more braiding or making cordage, just twist. This is a very fast and lazy bow string but it will be stronger than most plant fiber strings. The break strength on this is around 180lbs! Break tests have been done several times on single twisted strands and 1/4in dried twisted squirrel rawhide breaks at 55-60lbs.
After twisting the string will be shorter, around 4-4.5ft. Hang the loop end up high and hang a weight on the non loop end and allow it to stretch overnight.The string will be around 6ft long in the morning.
Once dried remove it from the hanger and weight and let it cure out for a few extra days. It will end up stiff but slightly flexible like this.
The last thing you will need to do is wrap the loop with sinew to keep it from wearing.
I like to mark a line with a sharpie (special paleo sharpie that is) for the length I want the string and then cut it about six inches longer. O soak the last six inches in cold water again for about 20 minutes and tie it to the lower nock on my bow with a bowyer's knot. Let it dry overnight, 2 days if your in a humid environment, and then use the loop at the top like any normal bow string. These strings last between 150 and 200 shots on my 62in 51# longbow. They may not last as long as some other natural strings but they only take about fifteen minutes of work to make. The rest of the time is just drying the rawhide between the steps.
I didn't feel like going through all the effort to make another yucca string right now and I need my bow to shoot this coming Sat so I decided to make a quick squirrel hide string. I trap a lot of squirrels for materials that I will use throughout the year so thats something I pretty much always have handy. I grabbed a few hide that I had dried, some fur slippage happened because I wasn't trying to keep them protected but it doesn't matter for a project like this. I selected three hides and cut them into 1/4in spirals.
Next, soak them in cold water for an hour until they are pliable. They will be about 4.5-5ft long at this point.
Begin making a loop on one end with two of the long hide strips the same way you would reverse wrap any natural cordage. When the loop is finished splice in the third strip of hide.
NOW TWIST
That's right, no more braiding or making cordage, just twist. This is a very fast and lazy bow string but it will be stronger than most plant fiber strings. The break strength on this is around 180lbs! Break tests have been done several times on single twisted strands and 1/4in dried twisted squirrel rawhide breaks at 55-60lbs.
After twisting the string will be shorter, around 4-4.5ft. Hang the loop end up high and hang a weight on the non loop end and allow it to stretch overnight.The string will be around 6ft long in the morning.
Once dried remove it from the hanger and weight and let it cure out for a few extra days. It will end up stiff but slightly flexible like this.
The last thing you will need to do is wrap the loop with sinew to keep it from wearing.
I like to mark a line with a sharpie (special paleo sharpie that is) for the length I want the string and then cut it about six inches longer. O soak the last six inches in cold water again for about 20 minutes and tie it to the lower nock on my bow with a bowyer's knot. Let it dry overnight, 2 days if your in a humid environment, and then use the loop at the top like any normal bow string. These strings last between 150 and 200 shots on my 62in 51# longbow. They may not last as long as some other natural strings but they only take about fifteen minutes of work to make. The rest of the time is just drying the rawhide between the steps.
