Primitive bow string?

[SirRobin77]

Ok im making a longbow and i want to know what to use for a string. This will be for my primitive setup so i want somthing that looks the part but strong. Does anyone use artificial sinew? If so how mant strands for a 50# bow?

[SIXFOOTER]

Dunno how it compares to Dacron B50, but thats 2 threads per 10lbs of pull

[zilla]

Depends on how primitive ya wanna go.. I read that the English made strings of Good hemp, Flax or sylk.

[Traxx]

Youd be better off and happier with B-50.Most AS will stretch on ya too much.You could always use flax sinew or rawhide,if you wanted to go hard primitive.Many use linnen,if you can find a source,but i have seen linnen go without warning.

[Tater John]

Squirrel hide or better yet groundhog.

Rusty

[SirRobin77]

What is B50?

[Danny Rowan]

B50 is the material used to make the string on older bows, made by Brownell if I remember correctly. It was the standard string material until ff and other nonstreach material became available and bowyers began making bows to handle the new material.

Danny

[SirRobin77]

Ok  where can i get one?

[Danny Rowan]

how long of a string do ya need Matt? What length is your bow?

Danny

[Minuteman]

www.pyrosupplies.com
 They sell linen thread and thats what ya wanna use to " look the part"
You are gonna need to test break lengths of the cord timber hitched to a scale to get your average tensile strength then make the string with enough strands for 4 times the weight. Linen strings sre the quietest I've ever used. They don't like snap on nocks though.

[Pat B]

Some of us still use B-50 on our newer bows. I use it with every bow I make. For a more "primitive" look I use the light brown B-50 and just a single color.   Linen seems to be a preferred string material for the more traditional archers but there are other plant fibers as well as rawhide for true primitive strings.   Pat

[SirRobin77]

The bow im making is 72" unstrung.

[Traxx]

Measure from string nock to string nock.

[SIXFOOTER]

B-50 is $8.25 for a 1/4lb spool at 3Riversarchery.com