Working with sinew
I'm in the process of freying red deer sinew and I'm wondering what sort of thickness per strand should I be trying to achieve? Small bunches of fibres can be seperated into strands that resemble dental floss but these are made up of individual strands as fine as cotton. Would I be correct in assuming the 'dental floss' appearance is the right thickness?
Your aim is to obtain as thin and as long as possible threads if you want to use it for the back of a composite bow.
The best will be long and thin and with regular thickness and no loose ends along its length.
Sometimes you know when you have to stop separating fibers.
For instance you have a thin thread 10"long.
You can see it is quite regular and strong along its length.
But you will see that if you want to make it thinner you will end with one thread 6" long and the other 5"...
Sometimes one side of a thread is much thicker than the other.
You need to remove the short fibers on the thick side.
It is important also to thin the ends and sometimes to cut the loose ends along the threads.
Sorry i don't have other pictures here.
The best will be long and thin and with regular thickness and no loose ends along its length.
Sometimes you know when you have to stop separating fibers.
For instance you have a thin thread 10"long.
You can see it is quite regular and strong along its length.
But you will see that if you want to make it thinner you will end with one thread 6" long and the other 5"...
Sometimes one side of a thread is much thicker than the other.
You need to remove the short fibers on the thick side.
It is important also to thin the ends and sometimes to cut the loose ends along the threads.
Sorry i don't have other pictures here.
Thanks Redbow.
I noticed exactly what you say, a nice even 'thin enough' strand but trying to get it thinner mostly causes broken fibres and uneveness. I'm using the sinew on my bamboo arrows so it's good practice while I get used to the process.
The photo shows me I've done it right. Thanks again.
I noticed exactly what you say, a nice even 'thin enough' strand but trying to get it thinner mostly causes broken fibres and uneveness. I'm using the sinew on my bamboo arrows so it's good practice while I get used to the process.
The photo shows me I've done it right. Thanks again.