How to Make a Bowstring – What Materials and Tools to Use
How to Make a Bowstring: If you have a bow, do not forget about such an essential component as a bowstring because you cannot shoot without it. In this article, we will tell what it is made of, how to choose the right material for manufacturing, important, but at the same time not very complicated process.
The question of facilitating weaving is also raised with the help of a very convenient and simple device. Read on, and you will not remain indifferent!
Table of Contents
How to Make a Bowstring – What Materials Are Best to Use
First, let’s talk about what materials are best for making a bowstring. The most unsuitable material for this is polyamide (although it is a synthetic fiber). It is often advised to use nylon, propylene, lavsan, kevlar, and dacron – these materials are not difficult to buy in a store or order in an online store since they are not uncommon.
But to find a high-quality material for manufacturing from the listed ones is often really difficult because of the large number of fakes. First, let’s analyze in theory what should be a bowstring for a bow; let’s point by point.
Do not make it very thin, as it will cut your fingers while pulling it, but at the same time, make sure that you do not get a whole ship’s rope.
A very important point is inertia; it is necessary to reduce it to make the shots more accurate (for this, it should be made of optimal thickness, not very thick). This is due to the vibration that appears during the tearing off of the arrow; the less this vibration, the more accurate the shot.
The bow can be different in “tightness,” so the tighter the bow, the thicker the bowstring should be for it, but at the same time, the better the material, the thinner it can be (but do not forget 1 rule).
For manufacturing, you should choose a durable material and, at the same time, that would not stretch well, but remember, this is advice for those who already know how to shoot a bow and who have experience in this matter. The thing is that there are a couple of drawbacks to a bowstring that does not stretch.
Firstly, if it does not stretch well, then it transfers all its energy to the arrow, and that, in turn, will fly at a higher speed and more accurately, but imagine what would happen if, for example, you pull the cord; without an arrow? All energy will be transferred to the shoulders of the bow. If they fail, they may break down. And secondly, all this can lead to severe injuries.
We advise everyone, both professionals and beginners, to use special gaiters (hand protectors) so that the bowstrings do not hit you very painfully after the shot.
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Material Search
Kevlar most often used in the form of a winding. You can buy it in a fishing store; for example, after a little torment, you can unravel several threads and create a base for the bowstring (the thread usually goes twisted).
The winding of the fiber optic cable is also made of durable Kevlar, so you can take it, thereby purchasing it in the store. Choose what is easier for you.
There is also such synthetic material as fast fight, but it is popular in sports or hunting bows, so it is not very suitable for making at home, since it can be found with great difficulty in special stores.
We recommend that you read the content on making a genuine bow at home. Step-by-step manufacturing process, there is nothing complicated in it! The rest of the materials listed at the beginning of the article are much easier in fabric stores but do not forget about fakes.
Here’s some advice on how to make a bowstring and not alter it from poor quality. In stores, threads with the LL mark are often found; remember that this means not just a lavsan thread but a linen-lavsan thread; what is the fundamental difference.
It consists of several threads woven together; such a thread does not suit us; there is much more flax in it than lavsan, which will not give the desired properties. There are also various twisted threads; they are completely unsuitable since these threads are stretched and springy.
It is worth choosing from silk, nylon, or nylon; choose the color you like; the main thing is quality and durability. You will also need wax, rubber glue, and PVA glue.
Weaving Tools
A very small amount of required materials can be dispensed with. The easiest and fastest way to do this is with a board and a couple of nails.
We take aboard 15-20 cm wide and nail to it opposite each other. We will wind the thread on them. But in fact, winding threads on nails is not very convenient since they are thin and slippery.
It is much more convenient to make several holes in the board with a drill or screwdriver and insert pre-prepared dowels (wooden sticks) into these holes.
To get a better bowstring, these sticks should be made thicker, so it will be easier to wind the thread. The second convenient device is a spool onto which you can initially wind the thread; it will be much better with it.
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We Start Manufacturing
We take a board with two dowels and begin the process of winding the base. It’s critical to perform each round with equal tension without pulling or loosening the thread. It is often recommended to make a thickness of no more than 2 mm since this is the optimal thickness that will not cut your fingers and will not be very thick.
If you have thin material, then you need to make 30-50 turns; in any case, this can only come with experience. If the thread is made of Kevlar, then the turns will be 10 times less (since the material is thicker); often, 2 turns are enough.
After this stage is completed, the ends of our thread should be tied, and this must be done as tightly as possible; since this is the weakest point in the string, we advise you also to coat them with PVA glue to increase strength.
For example, if you have chosen nylon, the wound thread should be immediately coated with rubber glue, and the winding should be wound around it. Do this as tightly as possible, leaving no space between the turns. We advise you to glue only the beginning and end of the braid, and make the turns themselves close, in which case you will get the perfect bowstring.
But if this is the first time you do this, then glue the entire section of the winding with glue, this will give strength, and when you start shooting from a bow, the chances that the turns will move will be minimal, and as a result, the bowstring will last you much longer.
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Pay Attention to the Figure, How the Winding Process Looks Like
First, we make a winding of 10 cm; this will be enough to start. Now we shift the sections wound by 10 cm to our wooden dowels. We connect the winding 2 started strands into one in such a way that we have 2 loops. We wrap the place where the arrow will go. If you did everything correctly, then we proceed to saturate the twist with glue.
Last Few Tips
To seal the ends of the braid, pay attention to the picture of how to do it correctly and efficiently:
If you succeed, you can collect just such a spool with a thread for convenient winding of the bowstring. But, if you still fail to do this, do not be discouraged; you can wind the thread on a special bobbin from the sewing machine, it is very easy to find it.
We advise you to make the central braid (where the arrow lies) in several turns, coated with glue so that it lasts as long as possible since this place will be wiped very quickly if improperly made.
It is also possible to make a fixed shelf and an arrow saddle. This is done to increase the rate of fire; when you take an arrow in your hand, you can easily place it in the right place on the string.
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This Is Done as Follows:
- Mark the top and bottom.
- We wind the winding with 2 tubercles in the place where you will put the arrow.
That’s it; the bowstring is ready. But wait, leave our site; we gave you a link to making a bow, but what else can an archer not do without? Of course, no arrows! Read the next article on how to make arrows for a bow, and you will have a complete set of everything you need, good luck!
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