thinking about doing a sinewed bow down the road, and was wondering exactly how much would be needed to do a bow. im going to go shorter to take advantage of the sinews strength, not sure the wood yet though. i see 3rivers has sinew sold by the hank(back sinew) is this enough to do a bow? even still is leg sinew any better?
I think it will take 4 to 5 leg sinews for each layer you put on the bow. I'm not sure how many back strap sinews it will take but probably a bunch per layer. I've made 3 sinew backed bows and never had to separate sinews. It has all been shredder when I got it in trades so that's why I don't know how many it takes.
thanks for the reply. i figured it may take about that many given the relative length of the bundles. i still have to figure out what im going to make the bow out of so i have awhile to research.
At Cloverdale this year, a guy asked Gary Davis this same question. Gary very politely replied "it would take a lot less sinew for me to back a bow than it would for you (as a beginner). If this is your first time, you might want to have plenty on hand.
With deer season not far away you should be able to collect more than you need from hunting friends or from the deer processors in your area.
Deer processor is the way to go. I got 75 pieces 2 years ago. He let me go thru the trash. Pick Buck legs if you can, they are much longer.