No problem. Here is my 2nd version of tencik. Works really nicely.
Originally i drilled two holes, but i actually only use the bottom one. Then with hand i adjust friction/tension. I recommend 10mm thick rope for it.
1 Like
Dang it! I just bought .25 inch!! 
Unfortunate. 
It will do but you might want to wrap it with little spacing. Otherwise it takes eternity. Still more even pressure than clamps! Maybe…
I would like to advice you to check this video ( korean type tool made ) :
and another one with slight enhancement - at 1:30 ( spool could be attached also to the side of the stick with some brake system for constant tension of the rope ) :
or this tool could also be made ( not very traditional way 
) as steering wheel with the core of the bow in its center to allow simple operating by one man - similarly to this tool :
Hope it helps .
1 Like
For sturgeon bladder you can try “sturgeon bladder from the - Acadian sturgeon and caviar INC - fish farm in New Brunswick” . Lose citation from :
? On your side of the pond ?
1 Like
Thank you, Jano! It helps!
There’s no doubt in my mind the rope tencik method is the superb way to put joinery together.
1 Like
hey guys im new to the forum. I use these guys for my sturgeon glue. I order it in raw frozen form and they ship it to me in insulated bag for shipping. I use these to make exceptional bladder glue. I use the inner lining of the bladders and slow cook them or render them down a few hours to most of the bits dissolved. i find this glue to be very good for horn glue ups compared to hide glue. It gels up slower and is more flexible then hide glue.
Who, exactly, do you get these air bladders from?
Ah, ok. That’s one of the seller’s that was mentioned prior. I think that when I looked them up they were sold out. I will continue looking around for sure. The isinglass glue is ALMOST prohibitively expensive for myself, but I’m strongly considering biting the bullet on getting some. If for anything else, its working properties.
yes its expensive. I ended up with about 350-400grams of dried glue. This will last me a good long while. I paid 130$ for the 2.7kg of frozen bladders. I figured to buy dried finished glue it ranged from 35-50 euros per 100grams. I think i made out alright.
1 Like
Damn! Even the fresh bladders are expensive. There are some alternatives also, was it some “croaker”? Don’t remember fully.
1 Like
Yes I’ve made some yellow croaker glue.It lives up to it’s name as gelling slower I’ll vouch for that.It is not as expensive either I’m sure.It took a lot longer to gell up to cut into squares to dry.
I remember at that time I was collecting the swim bladder lungs from any large catfish I could get also…ha ha.
It’s been so long I can’t remember where I got it from though.It’s for sale though on ebay and amazon.
People like to use it in their soup also.
To make it pulverize the hell out of it before par boiling it.That’ll create more surface area to break down better.I can’t vouch for how good of glue it is though as I’ve always gotten good enough results with no failures using good first pourings of hide and sinew glue.
2 Likes
I think it was yellow croaker. Jason Beever was praising it. But maybe other varieties work too?
I wonder if we would have some fish here in Finland too for this… Sounds like tedious work anyway hah. I’ve heard no one processing those bladders for sale though.
1 Like
I’ve heard it’s also a good glue. There is a number of links on eBay sellers in china that sell the dried croaker bladders for tea infusion. I imagine it’s the same stuff used for croaker glue. I’ve heard that it’s not quite as good as the sturgeon glue. My experience with the sturgeon bladder glue is that it’s noted open working time and high strength yet flexibility. One would have to evaluate if it’s worth the effort in getting it. I’ve made a few batches of this glue and this last batch I was super careful in my temps when rendering down to ensure I didn’t go over 60degrees. Basically just hot enough to put your hand in still. I have done some crude tests with my glue compared to other sinew and hide glues. The sturgeon glue is more flexible before it breaks or cracks. I took drops of liquified hide, sinew, glue of my own as well as purchased versions compared with the sturgeon glue and I noticed the flexibility difference. Each dried patch/drop was similar in thickness when dried. The hide glues were brittle and broke right away after bending once. The sinew glue was slightly less brittle but also snapped. Sturgeon glue took 4 bends back and forth before cracking and breaking. A crude little test but it gives us some insight on what this may be doing to help better flex and move with the horn belly glue ups. Yet still give strong adhesion. We might hear less cracking when bows are drawn. Perhaps?
Things are crazy expensive now with everything it seems. I wonder if we will see hobby’s take a back seat as things get worse.
1 Like
The wood-horn glueline is going through shear stress but not so much tension. So i wouldn’t be worried using fish glue there. However it wouldn’t hurt. I use only hide glue for horn joinery and bows have not delaminated for some 5 years. And really high poundage, short, highly reflexed bows.
Sinew backing however might be another thing. While they do work with hide glue, i sometimes have a feeling the glue is brittle. Sinew glue or fish glue might be worth it there. In a way it seems counter intuitive to have something brittle (hide glue) with something so elastic (sinew). Especially when its taking a lot of bending.
Yes and they already have. Hornbow making is really exclusive hobby. We need lots of imported materials which then are spent in experimentations that might break time after time!
Its still cheaper than buying a hornbow though.
1 Like
Haha. Yes very true. That being said I’ve been breaking more horn slats than I expected during the shaping stage. I get mine from a guy in India I believe the company is called noorbabba. I bulk ordered some a while back and am having mixed results. Who do you guys use for horn slats?
1 Like
I actually just received my slats from the same place! I pray that they’re decent.