One of the many advantages of switching from compound to traditional archery I've discovered recently is the ease of maintenance/repair of equipment. My 3 sons (ages 11, 13 and 14 yrs old) and I started from the get-go by making all our own long bows by hand, as well as leather arm guards, finger tabs and bow strings. We have not purchased a commercially made string yet, except one that came incidentally with a long bow kit. We are working on making our own wood arrows and quivers now as well. It's been a lot of fun to do and a great way to spend time together.
We were fortunate enough to be able to become friends with Jay St. Charles and spend time with him in his shop on a few different occassions. During one of those occassions, Jay showed the boys and I how to make a flemish-twist bow string by hand (usually 10 or 12 strand) from a roll of Dacron B50 bowstring material. With that knowledge and a roll of B50, the boys have made all their own bow strings for their various long bows from that point on! Great skill to have and one of the reasons why we enjoy making all our own stuff...we know how to fix it!