What's B-50?
I figure making my own strings would be a good thing...right now I have to go out and buy a string, then match the bow to it...maybe it would be easier to match the string to the bow, especially if one end was looped and the other left unlooped, to be tied with a bowyer's knot.
Now that I'm reading these (fascinating) books, I'm glad I didn't have them when I made those 4 bows, I think I would have had too much to think about!
B-50 is a waxed Dacron, most of us consider it the standard bow string. There is also Fast Flight and D-75 which shouldn't be used with our wood bows. The latest catalog I have shows B-50 at $7.50 per 1/4 lb. spool. It has about 1,200 feet on it. So for 15 bucks and shipping you can make a lot of strings.
Serving material is sold by the 100 yd spool for a few bucks.
Now if you want to get really authentic you can twist up your own using deer leg sinew, squirrel skin rawhide, or by using the long fibers of several plants like yucca, nettle, or hemp.