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Wrapping bow tips with rawhide. Any tips?

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rdb:
I am nearing the point of wrapping the tips on my Pit River/Achumawi replica bow. However, in my one and only practice run (made a bow tip the same shape/size as the real one), it turned out not looking so great.  I could not get the top of the tip covered well and ended up with wrinkles there and around the nock area.

Here's what I did: made a template out of paper first and got that to fit ok. I then traced that on to some rawhide; soaked the rawhide in warm water for 1 hr; put some hide glue on; placed it on the tip; then wrapped that with string to hold it in place.

For references sake, I'm trying to do what is shown in The Traditional Bowyers Bible Vol 1, p. 171.

I have studied real specimens at museums and I for the life of me can not figure out how the natives got their rawhide to lay so flat without wrinkling, all the while, maintaining full coverage.

Any tips......or does anyone know of a website with a how-to section on this?

Help much appreciated.

Thanks.

Robinwho:
I have never even seen one,  but as a taxidermist I may be able to help if I saw a pic of the tip.

Pat B:
I imagine very thin deer or goat rawhide was probably used. When wet the rawhide can be stretched and formed to the shape then it would shrink as it and the hide glue dried. This is only a guess.I've never done or even seen first hand. I have recently been looking at the short Plains and West Coast  bows in the TBB books and wondering why , but also how about the rawhide tip wraps!   Pat

rdb:

--- Quote from: Pat B on July 16, 2007, 12:23:34 am ---I imagine very thin deer or goat rawhide was probably used.
--- End quote ---

Yes, it is very thin. On one old bow, the rawhide had come loose from age/wear and it looked almost as thin as wax paper. For practice, I have been using roadkill squirrel rawhide I made. Interestingly enough, it's just a touch thicker than the rawhide I made from a young deer.


--- Quote from: Pat B on July 16, 2007, 12:23:34 am ---When wet the rawhide can be stretched and formed to the shape then it would shrink as
it and the hide glue dried. This is only a guess.I've never done or even seen first hand.
--- End quote ---

That's pretty much what I was thinking as well but so far, no worky for me. I do have some ideas that I'm going to play with though.

rdb:

--- Quote from: Robinwho on July 16, 2007, 12:14:38 am ---I have never even seen one,  but as a taxidermist I may be able to help if I saw a pic of the tip.

--- End quote ---

I have no pics and wouldn't know how to post them if I did.  :-\ However, if you have The Traditional Bowyers Bible Vol 1, you can see what I'm trying to do on p. 171.

Thanks.

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