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Winter project - Yew Recurve bow
Gordon:
I let the sinew cure for a couple for a couple of days and then use a knife blade to even the surface out a bit.
Now I prepare the snake skins by soaking them in warm (not hot) water for about 15 minutes. After they are hydrated I lay them on a clean towel to blot any excess moisture.
In the meantime I apply a thin coat of liquid hide glue to the back. A lot of folks don’t think much of liquid hide glue, but in my opinion it is one of the best adhesives for applying snake skin and rawhide. It sticks to snake skin and rawhide like crazy and when it is dry you can fix air pockets using a pin and a warm iron – try doing that with white glue.
Gordon:
Before the glue has set I apply the skin to the limb and work out air pockets with a wooden dowel. It is very important to get out the air pockets because air pockets will result in unsightly cracks in the finish. Then I trim the skin using a razor blade. It is not necessary to wrap the limbs with an ace bandage because the hide glue firmly holds the skin to the back. I then repeat the process with the other limb.
After letting the glue cure for 24 hours, I remove the scales by gently running course steel wool over the surface in the direction of the scales. I’ve also used tape to remove the scales, but I think steel wool works much better. After I’ve removed as many of the scales as I can with the steel wool, I use my finger nail to remove any lingering scale fragments.
After removing the scales, I trim the edges of the skin with 150 grit sandpaper and a block. To ensure you get a nice clean edge always sand toward the belly and in the direction of the scales.
Gordon:
Now I finish wrapping the tips with sinew and let the wraps overlap the skins by a bit.
I set the bow aside in a warm room for a week to let any residual moisture from the skinning escape from the bow. I then sand the entire bow to remove any dried glue, remaining tool marks and scratches. I then “fix” the skins by applying two coats of super-glue. After than I apply a coat of shellac to the back, tips and belly as a primer. I use shellac as a primer because shellac is one of those wondrous materials that just about everything will stick to.
Gordon:
I finish the tips by painting them with a black acrylic paint. The bow is now ready for the final finish to be applied.
Next up, building out the handle and applying a finish to the bow.
Bryce:
Wonderful!
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