Main Discussion Area > HowTo's and Build-a-longs
Building the Vine Maple Bow - Finished
Gordon:
After rubbing down the bow with the fine grit wool I will use powdered pumice to achieve that ultra-satin look. I begin by mixing some of the medium course pumice stone with vegetable oil and stirring it into a slurry.
I apply the pumice/oil slurry onto the bow with a clean cloth and rub it carefully into the finish. I then wipe off all of the pumice/oil material from the bow with a soft clean cloth.
I repeat the above process using fine pumice stone. When I am done, the finish will literally glow.
Next up - making a leather handle wrap
DC:
Thanks for this Gordon. When you mix up the dye are you just making a 1 or 2 # cut shellac and putting dye in it or is it even thinner than that?
And thanks for the mineral spirits idea. I will be trying that today.
Gordon:
Hey DC, I make the shellac mix a little on the thin side for this application.
vinemaplebows:
Nice work Gordon, never seen the gel topcoat before interesting... :)
Gordon:
Now I am going to fashion a leather handle for the bow. The photo below shows the tools and materials that I will use.
I begin by cutting a rectangular piece of tanned elk leather 4 inches by 4 1/2 inches. The handle will be 4 inches long. Leather has a directional grain which you can determine by stretching it. The leather will stretch more one way than the other. You want to orient the grain so you will get a minimal amount of stretch while pulling together the edges with the lacing. I use a square to make sure that I cut the edges perfectly square.
I wrap the leather around the handle with the 4 inch edge parallel to the bow. I pull the edge to be laced tight at the top and make a mark.
I do the same for the middle and bottom of the handle.
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