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Finishing material

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Lucasade:
I thiught the books say tallow which is mutton or beef fat though?

mikekeswick:
Varnishes have been made from pine resins since forever. I really like copal varnish. It's easy to make your own varnishes from pine resins.

WillS:

--- Quote from: Lucasade on March 01, 2016, 01:55:46 am ---I thiught the books say tallow which is mutton or beef fat though?

--- End quote ---

I think you can use whatever you want.  A lot of people swear by predator fat - bear, fox etc.  I like pork fat because it's easy to get.  We don't have bears here ;)

Pat B:
I do make a varnish by dissolving hard, brittle pine pitch in alcohol to seal primitive arrows and sinew wraps on arrows. I guess it actually isn't a true varnish because it doesn't have oil in it but it works well to seal arrows and sinew wraps. I don't think I would use it on bows though.
 I have finished a few bows with hand rubbed bear or pork fat and it worked well.
Animal fat, bees wax and tree pitch blend together well with a little heat but be careful because the pitch in very volatile so don't overheat it. Different mix ratios will yield different consistencies for different applications. 

Lucasade:
Sounds like lots of things to experiment with - thanks all.

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