Main Discussion Area > Bows
When to chase a ring
Muskyman:
Thanks bassman. Do I need to flatten the back and or the small knots out before I back it. The back of this stave has some contour to it. Would rawhide work okay for a backing for this bow?
bassman211:
Rough the back with a fine toothed hack saw blade,and sinew back it. Magical stuff.
Muskyman:
What’s the best tutorial anyone knows of for backing a bow with sinew? I’ve watched a few already and some use hide glue some say tbIII . Also seeing other glue’s used. Also do I need to put something over the sinew to protect it from the weather? 1 layer 2 layers 3? Going to try and chase the ring on this piece one more time I think but, might back it even if I get it done. I’m running out of thickness on the thin end of my stave so this is probably my last try on this stave.
Thanks everyone
Mike
superdav95:
Mike. As for sinew glue up use hide glue. Do like bassman said and fine tooth groove up the back first with at least 20 tpi is what I use. You can also just rough up the back and be fine too but I found personally the grooving works well. When you get your sinew combed cleaned and separated into fine fibers remove anything that isn’t fine fibers from you sinew like the casing that comes on leg tendons. It’s really important to get this as finely separated and clean as you can before glueing it down. Weight it all out dry. Figure out how much you want to lay on each limb and separate it all into smaller bundles. I usually do 2-3 courses of sinew anywhere from 25-30grams each course. I wash my sinew after it’s all separated into respective bundle with dawn dish soap to remove oils. You will want to size the back really well before glueing any sinew down. To do this use very thin hide glue roughly 5-10%. Give it a good 7-8 coats. This may seem like it’s overkill but you’ll thank yourself later. This thinned glue will get down into the pours and groove of the wood back of your bow. Let it dry. When you have a shine on the back after several coats of thinned glue and it’s no longer dull in appearance you’ve sized it well enough. When laying down your sinew I like to comb it out wet after soaking it well washing it well to get all the fibers running same direction then I immerse this bundle in 30% glue. Then I squeeze out the excess with my fingers and lay the bundle across the middle of the handle. I like to slightly heat up my sized back with radiant heat source to get the glue ready to accept the bundle. I’ve had good luck with this. Take each smaller bundle that’s been weighted and do the same for each course. I would then lay overlapping the first bundle on the handle onto each side of bows limbs. Depending on the length you may need to adjust your plan and layout for sinew. Depending on the amount of sinew you’ve laid at this point you may want to let it dry. Some guys like to wrap the sinew after it sets up with tensor bandage to press onto the back. I’ve done it a number of ways and for your purposes for it may be fine to just back string it a bit to induce to reflex and let it air dry. To smooth out the sinew after laying it you can use your fingers with some water or the back of a comb. It’s a fine line to not starve the sinew of glue and adding too much glue to weight it down and loose cast. After I lay sinew down I let each course dry a good couple or three weeks or more depending on humidity and weather. Then keep working your way to next course moving up the limb. Some guys lay it all at once and some don’t. I have had better luck in 2-3 courses letting it dry between each. There’s a lot to consider I guess and tons of research that can be done before you do it but the best thing is to just get after it and try it. No matter which way you end up doing this don’t skip the sizing step. Do the sizing within a day of putting grooves on the back. You want it nice a clean with open pours in wood for glue to get deep. Best of luck and keep us posted.
Cheers.
BowEd:
Sound advice Dave.That's pretty much my process too.Glad you went through the full typing of the process....ha ha.Paying attention to the details pays off in more ways than one.
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