Main Discussion Area > Bows
rawhide cord backing
TexPat:
Aksel,
I agree with the sentiment about trying stuff out to see what sticks. I somehow keep stumbling upon ERC lumber that is straight grained, mostly not free, and super affordable. So I think I am going to experiment with a few different backing methods and see what shakes out. Ill post my progress as I make it. Thank goodness for christmas break so I can get some work done (Im a high school teacher for my day job).
TexPat:
--- Quote from: JW_Halverson on December 13, 2022, 10:04:08 pm ---Now, is that actual RAWHIDE, or is it leather lacing? I have no idea how or why, but somehow we dumb Americans started calling tanned leather lacing "rawhide" quite a while back and it aggravates me. Real rawhide will be thin, stiff, and strongly resist being twisted into cordage. Leather will be far softer, show more grain, flexes more easily, and can be corded or braided up.
--- End quote ---
I used to make a lot of my bosals and other tack out of various types of leather lacing and rawhide. So I tend to double check its actual rawhide before purchasing lol. I can regularly get 1/8th inch rawhide lacing in 50 foot strands for not too much money. Cheap enough to try this idea out lol.
bradsmith2010:
didnt mean to discourage you, good luck on your projects,, :)
JW_Halverson:
--- Quote from: TexPat on December 14, 2022, 04:12:20 pm ---
--- Quote from: JW_Halverson on December 13, 2022, 10:04:08 pm ---Now, is that actual RAWHIDE, or is it leather lacing? I have no idea how or why, but somehow we dumb Americans started calling tanned leather lacing "rawhide" quite a while back and it aggravates me. Real rawhide will be thin, stiff, and strongly resist being twisted into cordage. Leather will be far softer, show more grain, flexes more easily, and can be corded or braided up.
--- End quote ---
I used to make a lot of my bosals and other tack out of various types of leather lacing and rawhide. So I tend to double check its actual rawhide before purchasing lol. I can regularly get 1/8th inch rawhide lacing in 50 foot strands for not too much money. Cheap enough to try this idea out lol.
--- End quote ---
Well, alrighty then! Seeing as how that is real rawhide, I would suggest wetting the rawhide, stretching it slightly, and then twisting up a two-strand cord. While it is still wet, give it a good stretch and lock it down while it dries. With the rawhide cords twisted and dried under some tension, I think it would give greater resistance to the back of the bow.
Next, spend some time googling Aleut or Alaskan native cable-backed bows for ideas and inspiration.
This is a very fascinating idea and I really hope you will post progress pictures as well as a final report on your findings. THAT is what this group is all about! Man, I can hardly wait to see how this plays out!
willie:
--- Quote from: TexPat on December 12, 2022, 11:26:08 am ---Long time reader, first time poster here.
I am fairly new to bow building and am exploring some backing options. I am really interested in cord backing. I know the TBB guys have some anecdotes about backing with silk cord or nylon as a way to shift the neutral plane and take some tension off the back. I was thinking about using some rawhide lacing (1/8, 1/4, or 1/2 inch wide) to loop between the nocks. In theory, it seems like it would dry into some recurve, which could get rid of the need for the winding of the cordage. The only thing I am thinking could be an issue would be the the stretch or recovery properties of rawhide in that configuration. I know people use rawhide with glue in a single layer.
If anybody has any experience with cord backing or rawhide cord backing in particular, I would love to hear your thoughts!
--- End quote ---
Tex,
when I first read TBB, I was intrigued by all the different possibie ways and methods to build a bow. As an experimenter at heart, my best advice is to not try too many experiments concurrently on the same bow. You will have a hard time knowing just where something went right (or wrong).
two different uses for backing were addressed in TBB. Some backings are overlays to help to protect a back from dings or to prevent a splinter from lifting.
Other backings are a structural part of the bow and will hopefully add performance.
ERC needs something to help with the stress on the back, as it will not take as much strain on the back as most bow woods.
This was also the case with some of the conifers (spruce) used on the eskimo cable bows.
Eskimo bowyers had access to sinew from large mammals, but not much in way of the stronger plant based bast fibers commonly found in lower lattitudes.
cable bows I have built needed beefy nocks to keep the cable loops from splitting down the limb at full draw. extra thickness at the nock shoulder and padding on the loops helped. admittedly, I was experimenting with some modern fibers and was working with higher tensions than the original bows likely experienced
To get the most work out of a cable backing, it needs to be elevated above the bow back. The bridges are obvious in the haida bow pic whereas the sketch by mason shows sinew wrappings which not only helped center the cord, but also probably served to raise the cable some lesser amount.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version