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What to do when your backing gets wet......

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Pat B:
If I may say...before you seal the bow flex it, either by floor tiller or even low brace and see if it feels mushy. If it does give it a bit longer drying time.

superdav95:

--- Quote from: Pat B on June 22, 2023, 01:07:40 pm ---If I may say...before you seal the bow flex it, either by floor tiller or even low brace and see if it feels mushy. If it does give it a bit longer drying time.

--- End quote ---

Also good advise. 

Marin:
Pat,
If I flex it and it feels “mushy”, do I have to then repair it or fix if, or can I just wait longer and leave it be? Like if I bend it and it’s mushy, does that mean I possibly caused some of the sinew to slip?
Also when you say “mushy”, do you mean like the back would be kind of soft or squishy after being bent rather than firm and hard?
Finally, once I put that sealing coat on, can I just wait a day for it to dry before tillering?  Does putting that final coat of glue temporarily affect the preceding layers so that you have to wait longer for it to dry?

Pat B:
What I mean, does the bent bow bend and recover softly or bend with resistance and recover quickly. If it still has too much moisture it will bend easily without much resistance and recovery slowly, like bending a green stave. If you don't over do it, don't bend it too far but bend just enough to feel the resistance it shouldn't affect the sinew/glue matrix. You shouldn't feel any difference in the solidity of the backing.
 Anytime you add glue you are also adding moisture so I'd give it at least a few days, in dry conditions before straining the bow. Again, feel for the resistance.
 Patience is your best tool when making wood bows and especially sinew backed bows.  :OK

Marin:
Do you think I could put on the final “sealing” layer of glue on Monday then? That would be a week since it had gotten wet and two weeks since the last layer of sinew had been put on. I could then start tillering (and I don’t rush tillering anyways) a week or week and a half after that.
Sorry for all the questions, I’m finding that I have these assumptions about sinew and glue that often are wrong or misguided.

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