Author Topic: Clay and sinew  (Read 3470 times)

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Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #15 on: July 19, 2018, 11:13:24 am »
I would suggest not back filling it. Just let it cure and seal it or cover it with skins. All that extra glue and sawdust does nothing but hamper the bow. I liken it to adding drywall tape to a bows limb, silly.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #16 on: July 19, 2018, 02:50:34 pm »
A lakota bowyer (Richard Giago) all credit to him, has told me that the clay was rubbed in over the sinew so I am really interested to figure this one out.  I have little sinew backing experience but am interested in learning how first nation peoples made their bows and this gentleman makes some lovely bows using traditional techniques.   I am just curious at what stage the clay was added.  If it was before the hide glue has dried or if it was put on top and wondered if anyone had completed this process.

Let's ask his brother. I sent him a P.M. regarding the thread.
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline OTDEAN

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #17 on: July 19, 2018, 04:14:02 pm »
Thanks JW.

Offline PatM

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #18 on: July 19, 2018, 06:54:15 pm »
I made a nice build along with pics that shows you how to get smooth sinew without  doing bodywork after. 

Offline Oglala Bowyer

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #19 on: July 19, 2018, 07:48:30 pm »
I’ve been asked to chime in on this by my friend JW. In fact, he has a bow that I’ve clayed. For me I’ve had mixed results until I found a recipe with the right amount of hide glue and clay that resulted in very little cracking. I did not find the limbs to have too much weight added. Like I said this was several trial and errors. Simply putting “clay” on the limbs after sinewing will result in cracking.

Offline DC

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #20 on: July 19, 2018, 07:52:16 pm »
Was it just for a filler or did it "waterproof" somehow?

Offline Oglala Bowyer

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #21 on: July 19, 2018, 08:24:10 pm »
No sinew backed bow is ever completely “waterproof”, granted it takes me a few hours to peel off sinew on a backed bow that has been damaged. But it does aid in keeping things dry. My belief is that they were clayed because of a bowyers spiritual prowess, hence the different paintings

Offline Parnell

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #22 on: July 20, 2018, 09:07:21 am »
Why not rawhide over the sinew?
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Offline PatM

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #23 on: July 20, 2018, 10:51:34 am »
As a waterproofer rawhide is just more of the same really.  It does provide a reasonable base for waterproofing agents.

Offline loefflerchuck

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Re: Clay and sinew
« Reply #24 on: July 20, 2018, 12:03:07 pm »
"No sinew backed bow is ever completely “waterproof”, granted it takes me a few hours to peel off sinew on a backed bow that has been damaged. But it does aid in keeping things dry. My belief is that they were clayed because of a bowyers spiritual prowess, hence the different paintings"

That is my thought too. George Grinnell wrote about the Cheyenne using gypsum over the sinew backing to whiten the bow. There is one of these bows on display in New York museum of natural history. A better water proofer I have used that I've also seed on an old Cheyenne bow and another Lakota bow in the same museum as well as some from the great basin is pitch. It also leaves a smooth surface and a nice black/amber color. If you mixed pitch with white mineral  like the Northern California Indians did for a base that was painted over it would do a better job of keeping moisture out.