dave_t_aber
New member
hello,
im on my fourth sinew backed bow the moment, its a lemonwood flatbow, with some static recurve tips of about 3 inches long, made out of elm, to improve the string angle. The bow is about 5ft 6inches, nearly 6 with the recurve tips, and 2 inches wide at the widest point.
I am trying a different method this time, instead of putting the sinew onto the flat back of the bow, I have meticulously scraped grooves about 3mm deep, 3mm wide, about the size of this 'V', into the back of the bow, into which I have placed a foundation layer of sinew, which fills these grooves. I am doing this, to allow the sinew to grip the bow wood better, as there is more surface area exposed for the glue to adhere to.
I am also using the warm hide glue method, but this time the glue has not gone above the temperature of blood, more like 30c maximum, whereas before I have accidently let the glue get to temperatures of 50c or so, im thinking keeping the temp low will keep the glue quality high, as the proteins in the glue will essentially remain intact.
I am using the grooving method mainly to practice, as I recently made a horn composite bow, with a massive recurve, and the sinew parted company with the bow when it was tested. On this bow I didnt use any grooving method.
I want to, in the near future, make a plains indian style horn bow, with no siyahs, and I am going to use a grooving method on this too.
Anyone got any good ideas for making sinew backing even more reliable/efficient.
Also, if you need sinew, google Highland Horn, they are a good source of good sinew, and do a good service.
Dave
im on my fourth sinew backed bow the moment, its a lemonwood flatbow, with some static recurve tips of about 3 inches long, made out of elm, to improve the string angle. The bow is about 5ft 6inches, nearly 6 with the recurve tips, and 2 inches wide at the widest point.
I am trying a different method this time, instead of putting the sinew onto the flat back of the bow, I have meticulously scraped grooves about 3mm deep, 3mm wide, about the size of this 'V', into the back of the bow, into which I have placed a foundation layer of sinew, which fills these grooves. I am doing this, to allow the sinew to grip the bow wood better, as there is more surface area exposed for the glue to adhere to.
I am also using the warm hide glue method, but this time the glue has not gone above the temperature of blood, more like 30c maximum, whereas before I have accidently let the glue get to temperatures of 50c or so, im thinking keeping the temp low will keep the glue quality high, as the proteins in the glue will essentially remain intact.
I am using the grooving method mainly to practice, as I recently made a horn composite bow, with a massive recurve, and the sinew parted company with the bow when it was tested. On this bow I didnt use any grooving method.
I want to, in the near future, make a plains indian style horn bow, with no siyahs, and I am going to use a grooving method on this too.
Anyone got any good ideas for making sinew backing even more reliable/efficient.
Also, if you need sinew, google Highland Horn, they are a good source of good sinew, and do a good service.
Dave