Sinew and Glue

[Walt Francis]

Phil,
I have done five bows using TiteBond III and have found them ready to work after one week, though I waited at least two weeks before working four of the five.  However, I live in the mountains where the humidity is extremely low, and lowered further because I dry the sinew in my boiler room, where the humidity is near 0%.  When using hide glue I wait at least three weeks before working the bow.  

All the TiteBond glues will work fine over hide glue.

[John Scifres]

My experience parallels Walt's although I have only done 3 bows with it.  As for weatherproofing, a more plastic finish such as polyurethane would be my choice over glue.

I have changed my application procedure.  I put the sinew into bundles of equal length pieces and soak for a short time in warm water.  I remove excess moisture and lay the bundles on paper towels to dry a bit.  

Then I size the back by spreading glue on it.  Then I add the bundles to the back and spread more glue on top.  After doing one or two layers, I add another one down the center of the bow only.  The goal is to maximize tension while minimizing mass.  The last 6" or so of the limb are left bare and the sinew is tapered to the tips also.

[phil_des_bois]

Thanks guys, here in southern France the weather is usually quite dry, with a lot of sunshine so I'll try the titebond and sinew to see how it works.

[AZStickman]

The big plus I've always heard for hide glue over titebind, and the primary reason I've never tried titebond is that it shrinks along with the sinew while titebond does not. Any thoughts on how this plays out in your comparisons, if at all?..... As long as it takes me to do a good sinew job I've been chicken to try something that may not be as good...   :D   ...I know hide glue does the job and maybe because of where I live the rehydrating thing hasn't been a big factor to me...... Terry

[John Scifres]

I'm not so sure about that Terry.  The TBIII seems to do about the same as hide glue for me.  I usually start with some reflex so maybe if you were starting straight and counting on the sinew adding more at the end, it might make a difference.  For me, sinew holds a profile more than it adds reflex to it.  I know one thing, I sinewed a bow in about 30 minutes and it was dry in less than a week.  The bow held its profile for the 100 or so shots I put through it.

[AZStickman]

John:
I don't shoot for a great deal of reflex when I sinew either, although I do reflex the bow 11/2" while I apply the sinew and cure it.I usually use two or three courses and wind up with an even tiller when all is said and done. Heres a link to an article by Dick Baugh that is the basis of my preference for hide glue although i have yet to play with any alternatives.... Hey if it ain't broke don't fix it....   :D  I believe I first saw this article on another site we used to frequent before the tradgang days   "Dick Baugh Article"  Hope you guys enjoy the read..... Terry

[Flinttim]

A guy in our club went for lessons with Ed Scott. He learned the Titebond trick from Ed and doing some testing he put a section of osage sinewed with TB3 in a bucket of water and after 4 days the glue was just starting to loosen up. Hide glue would not be that way. I'm going to try it myself on my next bow.