fish skins

[Lee Lobbestael]

hey guys! Has anyone here ever backed a bow with fish skin? I have heard of using halibut and carp. If so and you have some pictures available please post em! I was thinking of trying walleye, think this would work? purely decorative and camo I mean.

[Jason Scott]

I think any skin that is big enough would work.

[rainman]

I will pull up the bow I just finished.  Carpskins on back.
Dan

[Lee Lobbestael]

Thanks rainman! Would love to see it

[rainman]

look under horn belly sinew backed bow

[Aeronut]

Timo had several he had put fish skins on.  He had one that he put a Sturgeon skin on.  It was on the cover of the Bowyers Journal.

Dennis

[Pat B]

This is a bow made by Jay Massey. It's sinew backed osage bow with halibut skin covering.
 
 
 
   I have a set of grass carp skins I got from Timo but haven't made a bow to use them on yet.

[Moen]

A friend of mine use skin from Spotted Wolffish. On the picture u see (My friend, Nidrinr on PPlanet) and his 120# Holmegaard flightbow from Norwegian Elm, backed with Spotted Wolffish. I have never tryed fishskin... i use glass;)
   

[John Scifres]

http://sticknstring.webs.com/carpskinningabow.htm

[horseapple]

I new Scifres would come to the rescue, great how to.

JD

[John Scifres]

ttt

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Keenan uses alot of fish skin. Treat just like a snake and skinner back.

 Stiks

[dixiearcher]

how do you treat a fish and or snake skin to prepare it to be used as a backing?

[7 Lakes]

Good question dixiearcher.  How do you treat a fish skin from the catch to the glue up.

[7 Lakes]

Good question dixiearcher.  How do you treat a fish skin from the catch to the glue up.

[DCoy]

Salmon Skin covered sinew backed osage.
Bow name "The Matrix" (54" t/tip, 53lbs @ 26", Very wide near the semi bending handle resulting in a concave belly tiller, very narrow tips.

I scraped flesh side clean of fat and slime. then let it dry flat, flesh side up on a board. After dried completely and just before use I sanded flesh side with 80 grit sandpaper. Then wet the skin in fresh water while I was preparing my hide glue. Patted the skin dry with clean cloth. Applied hide glue to bow back and then to the damp flexible skin. Arranged skin on bow then wrapped with foam type ace bandage material, left for a couple of days. Removed wrapping, flat sanded edges clean. Then applied a tiny bead of super-glue around the complete perimeter of skin/bow seam. After that dried I used masking tape to remove left over scales as well as needle nose pliers here and there. Then I applied finish to complete.  
The Salmon skin turned out pretty cool being green and scale like it kinda resembles dragon skin. I will post a pic when I find them and figure out how.

Hope this helps. PS the hide is green and fish smell goes away when finish is applied.
Darren

[Spindrift]

can you do this out of many small fish skins.. we have an overabundance of good sized mackerel and that would make a striking natural camoflauge pattern if you could arrange them all neatly


scratch that i just checked my bowyers bible