"Gidget" gets her sinew

[Pat B]

Today is a nice rainy day(tornado threat) so I thought I'd start the sinewing of Gidget. I started out by getting everything ready and in place. I started by adding hide glue granules to warm water and floated it in the water in the crockpot...
 

I got the bundles of sinew ready...
 

I scratched up the back of the bow with a hacksaw blade. You can see the grooves in the wood. Not too deep but enough to help hold the sinew/hide glue...
 

Now for the cleaning of the bow. I wet it with warm water...
 

...then wash it well with Dawn dish soap...
 

 

[Pat B]

...and rinse the soap off by pouring boiling water over each limb then it's ready for the sinew.
 

I then sized the back of the bow with hide glue to insure good adhesion...
 

You will see I strung the bow backwards so it will draw up easier in reflex as the sinew dries...
 

I soak the sinew in warm water first then squeegee out the excess water, dip it in the warm hide glue and squeegee off the excess hide glue. I then lay a strip of sinew down the center of the bow starting at the handle and working out each limb. You want the sinew to cross the handle so the sinew backing is continuous...
 

...now I lay the sinew along both sides of the center sinew to fill out the back...
 

 

I'll let this cure out for a few days before continuing. Once the sinew becomes transparent I will be able to see any area that might be thin so I can add more sinew to fill out the backing to a more even layer.

  To Be Continued...

[timbermoose]

Lookin good!    

[KellyG]

Well now that is going to be awsome. I need to sinew one some day.

Pat what do you use to comb yours with

[Pat B]

Kelly this cow sinew was already shredded when I got it so I didn't have to do much with it before I applied it.
Thanks TM

[takefive]

Glad you're posting this Pat, cuz I've never sinewed a bow.
Bet Gidget's going to be a looker.    

[Pat B]

Here is a pic of the sinew after about 7 hours. You can see the transparent and translucent areas. The translucent parts are still pretty wet but the sinew backing overall is almost dry(not fully cured).
 
...and this morning it looks dry all over...
 

Today I added another course of sinew concentrating first on areas where the sinew was thin...
 

Once she dries for a day or so I'll put her up over our hot water heater in the utility room because that is the driest area in our house.
 Ironically, yesterday we had over 5" of rain and the sinew still dried pretty quickly. We do not have A/C in our house.

[Osagetree]

[Mike Most]

   

[Pat B]

Mike, you and Joe better get more coffee. Its gonna be a while before we see Gidget again. She's curing!    :D

[ron w]

             That enough coffee.......lol!