Snake skin drying question?

[ALW]

I got a couple of snake skins tacked up yesterday to dry.  How long do I have to let them dry out before I can apply them to a bow?  Also, should I apply them before or after finishing the bow?  I plan to use TB III to glue them up.  Thanks.

Aaron

[the Ferret]

Aaron..depends on air flow, temperature and humidity.Anywhere from 3 or 4 hours to a couple of days. You can tell when they are dry by feel (they'll feel like crackly paper) and they will have shrunk and probably ripped off some of your tacks.Once dry remove from boards and cut offf the belly scales. Roll up and put in a plastic bag (like a sandwich bag) if you are going to store them for awhile before using.

What kind of bow? Wood or glass backed?

I like to put my skins on before I put a finish on the bow.

Tite Bond 3 will work just fine for gluing them on for a wood bow, not sure about glass backed bows, but I imagine it would be alright for one of those too.

[ALW]

Thanks.  They've dried out pretty good so far.  I had them tacked out all day yesterday and all morning today.  They are starting to get really papery.  The bow is a little hickory bow for my little boy.  He keeps saying he wants snakes on it!  Do I need to size the back first or can I just spread the glue and put the skins on?

Thanks again.

Aaron

[the Ferret]

Here. this shows the whole thing with pictures. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge and read text

 http://groups.msn.com/ferretsarcherywebpage/snakeskinbacking.msnw