rawhide or sinew backing for osage bow

[Brent Hill]

I just finished cutting, splitting and taking my first osage logs/ staves to the last part of the sapwood in hopes of not violating the first ring of heartwood.  The staves are sealed but I'm new at this and sure that I have or will make cuts into the first ring dooming my hard work to mere firewood.  I have set them aside in the garage with bug spray in hopes of starting some bows after next deer season.  I plan on building a flatbow atleast 66 inches and I've read that sinew on a bow less than 60 inches weighs down the tips and causes a loss of performance in addition to a loss of lots of sinew.  I'm not concerned too much about the performance and  more interested in building a working osage bow with or without a backing.  I know that putting on sinew is difficult ( I will do it in the future and have already started hoarding it) and if it won't help speed in a longer bow, is rawhide a good option for osage.  Are ther other backings I should look at ?  I've seenrawhide on yew bows to protect the sapwood and create an more rugged bow.  I have built boardbows and want work with osage but I'm trying to build a durable reliable bow (with or without a backing) that wont blow up.  Atleast for now... because some of the selfbows in the knot thread got my attention.  Thanks for the input.

[Steve B.]

If you violate the first ring you can work down to another and try again so you don't have to scrap the stave.  
If you build the bow correctly there's no reason to back it unless there are inherent flaws in the wood itself.
But there is always that small chance that there is an invisible flaw and the backing will give that extra bit of insurance.  I don't think the loss of speed from backing is noteworthy so I would do it if you are inclined.

[Shaun]

Yes, nothing sacred about the first yellow ring. I usually pick the nicest (thickest) ring to chase even if it is several down from the sapwood.

Sinew will add speed and make a bow bullet proof. It is sometime affected by moisture which makes your bow change draw weight when it is humid. I mostly use sinew for very short bows with extreme bend.

Rawhide only protects the back of soft wood like yew and prevents small splinters from raising in thin ringed or ring violated woods. It does not add any speed.

Osage is a great unbacked bow wood - my first choice. Sounds like you did everything right. If you want to work a bow sooner, you can chase a ring, rough out a bow "blank" and that will dry much faster than a full thickness stave - a few months. Do not bend the bow blank until it is dried or you will make it weak.

[Roy Steele]

I've built quite a few O'sage bows.There's no need to back for bow.You want a durable bow,backing just one more thing that can go wrong.
  I WAS TAUGHT IF YOU CAN ALWAYS USE THE FIRST RING.But maybe the old bowyer friend that built bows for over 50 years,just lazy.
  Although I went through the heat,steam thing I WAS TAUGHT NEVER USE HEAT IF YOU WEANT A DURABLE BOW.One more thing to go wrong.
   I was taught to put reflex in naturaly while a green stave.Osage dosn't need any backing and it dosn't need 1/8 inch rings to make a nice durable bow.I've made 60 and 70# bows with 32 nd inch rings.

[Brent Hill]

Thanks for the input.  I may just try it unbacked with the first stave and see what happens.  I think I will try roughing out the stave like  Paul suggested on  two of the shorter billets and either splice them together or used the takedown system sold by 3 rivers.   Have any of you used that td system.  Would it be too early to fit the staves in it.   To put in a reflex, would I just clamp down the stave into a form with 2 to 3 inches of reflex like what I build board bows with ?

[Shaun]

I have used the sleeve take downs from 3 rivers. Here is a link to a build-along I did a couple years ago.

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=000048;p=1

I would put the reflex in with heat after getting the take down put together like in the thread above.

[mike mcguire]

I would never back a good piece of osage,dont need it,,I work in osage every day,, I am doing classes all over the country this year,, and the biggest problen I see with new bowmakers,, is being afraid they are going to mess up,,you will mess up,,the sooner you get it out of the way, the sooner you can move on,,,and most time the first layer of heartwood,, will have some sapwood blended in with it,,I usually remove first layer of heartwood off just to get 100% heartwood,,If you can try to get to one of the good selfbow get togethers,,, ojam. mojam,tn classic, or find some near you that makes selfbows,,,lots of good bowyers in tx

[Silent Bear]

backing will not be necessary for a bow that long if you want to ensure a reliable bow I would make the limbs around 2 inches wide and if tillered correctly should make a durable bow

[Curt Brisky]

Backing your bow depends on what you want it to be. Heavy draw weights, narrow limbed bows or a short bow would be a reason for sinew backing. If you want to keep reflex or static recurve sinew will help. If you miss your draw weight sinew can up your poundage. Violating grow rings could call for sinew backing. Keep your bow unbacked unless you have a need or you just like to sinew. You will want to cover your sinew to protect it from the moisture.  The machinist who makes the TD sleeves is a local friend of mine and the sleeves are easy to install and its nice to have a TD.  Although the only time I have ever used a TD is on a trip to be able to get it into a shorter PVC tube on a airplane.  Any more questions contact me at  www.briskybows.com    Happy bow makin'...build a kid a bow.