Who soaks their skins?

[PEARL DRUMS]

I have heard both ways. Some soak their skins prior to glue up, some dont, whats the deal? I have never skinned a bow and want it to be right, Im using TBIII on raw, sanded osage that has been wiped down with Acetone.

[Dean Marlow]

I put my skins in a bowl of warm water right before I am ready to apply to the bow. Doesn't take to long before they are soft enough.I would think dry skins would be tough to glue down. Dean

[ranger 3]

I do the same as Dean, they are not soak though, you will need to towel the before you put them on. Just lay them out on the towel and pat them down and they will mesh with glue. I'm sure they will look great. Have fun

[rover brewer]

I soaked mine.

[formerbutcher]

Never soaked mine, I put glue on the bow and glue on the skins, the glue is enough to make the skins plyable. I work out any air bubbles, wait about a half hour and trim the skins.I haven't had a problem yet. I use Tite bond II dries clear, where Tite bond III has a yellow color when dry.

[scrub-buster]

I soak mine in warm water for a few minutes then gently pull them between two towels to remove excess water.

[tenbrook]

Originally posted by scrub-buster:
I soak mine in warm water for a few minutes then gently pull them between two towels to remove excess water.

Me too.....  

[PEARL DRUMS]

Done deal! I soaked them for just a few minutes while I spread glue, I tamped them dry with a towel pretty good and kept smoothing them out until my TBIII took a good hold, 15 minutes or so. Then I put a spring clamp on each tip and one at each fade to keep them from shrinking. It looks good to me, no bubbles and no wrinkles. We shall see! Thanks for all the input guys!

[John Scifres]

me

[tenbrook]

I like to wrap the whole bow in an Ace bandage afterwards.  Helps hold everything tight.

Good luck.

Tenbrook