take yer time...osage is not indestructable!

[Justin Falon]

well, was tillering my short osage bow tonight.  Five layers sinew had cured for about 3 months.  54" tip to tip.  Got in a hurry and snapped her belly. Firewood now.  Bowyers take yer time.  Osage can and does break!!!  Got to start a 62" bow now......ugh!!!!!

justin

[scrub-buster]

That stinks.  That is a lot of work on the sinew down the drain.  Good luck with your next one.

[Sal]

ALL woods can break, even with sinew.

Can you rescue the sinew?

[Pat B]

Sorry you lost your bow. I'm in the process of making a shorty sinew backed osage now. Have the first layer of sinew down and ready to add the rest. The first layer was recovered from a 60" sinew backed osage that didn't want sinew and kept repelling it. I lifted it off in sheets, soaked it in warm water until the sinew came loose and dried it until I was ready tp use it again.
  You have to be dedicated to our craft to move on when these advercities come along and I'm sure you will take this in stride and move on to your next project.

[coaster500]

Wow that's got to be frustrating, all that time, Argggggg   :(  

I hope it's ok to ask this question on your thread? I've got a bunch of sinew ready to use and was wondering. Is it better to build a bow, tiller it into shooting shape, in other words have a shootable bow then add sinew? I know it will need further tillering after its cured but might be a more trustworthy shooter?

[Pat B]

Coaster, I like to have a bow to at least floor tiller stage before adding the sinew. I have, however, sinewed an already tillered bow, that was intended to be sinewed, with good results.
  By getting it to at least floor tiller stage you can see the sinew working at drawing the bow into reflex as it dries. Some re-tillering will be necessary in most cases after the sinew has cured out completely but if you are careful about adding the sinew equally this will be minimized.

[Art B]

Sorry about your sinewed bow Justin. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth all that effort for a seasonal bow. But if you get 'em right, they perform very well under the right conditions.

Myself, I like to get a bow shooting and have the string alignment perfect. Last thing I want to have to do is heat straighten after sinewing.

Then I add equal amounts of sinew to both limbs. Having equal amounts of sinew is important when conditions change. Because if you don't, when the humidity/temperature changes, the effects on each limb changes. You want these changes to be equal to prevent tiller change.

[Justin Falon]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  Unemployed and deer season is upon us.  I have an osage stave to work on, but feel pretty crappy about the broken bow.  It was my fault, as I tried to brace it too soon. Sucker would have been awesome. I need a short bow for my blind, but may have to settle for a 62" osage bow instead.  Time heals all wounds and in a few days I will be over it and back to making osage shavings!  Til then, my roof needs new shingles and deer need huntin' best to all you bowyers this year!!

justin

[Osagetree]

 Yep, even 62" bows without sinew!

 

[getstonedprimitivebowhunt]

...we all know the feeling tooooooo well !