sinew and osage problem

[apecos]

i layed one course of sinew with hide glue. when i drew back bow, the sinew layer popped off the bow in certain areas. what could have caused this and can it be repaired?

[walkabout]

may have had the hide glue set before you got the sinew on. alot of guys are using tb3 instead of hide glue for sinew, because its waterproof and easier to work. could have a bad batch of glue too, but more likely the glue just was thin and set in those areas. try a little heat to reliquify the glue and push the areas down, if this doesnt work then you may have to remove it and start over. good luck

Richard

[apecos]

thanks for the info. when say remove and reuse. do soak the bow in water to remove sinew, seperate out the fibers from the old glue?

[walkabout]

from what i know hide glue will get tacky again with heat, but im not sure if it will be enough to remove or not. in any case i dont reccomend soaking the bow in water, it will probably ruin it. maybe try heating it with a hair dryer and see if youre able to lift the sinew, and if so use a putty knife to get under it and take it off that way, being careful not the nick the back. hide glue is water soluble but im not certain the amount it would take to break it down. once you have the sinew off you could probably soak it to remove the old glue. hope this helps or someone who knows for sure how to remove it can chime in.

[Pat B]

On this bow(3 courses of sinew and snake skin backing)I gingerly peeled the sinew from one of the limbs but had to steam the other to remove it. I used steam to weaken the sinew, pried the sinew from the limb and worked my way down the limb steaming as I went. I used a tea kettle to concentrate the steam where I wanted it.