Sinew backing questions

[dinorocks]

I just completed my first sinew backed bow and I was very impressed how it turned out.  For my first attempt I backed a 20" hornbeam bow I made for my brothers new baby.  I was not planning to back the bow, but after many hours of thinning the limbs and tillering (not that he was going shoot the bow at 2 months old), a limb cracked...hence the sinew backing exercise.

I spent several hours pounding and separating two hanks of sinew into ~30 little bundles (~15 bundles per hank).  I sorted then hydrated each of the bundles for a couple minutes in water before saturating in glue (I cheated and used Tight Bond II).  When I finished backing the bow I ended up with a couple of extra bundles that had been hydrated in water.

Question #1 - is there a "bigger-better" way to process the sinew hanks other than pounding with a wooden hammer on a rock? I'm okay with this method but it is very time consuming.

Question #2 - after I had glued a bundle of sinew to the back of the bow, I used an antler to "smooth" the bundle...after several bundles were glued to the back of the bow, I ended up lifting strands on the ends/edges of some bundles when I attempted to "smooth".   The bundles were placed side by side like bricks in a wall.  Any suggestions to “smooth” the bundles with lifting strands on adjacent  bundles...maybe carefully use my finger and wrap the bow in an ace bandage (I read that somewhere)?

Question #3 - I would like to try backing one of my osage bows next.  When I processed the sinew hanks, the fibers were placed in a large pile before I sorted/sized them into bundles...I would imagine that the processed sinew pile would getting tangled if I stored it in a bag until I processed enough to back a bow.  As I wrote above, I had a few bundles of sinew left after my first backing project.  I took the bundles out of the water to dry...now they are dry and very manageable.  Can these dried bundles be rehydrated without any negative effects?

Question #4 – I tried really hard to keep the sinew off the sides of the bow.  Next time, can I be less careful and remove the cured sinew from the sides of the bow with sand paper?

Question #5 – when I back my next bow, should I have it tillered 100% prior to backing and then re-tiller after it is backed?

Question #6 – if I re-tiller the bow after it has been backed, I would need to be very careful applying a finish to the belly of the bow so it didn’t get on the sinew…any suggestions?

Thanks for any help!  I have a copy of Traditional Bowyers Bible that I have been using a reference.  Can you suggest any other books/web sites I can use for reference?

Dino

[KellyG]

dino when you do it can you do a build a long. I can answer any of the above but I bet if you do a build a long I could.  

[Pat B]

I'll try to answer these ...
#1 Processing sinew is tedious at best. That's the only way I know of. I have heard of folks soaking sinew and seperating it wet but never tried it.
#2 The problem with TB glues is they set up too fast and once they do it is too late to changeanything. With hide glue a bit of water or even heat will resoften the glue. You might try adding more TB glue under where it lifted and wrap with cloth strips for an hour or so until the glue dries.
 #3 As long as they don't have TB glue on them you can rehydrate sinew. Also even when in a tangle I've noticed that sinew will loosen up and come untangled in a bowl of warm water with a little finger work.
#4 you can sand the sinew/glue off the side of the bow. To prevent that use masking tape around the edges or remove the sinew while wet.
 #5 Different people do this differently. I like to fully tiller a bow or at least 2/3 tillered so I get the full effects of the sinew drawing the bow into reflex. Some folks will sinew back a floor tillered bow and allow the reflex to come as wood is removed. I'm sure there are other methods too.
 #6 You want to use the same finish on the sinew back as the rest of the bow. I use Tru-Oil with good results. I used a thin layer TBIII over the sinew of the last sinew bow I made, let it cure completely and added snake skins with TBIII. The first application was as a vapor barrier to prevent the moisture from the snake skin and glue from entering the sinew/hide glue and bow wood.

[dinorocks]

Thanks for your response Pat...the information was very helpful!

Dino