pic request-silk backing

[hova]

hey guys , im looking for pictures of silk backings. cant really find much on google , it just shows shirts (from the back...lol) .

im especially interested in silk applied with tb3 , or green silk , or hickory backed with silk.


also heard to make a stretching fixture for the silk , as if stretched , it can really make it a tight layer.


reason im looking is i have a hickory slat , that i would like to back it with silk , and maybe maple on the belly. bocote accents (overlay and handle accents) , so im also looking for some reccomendations for belly wood that will look nice and hopefully not expensive. ipe is out , but jatoba i can get locally.

im not necesarily against a hickory backed hickory , but im looking to do something about 64"ntn , 30-38 # @ 28 inches. the hick i have is (iirc) probably 1/4 or less , tapered .004 per inch.


-hov

[George Tsoukalas]

Check my site. Jawge
 http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[vanillabear?]

[hova]

thanks guys. thats what i was looking for. i will have to get some test swatches and see how much it darkens. this is for the wife , so i want it to be nice and vibrant.

i was thinking of maybe using epoxy to put the silk on , cause then i could go crystal clear , and have a good shiny finish as well.

although that would sure be crapton of epoxy to mix up. ill have to do some further testing as well...

vanilla ,did you use titebond to apply that? i was thinking of sizing like george does on the back of the bow , then applying the silk with straight tb3 , then going over the top with thinned down tb3.


also , did you stretch the silk at all bear?

-hov

[vanillabear?]

[hova]

ok. that sounds about right... i was just reading an old popmech article , talking about using silk for backing , but stretching it 10% before gluing. i think they were using hide glue to do the joining , because they said the silk backing when stretched added "zip" to the bow... probably just speculation , but it might be worth some more testing.

when you size the back with a coat of glue , do you just do a real thin layer , or do you lay it on a little thick then sand it?i know tb doesnt like rough surfaces , so i wondered if smoothing it out would help out...

im just going to have to hit the fabric store and see if i can get a couple inches of samples to test out different methods. i want a nice emerald color , so i might have to use some type of epoxy.


thanks for the help guys...
-hov

[vanillabear?]

[hova]

ok , i just wasnt sure if the sizing layer soaked in or what.


the whole silk thing in that article was interesting , but i really think they must have been using hide glue. back then they didnt have many glues to choose from , so i think it was either hide glue or an epoxy type finish.

i do believe that if you stretch the silk , and put it on say a 20# bow or something light , that it would have enough power to pull a little reflex into it. it seems a lot more logical if hide glue was mentioned...


im heading out to do some work , but im going to stop by the fabric store and see what they got...


the wife says i must look a little crazy going into "womens" stores and going through the fabrics and thread and whatnot... lol...


-hov

[ChristopherO]

Vanilla Bear,
That is a fine, fine, FINE looking bow you have there.  If you didn't say so I would think the backing was fiberglass, it is so smooth.

Hova, seizing the wood doesn't take much glue.  No need to build it up enough to sand.  It is to prefill the grain and pores of the wood so the glue joint has less chance to fail.  With TT3 it only takes a little bit of time for the seizing coat to dry.

[hova]

sounds like a plan. the hickory ill be backing is already pre-tapered from .420 tapered .004 per inch , im pretty sure it ends up around .18 (might be off on this one im just recalling by crappy memory).

its butter smooth , and nice stiff corners. i have found some really nice hard maple locally , rather cheaply too , that they will cut me one cut on a table saw for no extra charge. im going to have them cut me a 1/4 slat , and ill just take the other .33 and use that to back the hick . the 1/4 slat will be used if needed on another bow...

then basically im going to do silk or jacquard on the back , similar to vanilla's , and i was thinking that instead of rounding the corners on the back , i might trap them 1/8" all the way around the limb. i figure ill glue the silk on with square corners cause then i can clamp it easier , and if i decide to round the edges , i can to that too...


then there will be some bocote in the tips and handle , traced in probably 2 or 3 layer silk micarta matching the backing. i think the hick and maple and bocote will work well with an emerald color. probably splurge and pick up a can of wipe on poly while im at it...


btw: anyone ever tried making a whisker biskit out of bucktail?please dont hang me...


-hov