56" yew D/R selfbow/ Now sinew backed and finished.

[Pat B]

...then it is time for the sinew. I start by sizing the back of the bow limb with hide glue...



...then it is time to add the sinew. I soak each bundle of sinew in the warm hide glue, squeegee off the excess hide glue and lay it down smoothing with my finger. I start at the handle and work out each limb working down the center of each limb first. I then work over the rest of the limbs back out to and slightly over the edges.







...and now another wait. In a day or so I'll check the coverage and add more sinew as needed. I'll probably do 3 layers as I normally do with the last layer filling any bare spots and evening out the sinew backing.
...to be continued...

[Roy from Pa]

That's pretty nice, Pat..

I like it..

When it drys, will it gain anymore reflex?

[BMorv]

Very cool. Interested to see what some reflex and sinew will do for this bow!

[Pat B]

Roy, it might but doubt it will go too much past where it is now. I'll have to retiller when the sinew dries and it could gain some reflex then as the bow weakens. It may be a few days before I get back to it but with the wood stove and being in the sun room it should start drying well.
I'm curious too, B.

[Buemaker]

Looking good. After having done sinew backing for 20 years I have found that soaking the sinew bundles in lukewarm water before saturating them in the warm hide glue, draws the bow in more reflex than If not doing so. Don’t know why. After saturating them in the warm glue I place the bundle on a board and comb them out with a cat comb,makes a smoother surface of the sinew layer.

[Shredd]

  Very cool...  Great looking bow Pat...  How many lbs. do you plan on gaining by adding the sinew??

[Pat B]

Bue, I have pre-soaked sinew before but not this time. I think the sinew stretches when wet then draws up  more when drying. I'll get a little reflex from this, just not too much.
Shredd, generally a bow could gain about 10# by sinewing it but I'll be reducing the weight on this one anyway. It was almost to strong for me when I tillered it initially. I'll have to retiller when the sinew dries so if I can keep it around 50#@26" I'll be happy.

[Pat B]

I added a course of bison leg sinew today. I took Bue's suggestion and pre-soaked the sinew in warm water before dipping in the warm hide glue. It softened the sinew quite a bit. I also raised the tips a little more by moving the blocks in about an inch raising the tips by about 1" to 2". Now it's drying time. I'll probably give it a month of drying time before I remove it from the form and start the re-tillering. With the wood stove it should dry nicely.
 Also, I've been promised a yellow phase timber rattler to go over the sinew.

[Roy from Pa]

Looking forward to seeing the finished bow, Pat...

[Buemaker]

Rattle snake will look great.

[Pat B]

I'll take a pic of where it is now later this morning and post them.
Timber rattler is one of my favorite skins. I want the sinew to cure a while before I add the skin. I'll use hide glue for it too.

[George Tsoukalas]

The full draw photo was very impressive, Pat. Nicely done.  Jawge

[Roy from Pa]

I would imagine you need to sand the sinew smooth on the back for the skins?

[Pat B]

Roy, I sanded the initial layer to get the rough and high spots down. The sinew I laid yesterday were long pieces(bison leg) and after soaking in warm water it softened enough so the glue saturated sinew went down in ribbons, pretty smoothly. I may lightly sand it before adding the skin. I'll use hide glue for the skin and it will "suck" the skin down on the sinew. It will have a little texture but I don't mind that.
Here are a few pics from this morning...

[Roy from Pa]

Nice..

[Pat B]

Thanks George.

[Pat B]

A month after I added the last of the sinew I released the bow yesterday. She came out holding about 2" of reflex. As you can see from the pics the reflex is uneven but the bow has taken on so much extra weight I'll be able to retiller and I think the reflex will even increase some as I weaken the limbs. Here are a few pics...





...to be continued...

[Roy from Pa]

Nice...

[Pat B]

I did a little tillering this afternoon. She's pulling 50#@23" now so I still have about 9# to loose. I didn't pick up the added reflex like I expected and even lost a little. I'll have to see how she shoots when I get the weight down more. Here are 2 more pics, from the right side and the left side.




...more to come later...

[Pat B]

I've just finished up the tillering. She is pulling 48#@26" now, just about right for me these days. She lost most of her reflex but still holds an inch after she's unstrung. I started adding the Tru-Oil so in a few days she'll be ready for her glamour shots. I put snake skins on a few days ago with hide glue. The skins are yellow phase timber rattler that Clint(scrub buster) sent me. She's gonna be purdy once she's all gussied up. Back in a few days...