Rawhide

[HoBow]

I have never made rawhide for backing a bow. I have a salted hide now with the hair on. Would dehairing it with a caustic solution weaken the ending rawhide or do I need to dry or wet scrape it?

[Swamp Bow]

I used to work for a company that dealt with amongst other things rawhide drum heads.  We would get them from overseas by the thousands.  Unfortunately there was a screw up once when they left the hides in the caustic too long and they just could not take the strain after that.  We of course had no idea just how long they let those bad drum heads soak, it could have been extra hours, days, or weeks.  I recommend (not having done it before) that you check the hides often and pull them as soon as you can, even if it means a little more elbow grease in removing the hair.  You could also wet your hide and then use a commercial hair removal product such a Nair(or generic). That is what we did when reheading African style drums that need to have the fringe of the head with hair on it.  Shave the hair with clippers while dry, then treat and use the top of a soda can or old credit card to scrape the hair/stubble off.  With your experience, you should do find with the caustic soak though.

Swamp

[HoBow]

Thanks Swamp!  I'll give the caustic solution a go....

[wodpow]

Lime water makes the hide swell and lets the hair slip to where it just rubs off in big clumps then make a stretcher frame  out of two by fours or what ever you have and string it in I do one string at a time and pull it tight at you four center points then the corners then take up the slack anywhere and pull it tight all the way around I have used finishing nails twisted into the string to take up slack and wrapped tape on the nail to keep them from unwinding and going slack  I ground a putty knifes edges into a rounded end and put it in a vise and bent the end to a 45 degree angle to scrape it clean Of the milky oils  and the hair that may be holding on.  let it dry overnight it should be almost transparent and real stiff. I then cut the strings off and lay it out flat and cut it into three inch strips to about a half inch over hang on the limbs you can tapper you stripes to the limbs but I just cut mine squared. You do one deer raw hide and see how easy it is you will never let another hide go to the trash. Now buckskin is another matter and will be about three times more work but rawhide ain't a big deal . I just rehydrate and glue on with tight bond 2 or 3

[mullet]

 Don't leave it in the water for more than 2 or 3 days, check it by pulling on the hair. I left one for 3 days and had a bucket of hair and stinky jelly.

[wodpow]

Oh yes ! you will have to wash out the lime real good before you stretch the hide on a frame. the liming can take 3 to 5 days,temp and hide age and the amount of lime you use just soak till you can  push the hair off . I have had spot where i had to put the hide to soak a little longer the hide will feel like rubber till you stretch it out on the rack, Once someone put a cow  hide in a spring  close to  where I live and the hair was getting loose and a old man came up to us and said you didn't mess with my hide did you it going to be a forge bellows he used some stinking water in a old bath tub    to tan it and had a new leather on his forge billows when we went around there on that year