RAWHIDE...not the song! UPDATE!!!! page 2

[VenomBOWslinger]

Hmm maybe I should leave it just like that... LOL  maybe I'll get BOM....

Cheers!!!

[Josh]

cheers! 

[VenomBOWslinger]

Josh I only draped them on there to see what it would look like Im going to trim them before I glue and wrap them.  I'll post up a trimmed pic to show the progress! 

Cheers

[Josh]

cool beans!  I thought you glued them on like that... Just make sure when you do glue them down to keep wrinkles out or it will separate on you... didn't mean anything bad.. just from your post and the pics I didn't know it hadn't been glued down yet.   

[VenomBOWslinger]

Thanx Josh I will!!!

Cheers!!

[Gordon]

No harm in experimenting I suspose. That thick stuff will no doubt protect the bow's back - but it will also add a lot of unnecessary mass.

[zenmonkeyman]

I just did the same thing,  I bought rawhide bones about 16 inches long.  I sorted through the pile and got the thinnest, most-transparent ones in there.  Soaked them until I could undo the knots, soaked them some more, cut them into strips, stretched them by pulling them back and forth over a door opening, then soaked them some more.  I got strips over 3' long, and I think stretching them aligns the fibers lengthwise (like stretched rawhide string) for extra strength and less thickness.  I sized the back of my bow with knox, soaked one side of the rawhide with knox, and tied one end to a tip of the bow before wrapping with string while holding tension on the free end for maximum tightness.  Seems to have worked really well, and now I intend to file or sand it down until the pressed-in string grooves disappear.  Hope there's a tip or two in this ramble you can use!

[VenomBOWslinger]

UPDATE  hey guys I'm impressed on how a dog chew worked out.  It wasnt as thick as I thought it was when dried it shrunk to about 1/16'' and sanding was a breeze!  I have to adjust the tillering in the top limb but I'd recomend anyone who is willing to give it a try or gets in a pinch and needs to use a rawhide patch to try it out.  I'm on my way to trying out the Beef sinew stick the petshop has next.  Thanks guys!  I will post up final pick of bow when its done.

CHEERS,
Russ

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[youngbowyer33]

sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[George Tsoukalas]

Very nice! Jawge

[Josh]

Hey glad it worked for you Russ!!     ...sorry if I came across as rude before, it really wasn't my intention.. If we didn't have people to challenge the set rules of bow making, then we would all be making the same designed bow over and over again... same dimensions and same materials.  Good for you for going against conventional wisdom and turning out a shooter.  Cant wait to see it finished up!   

[bowkee]

Did ya use a belt sander to thin that hide on the flesh side, just curious, last time I did that I left the handle side thicker than the mid and tip portions.

[VenomBOWslinger]

Josh its cool thanx!  As far as beltsanding I used a random orbital sander with 80 grit worked like a charm maybe it was luck of the draw picking out dog chews that were relatively thin.  It did not take much effort at all and can't wait to finish this and on to the next.  I'm thinking of making some real old design like a Bodman or a traditional Viking long bow.

Russ

[sulphur]

just saw this thread for the first time.  I used those dog bones once.  i did work just fine.  when the rawhide was dry i used my cabinet scraper to thin it down.  actually once rawhide is try you can treat it just like wood, use a rasp or file or sandpaper or scraper, whatever.  looks great venom.

[VenomBOWslinger]

Sulpher ur absolutley right once dried it seemed no different than wood thats why the 80 grit worked so well.  This went so smoothe and easy to work with I am actually amazed.  I now know where I can get materials to back a bow.  Thanks for all the responses.  Glad to share all my efforts with all of u...will post finished pics!

Russ