cotton as backing

[youngbowyer33]

Would cotton pants work for backing a bow?

[SA]

you can back a bow with it but i havent had much luck with cotton seems a little weak, maybe silk ,linen or canvas would be better.

[KenH]

Cotton as in denim Blue Jeans should work well for backing a bow.  Just be sure to take them off before you glue them to the bow!

[bowkee]

Wash them too Actually Washing and drying linen, canvas , fabric tightens the weave. Phillip

[sailordad]

Wash them too Actually Washing and drying linen, canvas , fabric tightens the weave. Phillip

i agree with ya philip
however,wouldnt prepping the cotton/canvas/linen,loosen the weave back up again
when i prep material for backing i get it damp first so that the glue will penetrate it better

[bowkee]

that's a think, I stretch the stuff,not to much, when glueing it to the back. I just saterate it with glue.

[islandpiper]

If we find out you are wearing silk pants we may never let you live it down. 

I was in a Hancock Fabrics with my wife today.  Half-price sale.  I bought a half a yard of 60" wide natural color linen for a whole $1.75 .   That will back a lot of bows.   piper

[JW_Halverson]

Cotton bedsheet material is plenty strong enough for the job, it's not adding strength to the bow after all, just trapping splinters from lifting up.

I do the Buckskinner/Rendezvous scene and seem to always have some lightweight cotton canvas around.  I dampen it with water, run a hot iron across it but still leave it a bit damp.  Then I staple one end to the bench, stretch it out, staple the second end, and use a rubber kitchen spatula to work the Titebond down into the material.  Then I size the back of the bow with a bit more glue, cut the backing strips loose from the bench top, and apply it to the back of the bow.  I have been experimenting with not wrapping the limbs after putting down the fabric backing and have had no problem with it lifting.  I guess the wrapping with Ace bandages is necessary for my snake skin and rawhide backs that will curl and lift as they dry out.

I tore out the seat of a pair of camo pants, will have to try that for backing on a hunting weight bow.  I lose enough arrows in the woods, might be nice to set down the bow and lose that for a change, ya know?

[shamus]

I've had denim fail on me.

From my experience, the only backings I'll trust are (in order of preference):

• Thin Air
• Hickory
• Bamboo
• Rawhide

 

[Justin Snyder]

A good portion of the reason you see so many people using silk is because of the strength and light weight. Silk has amazing stretch properties but takes more force to break than steel of the same size. When you consider the strength to weight comparison of silk versus cotton, you might reconsider using cotton and use silk in stead.

[JW_Halverson]

I've only had one of my canvas backed hickory bows fail on me and that was directly due to trying to heat a recurve into the tip to match the other end.  I clamped right on the edge of the workbench and added a little weight to the other end of the bow.  The edge of the bench caused a crease in the back of the bow and that is precisely where it failed. 


The "BLAMMO" sound it made was epic, as was the stain in my tightey-whiteys!

[denny]

I agree with much that has been said . I know for a fact cotton shrinks (10%) when wet. Either that or everytime I wash mine I am gaining weight. Some might argue that point too. ::)The Idea is too keep it light for cast and durability. So cotton, although is rugged, wouldn't be my choice for backing. You can buy polyester or dacron fabric , that is light and works well.Cheap too and comes in colors. I used a lot of times.Silk is precious, looks nice and is very strong for its thickness.Good Luck Denny

[yazoo]

what kind of wood are you backing,,I personaly think that if a wood cant stand on its own as a bow wood,, keep looking for some more wood 

[youngbowyer33]

red oak, it's a board bow

[JW_Halverson]

Youngbowyer33, once you have a board bow or two under your belt, the next step is a stave bow.  If you want to take it in half steps, you can get good quality osage staves that are already down to a growth ring from Yazoo.

His post about how a bow shouldn't need backing is based on the fact that he has high quality osage staves coming out his ears!  Lucky so-n-so!  Bet the poor sap has never made a board bow in his life.  He'd curl up and die here in South Dakota where osage is so scarce I can get $10 for a gunny sack of scrapings and call it an Osage Laminate Bow Kit (glue not incuded)!