Antlers for siyahs?

[Kitsu]

i have a nice "spike" set that i was planning on  using, they are very long , if i could straighten em they might be 18 inches or so

i was wondering how glues would stick to it, what glues would be best, and most importantly, i want to know how well antlers would hold up to the challenge

if worst comes to worst, i can just go buy some wood, but, since i have a stave i am workinig on that is under 4 feet, i was hoping to add some length to it and siyahs were my best bet,

if anyone has had experience with antlers for siyahs let me know how it was, and what you did, etc. i would love to get as much advice as i can

[JW_Halverson]

I've wondered the same thing many a time.  I wonder if you could join then using narrow finger joints and then wrap with sinew and hide glue?

[aero86]

idk about antlers as siyahs, but ive got a bit of understanding with wooden siyahs.  you could use a v splice, but you could also grind down the antler base to glue to the back of the bow.  just depends on the look your going for.  you might want to do some stress tests first too.  find out what the actual breaking point is for horn.  im not sure if you could use any of the TB glues for your, again, you might want to test them.  theres always the primitive way, with hide glue. 

ive personally found that with a 3 inch glue section, glued flat to the back of the bow, with TBII, a siyah wont come off at 45 pounds, other than that idk!  lol.  my point is, youll want to wrap whatever joint you create between your siyahs and bow. 

[1/2primitive]

I don't think your problem would be getting them to hold on, because if you do it right, they'll hold.
It would be the weight of the antler. If they are large enough not to turn and strong enough to hold, they would be tremendously heavy, adversely affecting the bow's performance.
       Sean

[straightarrow]

I have no experience with siyahs, but I think it would look cool as heck!!! I have good luck using Gorillia glue when joining antler to wood. Man would that look awesome. I know when antler ages it doesn't seem as strong. Good luck!!!

Jon

[Keenan]

I have never done them as syahs but have done allot of long antler tips.  Most people think antler is heavy but it can actually be fairly light because it it porous in the center. With that in mind you need to be carefull what part you are using.  It's much like if you could case harden Styrofoam.  The outer third being hard and dense the inner 2/3s being porous core.  I've had success by using 5 minute epoxy and making sure not to make string grove to deep into the core. But this is with the string force pulling into and towards the wood. (Very important)
  There is some evidence of antler main beam having been used as bow limbs. Howere most my testing have showed it to be somewhat brittle and very hard to bend. I did make one handle core as a takedown sleeve that eventually broke from force.  If you do try as ayahs I would make sure to sandwich the joint and bind with a thread wrap. good luck. As far as weight do a test comparison and cut some wood ayahs same size and weigh.

[Kitsu]

hm, these antlers are pretty old but i can stand on them and they do not break, so, and for their size, i can compare their weight to white oak, the bow is on HHB and i wanted to add some length, its not even 4ft in length,  so, i didnt want to make a super short bow,     

i do not have a camera to show results.... but the weight range i aim for is 45-55 for this bow at least.

i will make another post on the thread when i see the results

[Kitsu]

hm, these antlers are pretty old but i can stand on(and jump on) them and they do not break, so i should be good, and for their size, i can compare their weight to white oak, the bow is on HHB and i wanted to add some length, its not even 4ft in length,  so, i didnt want to make a super short bow,     

i do not have a camera to show results.... but the weight range i aim for is 45-55 for this bow at least.

i will make another post on the thread when i see the results