steaming before sinewing

[sonny]

I'm steaming the tips of an osage bow blank and notice that the steam lifts the grain.
Seems it might be beneficial to steam a bow blank a day or two before applying the first course of sinew, just before sizing the bow back with glue. I'm thinking that you'd get a great glue bond between sinew fibers and the raised wood grain.

thoughts or opinions ??


   

[mullet]

  I think you would be adding more moisture to the wood.It would take longer for the sinew to cure.

[Marc St Louis]

A good glue bond is more dependent on how clean the wood is. With Osage that means making sure the back has been well degreased, something that might be harder to do with a rough back

[tom sawyer]

I like the idea.  The surface you get fter steaming would be good for sinewing.  Steaming seems to actually accelerate drying by opening pores in the wood.  And I've had more trouble with sinew not sticking to shiny (not properly roughed) areas than by degreasing.  I really don't put much effort into degreasing, I don't think it makes that much difference.  I don't see that much yellow oils coming off when I degrease with lye or acetone, and you know there are plenty more oils below the surface.  The one thing about oils aI am careful about, is not to touch the surface after I've roughed it up with a hacksaw blade or coarse sandpaper.

Not only that, but when I've steamed black locust I got a lot of black oils in my condensed steam pot, so it might be at least as effective a way to degrease as wiping surfaces with solvent or lye.