Garden waste bag for paper backing

[mje]

This may not be a new idea, but I haven't seen it mentioned. I was looking around the house for paper shopping bags that would yield strips long enough to back my first bow with when I remembered that I had a good supply of paper garden waste bags in the garage. These are two-ply bags made of heavy paper, and you get get 4 foot strips from them if you're careful. They're heavier than shopping bag paper, too.

I cut wide strips, wet them, and then hung them from a convenient heater duct in my basement shop- they were wet enough to stick, and hanging there there wrinkled worked themselves out. I spread Titebond III on the limbs, applied the paper, covered that with wax paper, and clamped that to another 1x2.  I wiped off the excess glue squeeze out with a damp shop rag and left it to set up overnight.

The next day I unclamped it, trimmed the excess paper with a razor blade, and gave the bow a coat of Tru-Oil. The paper took this up and darkened nicely, giving it a look not unlike tanned leather. A second coat darkened it a bit more. I'll do a few more rubbed on coats and finish up with wax, and then it's on to bow #2!

[vinemaplebows]

Unless you don't want to take the time to stain.....I use drywall tape, the paper not the glass. I believe if memory serves me right in the 30-40's the used compressed paper to back bows.

Brian

[mje]

I think I've read about fiber backing in the Bowyer's Bible. I considered paper drywall tape, but I already had the bags.

I also considered Tyvek house wrap, as I have a few feet left over from a remodeling project 10 years ago, but I wasn't sure if it would accept common adhesives. Then I found this on DuPont's web site:

"Natural-product adhesives based on starch, dextrin, casein or animal by-products are preferred to synthetic-based adhesives. Synthetic adhesives often contain low-molecular-weight materials that can act as solvents at elevated temperatures and cause swelling and wrinkling. Hot animal glue is an excellent adhesive for adhering TyvekŪ to paperboard. Water-based synthetic lattices also bond TyvekŪ to itself and a variety of substrates. Ethylene/vinyl acetate adhesives are especially useful, as are the acrylic pressure-sensitive adhesives. Solvent-based single-component polyurethane adhesives provide optimum adhesion (lap and shear), flexibility and water-resistance for adhering TyvekŪ to itself and a variety of substrates."

So it's compatible with a lot of the glues we're already using. Might be a good backing to use under snakeskin

[bow101]

Brown paper bag or silk makes sense as far as splinter lifting goes but there is no strenght in the materials.
I used denim on one much thicker, the way I see it thicker means more holding power.

[dbb]

Brown paper bag or silk makes sense as far as splinter lifting goes but there is no strenght in the materials.
I used denim on one much thicker, the way I see it thicker means more holding power.

Cut a  1.5"strip of brown paperbag and try to rip it apart in a straight pull,you might be suprised over the strenght!
I truly believe paper is a underrated backing/protection.
I also think (my own theory and it may be flawed  ) that a thinner well defined layer of protection is better .
A thicker fabric also adds a lot of weight as you need to saturate it to be effective

[PatM]

Oddly, paper micarta has more tensile strength than linen micarta. Properly applied silk (many layers) has great strength. People just use an unrealistic thickness. Imagine if people used a sinew backing that was the thickness of a silk tie, sinew would get a bad rap too.

[vinemaplebows]

Brown paper bag or silk makes sense as far as splinter lifting goes but there is no strenght in the materials.
I used denim on one much thicker, the way I see it thicker means more holding power.

The statements irritate me. How thick are some of the growth rings on wood? I have tillered ash with paper thin growth rings that have held up fine....where does paper come from?? wood? so, you are adding a growth ring to the back of your bow by applying paper, the more layers the stronger it is, just like thick growth rings on a stave....


VMB

[adb]

Thicker does not necessarily mean better or stronger. Case in point... rawhide.

[bow101]

Ok I admit I'm out of my league here, did not mean to infuriate anyone.  I do know that thicker would only over power the belly.

[Pat B]

One negative of thicker cloth or paper backing would be excess physical weight. A single layer of grocery bag paper is adequate to hold down splinters. Once the glue is added and cured the matrix of the two gives the extra strength. Paper is felted wood or plant fibers(cellulose) and can be very strong when applied to the bows back with a strong glue like TB..
 One of the few osage bows that fretted on me was backed with thick raw silk cloth put on with TBII. The whole belly fretted evenly. I think the thickness and strength of the raw silk aided the fretting.