juniper backing question

[campx]

Lets say I had some nice bow length staves and cants from some big juniper I got sawmilled recently. I have read  slew of 'sinew backed juniper' posts in here, but I have some questions.....
What else could I back juniper with if sinew wasn't around.....maple, elm, saskatoon (serviceberry), or rawhide from a deer I shot 2 weeks ago?  All these suggestions are local stuff I have on hand........

[Bryce]

Or no backing.

[Traxx]

Id go with the rawhide,if it were me.

[campx]

Id go with the rawhide,if it were me.

I just tried the Knox glue stuff earlier this week , and it ended in failure.  Dont know if I got it too hot or what; I used a double boiler and tested the temperature, but the deer rawhide didnt even come close to sticking to the Douglas maple recurve I am building for my 8 year old girl.  Should I just use TB2 or what?

[Peacebow_Coos]

That's weird about the rawhide not sticking.  I would say out of curiosity to see it done that any of those woods would work.  Juniper seems to be pretty compression strong even the sapwood.  Like Bryce said, you could air back it the stuff is pretty tough.  Curious to see what ya make
Sam

[mikekeswick]

Id go with the rawhide,if it were me.

I just tried the Knox glue stuff earlier this week , and it ended in failure.  Dont know if I got it too hot or what; I used a double boiler and tested the temperature, but the deer rawhide didnt even come close to sticking to the Douglas maple recurve I am building for my 8 year old girl.  Should I just use TB2 or what?

Hide glue is as close to rawhide as you can get - perfect combo.
You want to give it a couple of sizing coats first at about 10% then use 30% glue for the actual glue-up. Hide glue is amazingly strong stuff. Never ever get it above 55 - 60 degs. If it feels ouchy hot when you put a finger in throw it away and start again. Also Use cold water to rehydrate it first then heat gently.

[blackhawk]

I use titebondIII to glue down rawhide...simple n easy n quick....I only use hide glue for sinew backings n nothing else...what kind of juniper do you have? I've done hardwood backers,rawhide,and sinew backings with the stuff and sinew is my favorite altho all will work fine if done correctly...if your boards aren't very clean n straight grained I'd use sinew or a hardwood backer...if you can show pics we can tell you the best use for what you have...rawhide might not be appropriate for your piece?

[akswift]

How raw can the rawhide be? does a green hide need some sort of processing beyond fleshing to become rawhide suitable for gluing on a bow back?

[JackCrafty]

I dunno... the hide glue I use becomes a clumpy, miserable, snot-like mess below 90 degrees.  That why I use fish glue.  If you guys are working with hide glue at the 55-60 degree range I need your secret!  It must be WAY too thinned down or something.

Keeping rawhide from separating from wood is a skill.  The way I overcome this is to soak the dry rawhide strip in the actual glue until it becomes soft and pliable. That way there is absolutely no lack of glue in the joint.  I also make sure to wrap down the rawhide if the rawhide is really thick.  Hide glue will "grab", and doesn't really need the wrapping, but only if it has the capacity to gel and become the snot-like mess I mentioned above.  Thinned down hide glue (or thinned down knox glue) needs to be clamped or wrapped.

Hide that is fresh off the deer will shrink a LOT.  I prefer to dry mine first before cutting a strip and applying it to wood.  That way, you know the dimensions of the rawhide .  You won't have to guess how much it will shrink.