Thanks, Pappy!
Richard B, You're right. I did finish the sides and belly to the outer dimension of the tubing to hide the metal sleeves. I was careful not to have the bend of the bow work to far into the fades so that I was risking putting pressure on the abrupt edges. As you know, you can't do that on the back because you don't want to violate the back. So I built the back up with a couple pieces of cow rawhide and filed them down to make a smooth transition over about four inches. Then the main piece of deer rawhide went over that to bring it flush with the sleeves. I was strategic with the lace binding to hide any minute discrepancies.