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Author Topic: Gidget gets her sinew  (Read 9034 times)

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Offline Pat B

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Gidget gets her sinew
« on: October 14, 2014, 11:55:37 am »
Today is a nice rainy day(tornado threat) so I thought I'd start the sinewing of Gidget. I started out by getting everything ready and in place. I started by adding hide glue granules to warm water and floated it in the water in the crockpot...


I got the bundles of sinew ready...


I scratched up the back of the bow with a hacksaw blade. You can see the grooves in the wood. Not too deep but enough to help hold the sinew/hide glue...


Now for the cleaning of the bow. I wet it with warm water...


...then wash it well with Dawn dish soap...




...and rinse the soap off by pouring boiling water over each limb then it's ready for the sinew.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2014, 01:01:48 pm by Pat B »
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Pat B

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2014, 12:15:50 pm »
...pouring the boiling water...


I then sized the back of the bow with hide glue to insure good adhesion...


You will see I strung the bow backwards so it will draw up easier in reflex as the sinew dries...


I soak the sinew in warm water first then squeegee out the excess water, dip it in the warm hide glue and squeegee off the excess hide glue. I then lay a strip of sinew down the center of the bow starting at the handle and working out each limb. You want the sinew to cross the handle so the sinew backing is continuous...


...now I lay the sinew along both sides of the center sinew to fill out the back...




  I'll let this cure out for a few days before continuing. Once the sinew becomes transparent I will be able to see any area that might be thin so I can add more sinew to fill out the backing to a more even layer.

     To Be Continued!
« Last Edit: October 14, 2014, 01:09:55 pm by Pat B »
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline osage outlaw

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2014, 12:45:27 pm »
Looks great Pat.  Nice How-to.
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blackhawk

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #3 on: October 14, 2014, 12:47:18 pm »
Looks like I better go buy about ten+ family sized boxes of popcorn..cause its another patb sinew build along and its gonna take awhile ;)
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Offline Buckeye Guy

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #4 on: October 14, 2014, 12:47:47 pm »
Great pics of the process !
but please help us that are not sinew folks to grasp how to get things started
How do we get granules of hide glue
how much liquid do we add
How do we process sinew
Ect Ect Ect
Thanks
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Offline Marc St Louis

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #5 on: October 14, 2014, 01:09:44 pm »
Looks good Pat.  Been awhile since I've sinewed a bow, I can see that I've not missed a thing.  You say you used cow sinew.  I found cow tendons to be very oily.  Did you clean those as well?
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2014, 01:15:31 pm »
Marc, this cow sinew came to me already shredded and was not greasy at all but yes I do normally degrease the sinew by washing it in warm soapy(Dawn) water then rinse in warm water.
  Guy, Glenn Doane gave me this tin of hide glue but I have seen it in art supply catalogs. You could Google it.


Yeah, Chris, this build along will go on for a couple of months so you better get some cold beer to go along with that popcorn.  ;)
Thanks Clint.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2014, 02:05:26 pm »
thanks Pat, looking great, I want to try the hide glue,, I have a feeling it is a better quality,,
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #8 on: October 14, 2014, 02:06:53 pm »
Brad, I've used this glue on 4 or  sinew backed bows. I prefer it over Knox or other glues.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline simson

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #9 on: October 14, 2014, 02:20:43 pm »
I'm glad, you take the time doing that buildalong, Pat. and yes, it looks good so far.
Always interesting what others do on the same job. Difference to me is: I use meanwhile oven cleaner spray for de-oiling osage, works great. Second I apply a lot more sinew in one layer ( about 2x or 3x). All other steps the same.

I will watch with interest how you go on.
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #10 on: October 14, 2014, 02:32:55 pm »
Thanks Simon. It is interesting to see the same results using different methods. I've had sinew lift off the back od osage bows so I started using the dish soap and boiling water. Never had the problem again. I guess the oven cleaner is lye. Some folks scrub with wood ash which becomes lye when wet.
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Del the cat

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #11 on: October 14, 2014, 05:27:02 pm »
Nice build-along Pat some great detail like the boiling water rinse... I wouldn't have thought of that.
i have some sinew... it's just the pounding and stripping it out doesn't fill me with excitement when there are so many other bows to build.
Not sure Mrs Cat :-* would want me messing up the kitchen table either.
Del
We're just off to Crete for a week, so no bow making for me... it'll be tough but I'll man up :laugh: ::)
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Offline bradsmith2010

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #12 on: October 14, 2014, 06:24:17 pm »
what ever soap you use, the boiling water is key on osage
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Offline Danzn Bar

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #13 on: October 14, 2014, 06:54:09 pm »
This reminds me of a similar post last year about this time that inspired me to do a sinew backed osage I ended up making and hunting with this year.
Pat, now when I'm setting in that deer stand waiting for that deer to commit suicide, I'll be thinking of this post.  I'll be ready to start that sinew backed ERC I've been thinking about the very next day of the last day of deer season.
 
Great post and thanks for taking the time to do a build along,  I know how much thought it takes to do one.  I'll be keeping my eye on this one.

By the way Blackhawk, maybe Pat will help you out.  :)

Till next time
DBar
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Offline Badly Bent

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Re: Gidget gets her sinew
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2014, 07:40:44 pm »
Very cool to see the steps you take to prepare everything and apply the sinew. Thanks for sharing your methods Pat, one day I'll quit being lazy and do a sinewed bow myself :D.  When that day comes I'll have a clear layout of the process to look at in this post.
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