rawhide question

[willie]

Been thinking of rawhide for a backing, not just for decoration, but to add a little integrity to an iffy back.

Doggy chew is often mentioned, but quality varies from what I have seen, as I suppose that hide rejected for leather is sent to the "doggy bone" pile.

Anybody make their own? Or offer comments on preferred critters or methods or practices?

[Stick Bender]

Echo Archery has some nice raw hide , those dog chews look thick to me  maybe a lot of mass compared to the ones made for bows .

[Aaron H]

When it comes to rawhide, you don't want it very thick.  A thin piece holds things together, while saving mass.  Deer is good, goat is better. Imo

[simson]

Echo Archery has some nice raw hide , those dog chews look thick to me  maybe a lot of mass compared to the ones made for bows .

Yes master Carson has what you want.
Deer and goat rawhide is good and sand it thin

[Redhand]

If you have access to Antelope it makes a good rawhide backing it is pretty thin, sort like goat.

[bradsmith2010]

deer hide and goat,, calf skin if its thin,,
doggie chews are too thick,, i guess if you had the time to sand it thin it would be ok,,but the other is available at reasonable cost,,goat comes in all thickness,,,deer seems to be a bit more consistant,,
I make my own sometimes, nothing to it,,, just let it dry ,, cut to strips glue on,,,,

[willie]

I wish I did have access to more species like Antelope, but deer are plentiful. One aspect of primitive bows is the pleasure I find from utilizing found materiel's, and the collection of found materials makes for a nice excuse to travel and explore the wilderness more. I rarely undertake a project that involves buying from a vendor, though I realize that not all can do the same.

Hoping that some of the similar minded folks will share some about their processing methods and "gotchas" to avoid.

I used to slip hair on hides by soaking in the creek, but there has to be better ways to avoid spoilage.

[LeightonM]

I made my own from a small doe. Its see through thin in some spots. The hardest part for me was getting the hair off.

[Stick Bender]

If you know any body that's got a drum sander you could double back tape the chews to a flat board and run it threw the drum sander I have never done it with raw hide but have with other material ! It would be quick & consistent .

[BowEd]

I'd have to agree with Redhand.I've used antelope before.Excellent stuff as far as being thin and tuff.Even the older mature animals.The old bucks have an oily gland on their backside between their hips though.Their a goat....lol.Yearling deer are great too.

[bradsmith2010]

ok getting the hair off is easy,,, you can cut it short with clippers and glue it on like that, ,then just scrape or sand off,
if you want the hair to slip off before putting on the bow,, just soak in ashes and pull it out,,

on one of my last bows, i just shaved it off with a razor when wet,, and then sanded a bit when it cured on the bow,,

but really the hair comes off pretty easy any way you go,,

if you order a goat skin from a drum shop,,, they have them with the hair already off,, and you can specify the thickness,, 20 to 30 dollar range for a hide,, that would do several bows,,

[BowEd]

Most trophy hunters of antelope don't really care about the hide.It's a throw away to them.It might be a matter of who you know sometimes too.

[willie]

Brad

I am glad you posted, I never would of thought to skip the messy "dehair the whole hide"  part, and just give the bow a haircut!

[DuBois]

Or let that freak flag fly hippie!

[steve b.]

I have a leather store nearby; I just buy a whole deer/goat skin for like $60....well worth it for one or two years (easy) worth of backings.
I thin it with a power sander or hand sanding.  I like to use hide glue but that last yew bow I used wood glue for the first time.  I probably won't do that again.

I don't like to wrap the limb with cloth when applying it.  For awhile I just wrapped my finger with duct tape and worked the rawhide down with a heat gun and rubbing water over the top as a lubricant.  Still sometimes it was a fight to get the glue to gel just right without the rawhide itself getting too hot and crinkling.

That last oceanspray bow I posted I used parafin wax instead of water as a lube and it worked perfect.  The wax melts quickly and transfers heat to the hide glue while protecting the rawhide.  Afterward I smooth the wax and the back is waterproofed!!  I'm liking it so far.....