Turkish bow leather cover

[davidjw]

Hey folks, while I re-size some horns as per my previous query, I thought I might continue work on my first horn bow.  I have just covered it in leather, Adam's book mentions that the grain of the leather can be sanded out for a smoother painting surface.  Before I go and seal it with varnish I was wondering if this means that the grain should be eliminated completely, or if the priming coat will smooth out a a slight grain pattern?  Now I need to get me some gold...santa.

Submitted for the approval of the midnight society:

turkish target bow,
41.5" ntn
31mm at mid limb
about 60lbs at 28"

She still sometimes misbehaves a bit with twist on one limb right after stringing, but holds after correction with pressure.  Man is she a joy to shoot though!

[mikekeswick]

Very nice bow
Yes sand out all imperfections down to about 320 grit. Try and get the surface as flat as possible as well. What sort of leather did you use?

[stuckinthemud]

Gold leaf is surprisingly inexpensive, although I wouldn't call it cheap, but get  the transfer sheet not the loose leaf - I had to use loose leaf once and its a bit of a nightmare.

[BowEd]

Congrats on a very nice bow.

[mikekeswick]

Whilst Adam talks about gilding etc the main technique that you will find useful is to simply mix powdered gold with varnish. Gilding isn't really suitable for most of the decoration....don't ask how I know that.....only use gilding if you want to completely cover a large area. Get the finest brushes available and a flowing agent to mix in and make your varnish thinner.

[davidjw]

Thanks y'all, I've used goat hide from a bookbinding supply store, 0.6-0.8mm thick.  I see now that I should have been more vigilant about flattening the sinew under the leather, as every tiny ridge detail is visible, even though I filled lots of the dips with little bits of scrap sinew beforehand.  You live you learn.  It is mostly smoothed out, I don't want to sand right through the leather on account of any small dips. On another bow that is still seasoning I poured leftover glue from sinewing over the back, hopefully this will give a smoother finish.

As for the gold, I was planning on making shell gold, as I'm much more familiar with this process than gilding.  I looked up some sources for leaf, I suppose it isn't that expensive at all, especially compared to the cost of everything else that goes into the bow!  I'm all stocked on brushes and pigments, as I'm inclined to paint every now and again.

I suppose the priming and under-paint layers will be the same for me since the leather I found was pre-dyed, I will try to match the existing leather color.

[gorazd]

Very nice bow.
What is the thickness of the limbs in the bending part (without leather) ?
And how many sinew layers have you put it on ?

[davidjw]

Thanks, the thickness was 9mm at mid sal before leather.  I used 70g dry sinew in three layers.

[selfbow joe]

Very nice bow