What to do when your backing gets wet......

[Pat B]

If the sealing glue is the same as you used on the sinew you can put it on as soon as the sinew feels dry. After that wait for it all to dry.

[Marin]

Okay, I was just waiting on that since Dave mentioned it might be best to hold off on that to let the bow backing dry after it was exposed to sprinkler water. Since the backing was practically hard about an hour after the sprinkler situation (and that was 4 days ago), do you think by now all of the moisture from the water has left and I can safely put the sealing glue layer on? If so, I can put it on Monday then wait another week for it to be ready to tiller, if I am understanidng this all right. 

[Little John]

I have no idea how long you need to wait, but it is best to err on the side of caution I know it is hard to wait and patience is not my strong suit. Good luck.

[superdav95]

Ya I would let it dry for a good couple weeks. 14 days minimum as you don’t know how much moisture may have got trapped in the sinew.  It would be a shame to seal in unwanted moisture and rush things.  I would would keep in a dry environment while it dries good then seal it up and continue to tiller.  I guess you could tiller first then seal it up as you may need to do some scraping as well.  Best of luck with it hopefully it holds up. 

[Marin]

Okay, so wait 14 days (at least) then either seal it and wait 3 more or start tillering and apply the sealing glue layer after I have finished tillering?

[superdav95]

What are you using for sealing glue?  You may have already mentioned it and I missed it.  If using titebond 3 wait an additional 2-3 days before bending or tillering it as you will have added more moisture with tb3. It works well for me and used it lots.  I’ve also used sturgeon glue as top layer also with good results although little harder to get for sure.    Are you putting anything over the sinew layer like thin rawhide or a skin cover of some kind?  If so then I would hold off on sealing it up until you get tiller all sorted out first as already mentioned I think by pat.  Take his advise and bend it some and see where your at then proceed.  Any issues will surface when you start bending it. 

[Marin]

I probably shouldn’t use the term “sealing glue” I guess since I’m using the same glue. I was just trying to make the back glossy smooth with my sealing coat. I use the same as I used for everything: Knox gelatin glue.
I’ll wait on the sealing coat I guess until after I tiller

[bassman211]

I am probably going to get roasted for saying this, but that is one of the reasons  I use tb3 with sinew. Ed  Scott of Owl bows used it too,and made some fine bows. I still back  the bow ,and use tb3 to glue the backing. I then use 6 coats of shellac, and a couple coats of min poly. Then some car wax. That works for me, but I know every body has their own way, and as long as you are comfortable with it that's fine.

[Marin]

Thanks, I’ll have to consider that when I actually seal the backing. I think I’ll just wait to do that after I tiller, unless you think that’s something I should do once I feel it is dry

[Pat B]

If you add TBIII over sinew/hide glue that still has moisture you can cause rot to happen. I have used TBIII to seal sinew but was sure the sinew was completely dry.

[Marin]

Okay then, I’ll wait till after I tiller completely to seal it completely.

[JW_Halverson]

Beg, borrow, or steal a $20 kitchen scale and set it to weigh in grams.

Weigh the bow.

Wait a few days and weigh again.

Repeat for however long it takes for the bow to stay at a steady weight (no change +/- 1 gram) for two weeks MINIMUM. A month is even better. Sinew and hide glue dry a heck of a lot faster than wood does. Some of the moisture is going to evaporate out into the atmosphere from the back, but some has to migrate out INTO THE WOOD! 

Wood is far slower at giving up the moisture, so you want to give it plenty of time to come to equilibrium.  I did just the same thing. Left a fully sinewed and mostly dry bow in the rain. I just put it up and let happen whatever was going to happen. Ultimately, it turned out fine. I ended up sizing the back with a few more thin coats of hide glue and put a layer of rawhide over it.