Varnish and Titebond II over sinew and hide glue

[JonJagd]

I am building a bamboo backed osage RD (Dean Torges style) take down bow (steel and brass ferule). I am close to finishing the tiller and have
planned to glue on a snake skin on the back with Titebond II since the boo has some ugly discolored marks and it will be good with the extra
camo since it is to be used for hunting. I intend to give it an oil based varnish for finish.

A problem area evolved on the belly of the upper limb just above the fade out of the riser where the osage laminate has some swirls in
the grain. It bends a bit more than desirable (not a hinge though and I have almost corrected it in the tillering) perhaps due to the swirl
in the grain and thicker spring growth and a small splinter was popping up which I feared could result in a piece of the belly popping out.

I have reinforced it by wrapping sinew around the area to prevent something popping off and secured it with hide glue but what
will that mean for the tite bond and the oil based varnish? Any ideas? Can I just proceed as originally planned or should I cover the sinew wrappings with shellac and then use the oil based varnish and Titebond on top of it as if it was just wood underneath?

Br,
Jon

[Pat B]

I used TBIII on snake skins to put them down and to seal over them then I added Tru-Oil over that with no problems. Most wood glues are paintable so you shouldn't have any problems. You can always shellac the bow first then put your finish over that. Anything sticks to shellac and shellac sticks to everything.     Pat

[JonJagd]

Thanks Pat for the feedback. From what you are saying about shellac an oil based varnish should stick well to the shellac. Nice to know that I am on the right track in relation to compatibility of finishes and glue.

Jon

[Pat B]

Shellac is used to seal off oily spots or crayon marks on walls so paint will stick to it. Kilz primer that covers anything is a shellac based primer I think.     Pat