Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: seabass on February 08, 2013, 08:20:51 pm
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hey guys,i started a little sinew backed bow along time ago.a did a really bad job on the sinew.i put the bow away and forgot about it.now that i found it,i would like to remove the sinew and finish this little bow.i read on here before about people putting a wet towel on the sinew to remove it.i would like a little more info on the best way to go about this and the tools you would use.thanks guys in advance.
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Last time I removed sinew, I put the whole bow under the faucet in the bath tub and ran it under hot water. Eventually it started coming off, but it lifted some wood with it. Hide glue is tough stuff. I wonder, would it melt with a heat gun?
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i am not sure about the heat gun Daniel.i haven't tried anything yet.i was wanting to get some feedback first.it is osage wood and i used real hide glue if that helps any.
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Why do you want to remove it? Just cus it looks bad cosmetically? That's easily remedied if that's the case.
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i want to remove it because i was very inexperienced at the time and want to do some tweaking to the blank.plus i did a very bad job on the sinew.i would like to comb it on straighter and thinner.
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Do not heat sinew it cooks it and it will shrivel up. Even very hot water will cause this to happen. I think your best bet is a warm moist/wet towel over an extended period of time. Let the hide glue and sinew rehydrate a bit and slowly strip it off.
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thanks JLoranger.i will stay away from the heat gun.what tools would you use to strip it off with?
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You can scrape it off to. Its work.
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you are right Chris,it would be alot of work.it was my second attempt and i really laid it on.it will be embarrassing,but i'll try and get a pic of it.
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here is a pic of my crappy second attempt.i did this a long time ago.i just found it and want to redo it.
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hey lil buddy if it was me if ur fixin flip the tips or somehthing
just take off the end s and do what u gota do leave what on it on it and start a new layer cover the bad stuff u dont like just a thought it dont look all that bad but i aint sure what ya mean by tweaking it give us some more info after all sinew is sinew so cover it brock
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Steve: From what I can see, you're sinew job isn't too bad. To me it looks like you used too much hide glue and maybe tried to fill in the gaps with hide glue, also. My first few sinew jobs, I did the same and got the cracks in the glue like you have. It really doesn't hurt anything. Just makes a lot of noise and scares the bejesus outta ya.
You may be able to "wipe" some of the excess hide glue off with a warm water soaked rag. If there's a finish on it, scrape it off first. It will take a little time. Its kinda like getting to the Tootsie Roll in the center of a Tootsie Pop. It'll take a lot of licks but you'll eventually get to it.
Good Luck!
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thanks guys.the reason that i want to take it off is to do some corrections.this is one of the first bows that i had started a long time ago.i didn't straighten some prop twist and limb allignment problems.this was a good stave and now that i know more,i would like to correct these problems and do a better sinew job.i have learned alot since i put up this bow.once i make these corrections,i am going to add some reflex and flip the tips a little.next go round,i'll comb my sinew properly and use less hide glue.
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Pat removed the sinew on his bow called Elky I think. If I remember right he kept moist rags on the limbs for a while. Maybe he can chime in and give some accurate details about it.
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Soak it in the tub. ^^^
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thanks guys.i don't have a tub(standup shower).i guess i'll just keep wetting it down and scrape it off.i've got nothing to loose.
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I removed the sinew from the little yew paddle bow I broke last year by wrapping it in a wet towel and let it soften for an hour or so. I them started peeling the sinew up from the tips.
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thanks Pat.i will give it a whirl.
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Time limits may vary! :D
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that's the one. Sorry Pat. I got your bows mixed up.
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I have sinew that lifted from a short, snakey osage I've been working. So, I need to remove it also, and try again. I"m thinking of getting a large pvc pipe, capping one end and soaking it for a day or 2. Then sealing the osage stave so it doesn't dry out too quickly and check.
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Steve I hope I never have to take it off a bow. Sounds to "worky" to me! Good luck and let us know which direction you take and how it panned out.
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No problem Clint, you weren't too far off. I had to remove the sinew from Elkie also but it just peeled off in sheets. Unfortunately I had added TBIII over the top so it limited how much sinew I could recover.
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Here's view and probably won't work but maybe someone has done it.Can you remove a propeller in a limb that is sinewed with heat?
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Chris,i will let you know how it turns out.
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well,i took Pats advice and it worked.thanks Pat.it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be.some spots were a little tough,but i aien't complaining.here is a pic.thanks again Pat.
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Looks good Stevie. You can pretty much take Pats advice to the bank......................................most of the time.
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lots of wisdom comming out of that beard Chris.work like a charm.