finish ?'s

[northvtarcher]

Finally finished my first selfbow. 68" white ash backed with linen. I now have a white bow that needs some kind of finish. I wanted to stain the bow before sealing it but I'm not sure if I can use stain on the linen backing. I glued the linen on with titebond 2. Is a stain going to affect the glue? Also I was planning on using truoil after staining, will this be a good way to seal the bow? Thanks.

[Josh]

I've stained a bow with a linen backing before and it DID affect the glue in looks (came out a little blotchy) but I really liked the way mine came out.  I also sealed it with Tru-Oil but you wanna let the bow sit a few days before you seal it up if you are using an oil-based stain.  If you don't liike the way the linen looks after staining you can always paint the linen up with designs or a cool pattern.  There are so many options in that department, just use your imagination.  Good luck on your bow and be sure to post pics when you are done.   

PS. glue a piece of linen to a scrap piece of wood and stain that first just so you know what it is gonna look like if you would rather go that route.