Using rawhide.

[Mafort]

Hey everyone just a quick question about rawhide so I know I’m not gunna mess this up. I’m looking to apply rawhide to the back of a hickory bow for added protection. Sadly the only rawhide j have is a dog bone that’s made with thick cow rawhide. So my actual question is can I literally glue this thick piece or rawhide onto the back of the bow and then use my belt sander to thin it down to the desired thickness? Is there a better way to do it other than that? I really don’t want to have to buy rawhide backings commercially.

[PatM]

  It's better to thin it from the flesh side before gluing it down.

[Mafort]

So is there a way to tell which side is the flesh side of the rawhide from a chew like that?

[JW_Halverson]

You have rawhide strips on the way. Why not use those?

[Mafort]

I am on a different project. The dogs fight over this huge rawhide bone my girlfriend bought them. Soo effectively means they can’t have it cause they’re food aggressive. So I’m gunna use it to back a bow. I’ve just never done rawhide backing before. Done sinew and raw flax but never rawhide.

[PatM]

So is there a way to tell which side is the flesh side of the rawhide from a chew like that?

 The flesh side will have remnants of membrane.  The skin side will be more uniform and show hair pores that are fairly visible.

[DC]

If I can ask a related question? How do you get the rawhide flat enough to sand it? I can see myself sanding a hole everywhere there was a ripple or lump.

[PatM]

Soak it and press it flat to dry.