Un-sinew backing a bow

[Pat B]

Well the mourning period is over and it is time to move on.     I decided today would be the day I'd remove the sinew from the yew paddle bow I was making that broke. I wet a towel with warm water and layed it over both halves(they were still attached together with sinew) to soften the sinew. After about 30 minutes I checked and it was tacky but still holding strong.


here it is after the first wetting. You can see the sinew is getting whiter with the moisture.


I decided to re-wet the towel with warm water and this time wrap the bow halves in the wet towel. I also poured a couple of cups of warm water over the towel and give it another 30 minutes. This time the sinew was loose enough in places to get my knife blade between the sinew and wood and started peeling off strips.





  Lucy was enjoying watching me remove the sinew. She always knows that there will be a few pieces that she will get. Here she is choosing which piece she wants. 

[Bryce]

Do work!

[Pat B]

After removing the sinew from the bow I soaked it in warm water to soften it but also to wash out the hide glue.


I gave it 3 rinses then began to seperate the strands and laying them out on paper towel and news paper to dry. I have seven layers of sinew/news paper here in the pic. There is still a little left untangled but it might just go in the glue pot.


Once the sinew is completely dry I will place it in a baggy until I ready to sinew back another bow.

[Dictionary]

Damn sorry bout the bow Pat

[PEARL DRUMS]

Sitting on that Church News paper aint gonna help nothing Pat! Its gonne take more than that this next time around. Thats a cool trick to remove sinew. Knock on wood...I havent had to do that yet. Suppose thats a strike againt TBIII. Thats not coming off.

[osage outlaw]

You sure get your money's worth out of sinew Pat.  I think I would have thrown it away and started with new.

[gstoneberg]

Nice Pat, the last time I did it I put the bow in the pond with a brick on it.  Sinew came off OK but it was a touch green from the slime.   Your way is much better.

George

[Pat B]

I seperated the stack to get the sinew off the damp paper and have it on a sheet of aluminum foil. It should be dry tomorrow or maybe the next day. I can't wait to start the next sinew project.
  I'll have to say the hide glue I used stuck very well to the yew sapwood. There is still some on there. Lots better than the Knox I used ou other bows.
  Pearlie, believe me it would take more that the church page to save some of my mishaps. 

[hedgeapple]

Pat, here's a trick I've done a few times.  But don't tell my wife.   When I was cutting some hickory strips for backing and they got too thin to handle easily for sawing, I used TB hide glue to glue them to a 2x4.   After cutting the last strip, one strip was still glued to the 2x4.  I tossed it in the hot tub for an hour.  When I checked on them, the 2x4 and hickory strip had separated and were floating in the hot tub.  One could probably do the same they to remove sinew, just by wrapping it all in something like cheese cloth to keep the sinew from floating away.

[criveraville]

Lots of good info here. Thanks for posting this Pat. There's always a silver lining 

Cipriano

[mikekeswick]

Shame about the bow - nevermind thought there's always another!
Heat guns work too just use a low setting.

[lesken2011]

Thanks, Pat for more "tricks of the trade". Sorry again about the bow.

[Pat B]

I never thought about dry heat.      Thanks for that tip Mike.
  When I got home this after noon the sinew looked and felt completely dry. I placed it in a ziploc baggie and left it in direct sunlight on my work bench. If I see any condensation I will unzip the bag but leave it in the sun until it is completely dry.

[PatM]

The tub of  warm water is the best option. Sinew needs  damp heat to separate it safely.
 Not sure you're going to  be doing much of a rescue by just turning a heatgun on it.
 The whole point of hideglue is its  reversability. That's why it's still being used today for other purposes that require a reversible glue.

[soy]

Way to salvage ...i see a call in the pic, elk or turkey