Thanks Clint, Bryce, Simson and Akila.
I just had a PM about how to do salmon skin backing. I thought I would add the reply to this post too, if anyone is interested.
Really not much prep. I like to apply mine fresh rather than dried like rawhide. Take fresh skins scrape the meat side with the back side of a kitchen knife or a dull cabinet scraper. Do the same for the scale side to remove scales. Removing the scales is probably the most time consuming part, but not all that bad. Rinse them off with cold water. Do not run them under hot water, it degrades them quickly. Pat them dry with a towel or such. At this point, I have the bow on hand. Rough up the back of the bow with 60 grit sandpaper or a fine hacksaw blade. Then I wipe the bow back down with denatured alcohol and do the same for the flesh side of the skins. Then, in order to cut the skins to width, I lay them on the back and trim the sides with good scissors leaving about 1/8-1/4" overhang on each side. Remove the trimmed skins from the bow and again wipe each down with denatured alcohol. Wait 10 min or more. Size bow and skins with hide glue (I keep mine rather thin), let the wood and skins soak it up a bit and then apply hide glue to each again and apply the skins to the back of the bow. I smooth down the skins and press out bubbles using my fingers and more thin hide glue to keep things slick. Trim up any excessive overhang along the edges. Put it in a dry place and forget about it for a week or two. After the skins have dried thoroughly, trim the edges up with a sharp cabinet scraper, razor knife or sanding block.
You could certainly dry your skins like rawhide and apply them dry. But I prefer to apply them wet and let dry on the bow, it just takes a bit longer. With the skins I have used I have to splice two pieces together midlimb.
