Sinew backed Juniper questions???

[Coyota]

Hi all! This is my third bow, but my first attempt at sinew backing so I have a few questions. I started tillering the bow today and when I reached around 20" of draw I noticed some "popping or ticking" from the limb. It seems that I read somewhere that this is normal while tillering a sinew backed bow but im not sure! Also I was wondering what would be a safe draw length for this bow Its 54" long, 1 7/8" at the fades, 1 5/8" mid limb, 5/8"at the nocks. Thanks for any help!  Scott

[El Destructo]

Sinew will tick.....and if the Glue was thick it will make even more noise and may even show some small cracks in the Glue....not to worry.....as for the Draw....is it a Bendy Handle or stiff?? 

[kayakfisher]

The bows I make are plain style bows in the 54 inch category and I tiller them between 25 and 28 inch draw they are rawhide backed also sinew will do as well or better
                                                     Dennis

[Coyota]

Thanks for the replies! El Destructo, A stiff handle is what I was going for. Also I forgot to mention that I had put some recurve in the tips, not much maybe 3", would that affect the overall draw length? I was hoping to get at least a 26" draw.
Dennis, I dont even know what style of bow I'm making, I think its a "PyraPaddleGard" bow  It looks like a little bit of everything.

Scott

[El Destructo]

           If you flipped the Tips 3 inches....then you shouldnt have a Bit of Trouble getting 26 inches out of it at all!!!

[Keenan]

Scott, at 54 inches I would definately go for a bend through the handle bow. That will give about 5-6 inches more working section of the bow, and yes sinew will make some cracking noises.What type glue did you use?

[Coyota]

I used knoxx, it has been curing for about a month.

[Pat B]

I think it is excess glue that will make a cracking and popping sound! I squeeze and excess glue off of the sinew before I lay it down. So far I haven't had the scary sounds  on the few sinew backed bows I've made.       Pat

[JackCrafty]

In my experience, the cracking and popping is normal for sinew when fully dry.  The sinew should stop making noises after a dozen draws (or so).  If the sinew is still damp, you won't hear anything.

If the sinew gets really damp (after tillering or normal use) and then dries out, you might hear more popping sounds when you first draw the bow.

I haven't heard a lot of popping with juniper, though.  I get more pops with harder wood.