Rawhide Backing HELP!!

[hook]

Hey All!
I am going to Rawhide back my grandsons bow. Its a 43 1/2 inch osage and will be pilling 20 to 25 lbs at 20 inches.
I ordered rawhide from 3 rivers and it is about the thickness of a dime, one side rough and one side smooth.
QUESTIONS:
1. which side goes against the bow?
2. Is Tite Bond III good to use?
3. Does the rawhide go on wet?
4. Should I wrap it with tape or something (better) while it dries?
5. How long does it need to dry?
6. Anything else I should know because I've never tried it before......

as always, Many, many thanks.

[gmc]

I have used this method more than a few times with excellent results.

 http://www.stickbow.com/stickbow/selfbows/veneerII.htm

I haven't found a need to wrap a bow after installing the rawhide, but a lot of folks do.

[Bevan R.]

The rawhide I have seen and used, the rough side was the inside of the animal. That is the side I glue down. If there is a lot of loose stuff, you can sand that side to clean it up.
I have used TBII to glue rawhide. TBIII has a darker color to it that I do not want.
I put the rawhide in luke warm water to soften it. them press it between a couple of towels before applying.
I use gauze wrap but you have to make sure there are no air bubbles and that the wrap does not slide the rawhide out of place.
I let dry a couple of days before I unwrap it. then several weeks before I work the bow.

Check out the build that Pat B just did on the winter project 1. Grate example of how to do it.

[sleek]

smooth side up. Reason, fibers are more intact for the tension load and the bottom rough surface will hold glue better.


TBIII works, many dont care for it, hide glue is generally better. Reasons, tightbond is waterproof which dleays the drying process of skins, sinew, and wood. Hide glue is made from those items, is chemically related wont hold in moisture like TBIII and allows shrinkage better.

rawhide can be wet or dry, but wet is prefered because you can stretch it allot to preload it ( make it work more for the mass it has ) it shapes better to the back of the bow, and shrinks when it dries ( again working more to make up for its mass ).

wrapping is needed on the ends ( The entire thing is better ) to prevent it from lifting. Most prefere medical gauze as it wicks water for easy breathing and drying. Also wont leave inpressions into the skin once dry.

It can take about a week for it to be completely dry ( it, the glue, and the wood under it needs to dy, not just the skin )

You need to know it makes a mess, have papertowels and have fun

[country]

I have used titebond III for rawhide....it does darken quite a bit compared to tbII but I used it on a hickory stave so it really looked good...

[sweeney3]

I have used TB3 a few times and liked it.  On a whitewood bow, the darker color gives it a less obtrusive look in the woods.  With Osage, you might not want that since it's a pretty wood anyway.  Otherwise, I do pretty much what everyone else has stated.  Rawhide is good stuff.

[hook]

Ok,
thanks everybody! I am going to use TBIII
degrease the stave with acetone
and glue the rough side down, use an ace bandage to wrap it with, take it off after an hour or so and let it dry a couple of weeks!
sound about right?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Dont overthink it. Its VERY simple and results can be great with many types of glue or ways to apply it. The key in my opinion is flat and no air bubbles.  Since rawhide doesnt add any draw weight or hold any reflex the glue you choose is more about how much time you need to get the rawhide flat and bubble free. I use spring clamps at both ends so it cant shrink down and pull away while it dries.

[hook]

I hate to keep beating this to death but I have one more area of confusion;
I want to put tip overlays on this bow. should I glue them to the rawhide or stop the rawhide short of the tip?
If I stop the rawhide short it will have to be short enough so that I can make a smooth transition between overlay and wood.
Any thoughts??

[George Tsoukalas]

I used cold water on the few I did. Make sure the water is not too hot or you'll be making hide glue. LOL. Jawge

[PEARL DRUMS]

I run the rawhide right over my tips and trim and clean them up later.

[hook]

Pearl,
You run the rawhide over the tip "overlays"?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Yes. I apply glue right up to the edges of my overlay. Run the rawhide right over the tip. As you work air bubble out the glue will move as well so you will get glue on the tip overlays. I use my scraper real gentle like and remove the glue after trimming the rawhide. Then I sand the rawhide and tip overlay until it blends perfectly, plus I like smooth, clean rawhide so you cant even see it on my bows under skins.

[hook]

well... I forewent the tip overlays and glued the rawhide on last night.
I degreased with acetone, I mean really scrubbed. soaked the hide in tepid water for about 15 minutes, removed them patted dry and then sized the hide and the bow back with TBIII. I didn't rough the back of the bow. I actually forgot about this step but I think I read somewhere that it doesn't really matter.

The hide was not as pliable as I thought it would be and not as cooperative to get in all the rolls, crevices on the back but I did the best I could, wrapped it with an ace bandage and waited for one hour then removed it. I only had a couple of small air bubbles which I think will be alright at so a low poundage pull.
Now I will wait two weeks and start tillering it.

thanks everybody!

[PEARL DRUMS]

The lack of cooperation on the rawhides part may be due in part to its thickness being a bit too much. It doesnt take much rawhide to hold strong, I sand mine with 80 grit and get it construction paper thin. It was easy as pie wasnt it?