What kind of fish has everyone used as backings before?

[tgtmatt]

I was thinking of trying a large mouth bass backing, anyone ever tried?

I really enjoyed the yew/salmon combination as I saw posted on here before.

Just curious, any suggestions?

[tgtmatt]

I'm referring to the skins*

[ionicmuffin]

I havent tried any yet, but i know sturgeon works, ive heard of carp, and im sure that many others can be used.

[tgtmatt]

To me it seems like an easier obtainable alternative to snakeskin. They look really cool too. I wonder if anyone has tried shark skin?

[ionicmuffin]

if you're going to use shark skin you should use it for sanding as well 

[tgtmatt]

Haha, I'm going to try it all over my lifetime of bow making and see how each works out. Time to go fishing. 

[ionicmuffin]

i think for me it will be easier to get fish skins than to get snake, my friend might be able to get me some bull snake skins for a jar of honey or two, but mostly i will go with what ive got, cherry bark makes a nice backing as well, also you can leave it bare and it could look very nice as well. Rawhide is a fabulous backing for protecting your bow from a break and sinew is a wonderful fix to areas that give you trouble like a splinter, or just to raise the draw weight.

[tgtmatt]

Easier to find fish than it is some snakes out in the woods. I backed my current (first bow) with a layer of silk because I was uneducated at the time and just acted on impulse. It has turned out pretty nice but I would much rather something better. Is there anyway to actually "reback" it or remove the backing and add a new one, or even go over the old one?

[Bryce]

Sturgeon, Salmon, and lingcod.

[tgtmatt]

Pinecone do you have any pictures of a sturgeon or lingcod backed bow?

[vinemaplebows]

Tg,


        Should be able to go right over it. As to fish backing, I have not done it, but chum (dog) salmon would look great, and they are rather easy to get. THEY HAVE A TOUGH SKIN! Here is a few pics...
http://www.anglingbc.com/index.cfm/page/81/Chum.html
VMB

[Bryce]

Pinecone do you have any pictures of a sturgeon or lingcod backed bow?

Nope, made them before I joined this forum, so I never photographed them. Just sent them off to there new homes.

Tg,


        Should be able to go right over it. As to fish backing, I have not done it, but chum (dog) salmon would look great, and they are rather easy to get. THEY HAVE A TOUGH SKIN! Here is a few pics...
http://www.anglingbc.com/index.cfm/page/81/Chum.html
VMB

Brian, you might have to send me a set

[tgtmatt]

Darn, I bet they looked nice.

I'm thinking about just going over my silk backing with a nice fish skin I can get my hands onto. We'll see. All I know is i'm so excited to finish my bow and show everyone because without all of you guys I would be far behind where I am at.

[tgtmatt]

I should just go to the fish market or a local seafood place and ask if i can have the excess skins... Hmm. Sounds like it's worth a try.

[Carson (CMB)]

That is where I get my salmon skins.  I should be out there bringing in some winter run steelhead, but not enough time with all the bows I have in the works . ...and alot of those fish market skins get tossed anyway, so it is good use of an an otherwise wasted resource.   

BTW, a very nice glue can be made from salmon skins.  Simply chew the skin up and spit the slurry in a cup...stronger than hide glue in my opinion, just dont expose it to heat like you might do with hide glue.