Fred Arnold 2017 Bow Trade, Pictures Please, housekeeping issues

[DuBois]

If it were me I would wash them in warm water with dawn soap until they were free of oil and then tack them to a board scales down to dry. Then you could decide where to cut for strips. I only done one fish skin though so might be a better way. does halibut have much for scales?

[penderbender]

Thanks DuBois. They have very, very small scales. Is that good or bad? Cheers- Brendan

[stuckinthemud]

So, I have some really stupid questions about fish skins - first, how do you skin a fish? Second, I'm guessing a bought fish from a fish-monger is OK so having been frozen and defrosted doesn't matter? and how big of a fish for one backing? Oh, do the colours in the skin change after skinning? Also, fish-skin is see-through so do you paint the bow first? Oh, oh, does the glue need to be waterproof or does the skin seal the bow, or do you need to varnish over the skin to stop it going moldy?

[Swamp Thang]

Not stupid at all skinning a fish is very simple but all fish are not the same all deer have fur, so does that mean all things with fur are deer?
One fish may have thing skin while another would have extremely thick skin. The skinning I find is best when the fish is whole makes things easier for myself. Simply use a spoon to scrape off the scales and  cut around the fins and down the back bone should already be gutted then pull off. Treat it like your tanning and scrap the flesh side not to much just enough to remove any left overs. As far as frozen all depends on if they got damaged typically I wouldn't think it would bother it you might try a test run

[bushboy]

Found a little gem piece of English bog oak.should make some cool tip overlays

[TimothyR]

Here's what I'm working on. 1" wide 70" long. Going with a simple eastern woodland D bow, bend through the handle. What is y'all's opinion of painting a king snake pattern or something like that on the back?  I may just end up leaving it Osage. It will be simple though. I'm going to be moving to northern Idaho in a few weeks, I want to be able to get it done fairly quickly.

[High-Desert]

Plain Osage would look good of course, but adding a bit of your personal artwork to it really would add a nice look.

Eric

[penderbender]

I love eastern woodland type of bendys. Osage is nice. Maybe a simple eastern woodlands art design? Cheers- Brendan

[Swamp Thang]

Quick question......I have never backed a bow. I have some sinew and gelatin unflavored of course and a bow to use it on. Could I back the bow and remove it if the bow doesn't perform as desired and reuse it?

[stuckinthemud]

That's the nice thing about that type of glue, easy to put on, easy to take off, easy to reuse

[High-Desert]

Reuse the sinew? That may be a lot of work. More so than stripping out more sinew. But I've never tried it.

[PatM]

No. Re-using sinew is easily done. Soak and rinse in  very warm water.

[Swamp Thang]

Thanks I didn't think it would be a big deal

[Greenriverwoodcraft]

To add to Swamp's comment about fish skins if I am getting them from a fish market the are already off the fish and thus its not as easy to descale them without damaging the skin.  I find that scrubbing them in soapy water to remove the oils helps loosen the scales and it also can ball up or loosen any flesh left on the inside, its easier to deal with both problems this way.  Also I have frozen fish skins with no issue before, it does not seem to have any effect on then finished product.

[High-Desert]

PatM, that is good to know. I've never tried it, it just seems like a daunting task. Do you rehydrate and use that way or is it easily dried and reused?