Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Texas Pete on December 30, 2008, 06:07:09 pm
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Finally back in town for a few weeks and am finally getting to finish a bow.
I've made several self bows, but have never put a backing on them. Well, in my travels over the Summer I secured to MONSTER rattlesnake hides. I cleaned them up today And am wanting to use these as backing for my little 60" short bow.
Now, as I said, I've never done this. My first plan was to Get some BowGrip and some fiberglass cloth and, after gluing the skin on, back the skin with some fiberglass cloth and let the whole mess dry and then sand it out.
The other option was to simply use a good commercial hide glue ( Like Elmers ;D) and leave the skin bare after gluing it on.
Any and all opinions are welcome.
Thanks in advance
Texas Pete
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This is PRIMITIVE Archer and we don't like fiberglass. To us it is the "F-word". Knowing that I can guarantee that everyone here will say glue it with white glue then seal the bow like you would any other bow. Many bows have been done this way and with great results. Justin
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Some people might say that snake skin is not really a backing.....and more of a decoration. Any glue (that works on wood and leather) would do the trick. Hide glue is the best choice if you want to be all primitive about it. ;D
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This is PRIMITIVE Archer and we don't like fiberglass. To us it is the "F-word".
My apologies oh Great Administrator. Forgive me for my Blasphemy ;D I shall say 10 "Hail Justin's" and be redeemed ;D
Some people might say that snake skin is not really a backing.....and more of a decoration. Any glue (that works on wood and leather) would do the trick. Hide glue is the best choice if you want to be all primitive about it. ;D
I was thinking that Patrick. I got several bottles of Elmers and will give that a shot.
BTW, I see you're in Midland. I'm a couple hours East of you in Merkel
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I shall say 10 "Hail Justin's" and be redeemed
Heheh... :D
Merkel? That's awesome! Got any rock out there? I guess you got plenty of snakes.... ;D
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Rocks?
You mean those various sized hard things that are in EVERY INCH of dirt here?
Nope, havent seen any ::) ;D
Actually, I got a bunch of flint in the back of my truck and on my porch. You in need of some?
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No rocks here.....just a bunch of sandstone and riverstone landscaping stuff...so, yep, I need some flint.
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Gotta love trolls. :)
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Actually, I'd be surprised if any of us are as anal as Justin seems to be about fiberglass. In fact I know quite a few of "us" have made glass bows as well. And it's hardly the kind of tone I'd set for the first response to a thread topic anyway. Perhaps Justin might consider pronouns like I and me versus we and us, because he sure doesn't speak for me.
But I'd not suggest glass is needed or desirable over snake skins. If you get them down nice and flat with no bubbles, which is where hide glue really shines, and get all the scales off clean without damaging the skin, they are very durable simply covered with several coats of clear like the rest of the bow.
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DCM, I answered the question, "white glue". I am not anal about fiberglass, I am anal about rules. It is how we keep the peace around here. There are a lot of people who feel strongly about FG and most of us (including those who use FG) are real tired of having the fight that you are trying to start.
Rule #3
Topics and posts should be related to primitive archery in some way. If you want to discuss other topics in life there are plenty of other places on the internet you can go. This place is about primitive archery. Discussions on the use of post-industrial materials (yes that means FG) is not allowed here.
Many of the great bowyers on this site use fiberglass. However this is PRIMITIVE Archer and most people can separate it from Traditional. They know that FG and primitive do not go together and they do not try to mix them. Justin
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No rocks here.....just a bunch of sandstone and riverstone landscaping stuff...so, yep, I need some flint.
I can help you out Patrick. Drop me a PM with your contact info and I'll get in touch with you
Gotta love trolls :)
I'm sorry HillBilly. We're you referring to me?
Just to set the record straight, my post wasnt meant to stir up any controversy. I was simply asking a question. Maybe my feeble attempt at humor set someone off? My apologies if it did.
Justin set me straight on his first reply with the rules. I'll indeed comply in the future. I simply brought op the "F" word by mistake
I've been with Primitive Archer since its inception when Steve Hulsey had a dream (I was one of the first advertisers as White Eagle Outfitters when I lived in Las Vegas) and have been reading it and Wilderness Way since day one)
Again, my apologies if I offended someone in any way
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Justin,
Just to be clear, I have never suggested that discussion of fiberglass bowyery is appropriate here. Rather that the tone of your post indicated decided bias against fiberglass generally, which is not shared by everyone here. But giving the benefit of the doubt, that you were simply clumsy versus being an arse, and accepting the great difficulty being in authority here must represent for some, and appretiating your contribution and all others, perhaps if I am a little more specific we can find common ground.
"This is PRIMITIVE Archer and we don't like fiberglass."
Perhaps this sentence might have been more tactfully crafted as: This is the Primitive Archer web site, and as such the rules restrict our discussion to primitive archery only, and specifically do not allow discussion of fiberglass, even in the context of a cosmetic or decorative addition to an all wood bow.
"To us it is the "F-word"."
Not sure this really serves any purpose, other than to incite just the sort of contraversy you would attribute to me. More specifically, unless "us" meant the admin here, or you enjoy multiple personalities or something, you don't speak for "us."
"Knowing that I can guarantee that everyone here will say..."
This is just assinine on the surface, unless you really think you can guarantee what everyone here will say which has obviously already been demonstrated to be false. So again no point including it in your response at all, if your purpose was solely to clarify the rules.
Shall we continue, or wouldn't it be better to just let sleeping dogs lie?
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Texas Pete, my apologies and no offense taken if you didn't intentionally post that to stir the pot...we seem have that happen on a regular basis with the "F word" so we get a little gun shy as it usually quickly disintegrates into a five-page argument. As you can see, it is already cranking up :) As to the question, any good glue will work with snakeskin-any of the Titebonds, hide glue, etc. No need to put glass over it. And David, let's not just let them lie, let's give them some horse tranquilizers before they lie down so they'll be there for awhile.....:)
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I should probably drop a few of these.
:) :) :) :)
I'm sincerely just trying to make a point, and sincerely not trying to stir up trouble. And I'm not even mildly upset or anything about this exchange with Justin.
Happy New Year and general kind wishes to all.
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Wheeeew! For a minute I thought it was "That time of the Month", again. Tex, like hillbilly said, just wet the skins down so they are soft. I then squirt some TB3 on my hand and smooth it on the skin and then lay it on the bow. After I smooth out all the bubbles I like to wrap it lightly with an Ace bandage. After it is dry, just trim it with a razor blade and coat it with Poly or whatever to make it durable.
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Wheeeew! For a minute I thought it was "That time of the Month", again. Tex, like hillbilly said, just wet the skins down so they are soft. I then squirt some TB3 on my hand and smooth it on the skin and then lay it on the bow. After I smooth out all the bubbles I like to wrap it lightly with an Ace bandage. After it is dry, just trim it with a razor blade and coat it with Poly or whatever to make it durable.
Thanks mullet. I can get TB3 at my local Home Depot
Happy New Year everyone!
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personally i dont like the "f" word, i am here becuase it is primitive.
never even thought about making a "f" bow myself,heck ya can buy them anywhere even wal-mart.
cant but these just any where and i am to cheap to pay for something i can do myself jm2cw
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Understand sailordad
Again, I simply asked a question, and I had the materials at hand.
I actually found a roll of artificial sinew that I'm going to use to back the bow, then I'm going to put the snakeskin backing on.
Thanks for your two cents worth
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Hi Texas. These little scuffles are all part of this game, don't let it bum you out. One day, thousands of years from now, fiberglass will be primitive, and then you can feel free to post bows here made with fiberglass.
Keep in mind artificial sinew is not real sinew, and doesn't have that stretchiness. Lot of folks like using rawhide to back bows, and linen fabric is popular. Just avoid blends if you can. I plan to try horse hair one day to back a bow, and I think flax fibers have been used as well.
Happy new year.
Dane
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Hi Texas. These little scuffles are all part of this game, don't let it bum you out. One day, thousands of years from now, fiberglass will be primitive, and then you can feel free to post bows here made with fiberglass.
Keep in mind artificial sinew is not real sinew, and doesn't have that stretchiness. Lot of folks like using rawhide to back bows, and linen fabric is popular. Just avoid blends if you can. I plan to try horse hair one day to back a bow, and I think flax fibers have been used as well.
Happy new year.
Dane
Hi Dane,
You're right' one day FG will be "Primitive". Whats really scary is that 30 years from now Rap Music will be "Golden Oldies" ;D
These little scuffles aren't what bothers me. As a moderator on another board what bothers me is "Over-Moderation". Seems the only scuffles I get into on this board are from the powers-that-be.
While on that subject; Mods, Admins; can we lock this thread down and simply move on?
Thanks again and Happy New Year
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Pete, I don't know if I would try the artificial sinew, it's waxed pretty heavily and probably won't stick too good with most glues. As for the over-moderation, the only moderation we seem to have to do (which is very seldom) often involves the same tiny handful of people who seem to be unable to post without constantly intentionally skirting the posted rules for seemingly no other purpose than to start arguments or see what they can get away with. After losing several good members who don't like to argue, we don't have much patience with it. The rules six months ago are the same ones we have now and will next year. If you leave because you're angry at us for enforcing one of these rules, then on your first post when you come back you ignore another one, well, maybe that's the source of scuffles with the "powers that be". 99% of the members on here never have a scuffle with the "powers that be" because they're here to discuss primitive archery with other people, not to test the limits of "the powers that be."
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Pete, I don't know if I would try the artificial sinew, it's waxed pretty heavily and probably won't stick too good with most glues. As for the over-moderation, the only moderation we seem to have to do (which is very seldom) often involves the same tiny handful of people who seem to be unable to post without constantly intentionally skirting the posted rules for seemingly no other purpose than to start arguments or see what they can get away with. After losing several good members who don't like to argue, we don't have much patience with it. The rules six months ago are the same ones we have now and will next year. If you leave because you're angry at us for enforcing one of these rules, then on your first post when you come back you ignore another one, well, maybe that's the source of scuffles with the "powers that be". 99% of the members on here never have a scuffle with the "powers that be" because they're here to discuss primitive archery with other people, not to test the limits of "the powers that be."
Again, Hillbilly, I didnt start the post to "Test the powers that be". I simply asked a question and was jumped on. I tried to take it in stride, but Others simply couldnt let it lie, which is why I asked the thread to be locked down.
I've got another avenue for the backing under the snake skin I'm going to try. If it's successful, I'll post some pics
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What kind of wood is your bow? It may not need a backing at all, most just dampen the snakeskin and glue it down to the bare wood. We would like to see pics, you can't post too many pics. I'll go ahead and lock this down, then.