Rawhide installation advice

[gmc]

Size the back of the bow with hide glue, size the rawhide itself with hide glue and let dry. Lay the rawhide over the bow using a kitchen iron on low heat to bond the two together and you are done. You'd be amazed at how simple this is to pull off with no air bubbles, no need to bandage like a mummy. Dean Torges explains it better, just google search.

I've done more than one in the past using this method and never had a problem. I don't use much rawhide these days but it should be thin to start with, deer is better than cow, doe is better than a buck. 

[adb]

i do it similar to adb, but with some changes:
i "degrease" , the bow . that is wash it with soap or lye then rinse well to clean it (then let dry)
i "size" the bow ( thin coat of glue (tbIII) which is let to dry a while- this prevents the wood from soaking up too much glue leaving not enough in the glueline for a good bond)
i lap it down onto the sides, not just the back (about 1/8 inch)
this is with round- backed vine maple, so i wrap with gauze or ace bandage. i get the wrapping marks, which i don't like. i am thinking that since tbIII is waterproof- you could resoak the rawhide after the glue dried and it will pllump up (??) , erasing the marks- anyone ever tried this?

Wonderin when someone was goin to mention sizing...

Ron


I don't size the back of the wood or the rawhide. No need, in my opinion I've never had a problem.

[denny]

Been Lotsa good advise given. I do it pretty much the same as been mentioned. In Have tried most all the methods. From using lye to acetone to degrease the wood . And used to groove the surface to be glued. As to sizing I have done it both ways with and without, but really haven't notice any difference in the end result.So I like to use thin elk hide usually from a young cow. As I have a neighbor that brain tans hides.I like titebond 3, But bowyers bible suggests hide to hide glue is the best recommended.I cut my material first at about 1/8 inch past edge of dimensions. I seize the limbs and apply the hide. I forgot to mention ,I soak the hide in cold water for an hour and wrap in a towel. Don't want to water down the glue. Now I use shrink wrap and wrap nice and tight. Let dry for about 12 hours and unwrap and let air dry and watch it shrink to a nice glossy finish. I then sand the edges with a dremel tool and use a metal file to file the edges smooth filing from center to edge. There Ya go, that is all . I never sand the hide itself as it is smooth if you do it this way.By the way you don't have to scratch the surface of the bow necessarily , I don't anymore and haven't had one slip yet. Good Luck Denny

[El Destructo]

Using a Board works great....as long as you are using a Board for the Bow...try the Board thang on a Snakey Osage Stave and see how it works! I use Hide Glue...because your applying Hide.... Nothing will stick a piece of Rawhide down like Hide Glue will...nothing....Wet the Rawhide till it's Opaque and soft...set it aside to dry some...size it while it is still good and damp...size the Bow...when both layers of Glue have set...you can do as stated earlier and lay it on and heat it with either a Heat Gun or a Hair Dryer...and press it down as you go...or you can apply another layer of Glue to the Hide....situate it on the Bow back like you want it...and start pressing it down by Hand...as the Hide Glue Dries ...it will pull the Rawhide down tighter and tighter to the Bow...if I have a really Snakey Stave...I still use Inner Tube...and once the Bow is totally dry...you can either re wet the Rawhide to get the Impressions out...or do like I do...and simply sand them out...you are going to sand the Back and the edges anyways to transition the Rawhide to the Limbs smoothly...JMO

[adb]

Like I stated a few posts back, El D, my method is what I use for a board bow. Rawhide backing a stave (and especially a character stave) is a whole nother thing.

[JW_Halverson]

Like I stated a few posts back, El D, my method is what I use for a board bow. Rawhide backing a stave (and especially a character stave) is a whole nother thing.

...requiring a whole different set of oaths and curses. 

 

[adb]

Agreed!! 

[Stingray45]

Got my rawhide in the mail yesterday. Just not sure which board bow Im gonna apply it to. Maybe you guys can provide some guidance there as well. I have a pretty straight grained piece of Maple, not perfect but pretty good for maple that I have a pyramid style bow I am working on. I have the floor tillering done and got it ot short string. However if I was going to back that I was actually thinking of using some hickory. I also have a really straight grained piece of red oak board that I was going to do in the pyramid style as well. Would the rawhide be better suited for either? Or does it make no diffence? I think the rawhide may look better on the red oak but I'd prefer that it shoot well and look OK as opposed to a nice looking wall hanger haha.

[adb]

One of my favourite combos for board flat bows, is rawhide backed maple. I think I've made about 20 or so.

[Stingray45]

I've brought this topic back up because I have finished the maple board bow. Right now it is 66" ntn, 54#@28" and a really smooth draw. I'm wondering is it too late to add the rawhide backing that I had previously asked about on this thread? I think a few people said that rawhide won't change the poundage or tiller, is this correct? Or if I added the rawhide would I have to redo the tiller? I think the bow is solid and everything is fine, the rawhide would be added for appearance. I don't mind if the draw weight goes up because I still have to do final sanding so that is going to drop the draw weight. Thanks for any advice that can be provided.

[Pat B]

Adding the rawhide now won't change the tiller but it will add extra physical weight which could impede limb recovery.

[Klandaght]

Just a note to those who don't like the marks that ace cbandages leave in the rawhide.  I used to use Ace wraps and got those marks.  I have found that using that gauzy looking ouchless stick to itself wraps left no visible marks on the back, made it easier to wrap, and dried quicker than cloth Ace wraps.

[Stingray45]

I'll let everyone know how mine works out when I unwrap it tonight. I laid out the rawhide, put a piece of plastic wrap between it and a walnut board and then clamped it together. Then I wrapped the boards together in between the clamps with a bike inner tube. Hoping the board keeps it flat an even with no marks.