one course of sinew, worthwhile or no ???

[sonny]

Having broken one or two bows that only had one course of sinew applied I've thought for some time that that's not enough.
However the more I think about it I remember that one of those broken bows wasn't ready for a string quite yet but I tried it anyhow, likely thinking that sinew would hold it together....it didn't and it broke clean across the back. I thought of trying to save that bow by applying more sinew, as the break didn't show on the belly, but I never would have had any faith in that bow.
any opinions on whether one course of sinew is of any benefit ??

I'm thinking that I should explain that my definition of one course of sinew is one layer which covers the working section of limb as well as the grip section. A second course would be applied along the centerline of the bow but wouldn't extend width-wise to the limb edges.
   

[Pat B]

Are you working with a stave?  What kind of wood?  How long is your bow?  A well made self bow shouldn't need sinew just to hold it together. Sinew will add cast to a bow but it is not a miracle cure for poor tillering. If you just want to protect the bows back, silk, linen or brown craft paper will do that for you without the mess and hassles of applying sinew.     Pat

[sonny]

...no specific bow Pat.
I'm simply trying to find out if others have the same thought as me that one course of sinew is not sufficient.
 

[Pat B]

One course is sufficient for protection(usually) but you will need more to increase cast.     Pat

[JackCrafty]

In my experience, the harder and heavier the wood, the more sinew is needed to keep splinters from raising on the back.  One course is sufficient for juniper, for example, but my sinew backed ipe bows needed 3 courses.

If your bows are breaking suddenly, i.e. "exploding", then all the sinew will do is keep the pieces from flying.....unless you use LOTS of sinew (think horn bow). If you're depending on the backing to keep back of the bow from failing before the belly does, there are better materials than sinew......like hickory or bamboo.