nox glue?????

[madcrow]

I would stick to the Knox gelatin and rawhide for the backing.  If those leather strips are wide and thin enough, you could sew it up and make a bowsock from it.  Knox and regular homemade hide glue are great for glue ups and attaching backings.  A lot of the "Old School" woodworkers that I know use hide glue when making furnature because it is so strong.

[JW_Halverson]

Just remember with hide glue, sinew, rawhide backings, and snake skins to NOT leave the bow where a dog can get at it.  There isn't any detectable odor to us but dog's noses are something else!  I can only imagine a dog's delight in gaining access to a newly sinewed bow..."Oh, Master loves me so much he made a special treat from my two favorite things, a stick AND sinew!" chomp chomp chomp

[son of massey]

  the glues are just different. titebond is a synthetic glue that is v. strong, but if you want to avoid modern technological stuff in an archery set hide glue is still very strong and all natural.   i dont think tandy leather carries sinew-they will have artificial sinew in the arts and crafts section though-but then i havent been to your tandy leather either. it would just surprise me if they have it-but it doesnt hurt to ask. SOM

[JackCrafty]

Just bought a bunch of unflavored knox gelatin to try as glue.  I've heard from a reliable source that food grade gelatin is not very consistent (from one batch to the next) in terms of strength, but we're not building rocking chairs or wagon wheels here.  So I'm going to give it a try.  I'm sure it works fine for making arrows.....so I'm going to try backing a short bow using knox and deer sinew and put it through the ringer.  I"ll let you guys know how it works.

I think hide glue and fish glue are actually cheaper than knox gelatin.....maybe there's a generic or lower-price brand out there?

[Justin Snyder]

Hide glue is much stronger than TB. It is the strongest glue. 

Patrick, most people assume that Knox is stronger because it is "pure."  If you spend a lot of time reading up on hide glue and the different weights you will discover that there are lots of things that effect strength such as cooking time.  I don't know how long they cook Knox or how hot, but I'm sure that to get it sterile it gets hotter than the recommended max temperature of hide glue which weakens it.  I don't really think it is an issue though since both are stronger than PVA glues. I have used both and they are both up to the task.  Justin

[JackCrafty]

Justin, have you tried mixing hide glue with anything in order to make it more flexible (other than sinew)?  Glycerin works (but it keeps the glue tacky as well as flexible).....maybe there's something else?  I'm thinking that maybe there's a way to back a bow with just a hide glue mixture.  It would save a lot of time...especially on kid's bows.

[Hillbilly]

I'm sure it works fine for making arrows.....so I'm going to try backing a short bow using knox and deer sinew and put it through the ringer.  I"ll let you guys know how it works.

I've sinewed three bows with Knox, worked great.

[JackCrafty]

I've sinewed three bows with Knox, worked great.

Hillbilly, Care to elaborate?

Did it work better than hide glue?  Did you thin down the knox?  How thin?  Did you soak the sinew in the knox?  Or just dip the sinew in the knox?  Yada yada yada......

Maybe there's a secret ingredient to making knox as strong as hide glue?  Would it have anything to do with adding critter poop?

[madcrow]

My wife just learned to ask what I have been doing before she gives me a kiss good-bye.  I was wrapping some fletches and had just put a pinch of knox in my mouth to go with the sinew in there swimming around.  She planted one on me and said, "What have you been eating, your lips are sticky?"  I grinned and said "Lips, buttholes and hide."  She was not happy at all.

[JackCrafty]

 

[knightd]

I mix the powdered Knox with just a little water to get the consistency of warm syrup or so soak my sinew in warm water then ring the water out with my fingers and put it in the warm knox for just a min take it out and use my fingers to get off the extra glue and apply it to the bow..Ive done 10 or so bows this way with no problems..

[JackCrafty]

Thanks David...wow...10 bows.  Is there a reason you used knox instead of hide glue?  Personally, I stopped using hide glue because I had trouble dealing with the short open time.

[Hillbilly]

Patrick, Knox is hide glue, and from most accounts, as strong or even stronger than most hide glues. Tim Baker did a strength test of glues, and rated Knox above regular hide glue, TB, Urac, and all other glues tested except two-ton epoxy. I just mixed it like thin syrup, heated it in a double boiler and dipped the sinew in a bundle at a time, squeezed the excess glue off with my fingers, and stuck it on the (sized) bow.

[knightd]

I used hide glue but for most all aplications knox is works just fine and you can get it any where! Knox is hide glue just at the grocery store..lol.. Not as primative as boiling down your own but just as efective..

[YewArcher]

I have sinewed some 60+bows with Knox. Its all I use and it works great. I have used hide glue, tb2, tb3 and by far prefer knox to all of them.

Steve