Second bow

mikekeswick · Post by **mikekeswick** » Sat May 02, 2015 6:42 am

Take the twist out now before sinewing.
When I said above to split them in half and repeat I meant to do it until the strands start snapping and you can go no further. So as a final thickness you are looking about 1mm to get a smooth, flat sinewed back.
It's best to do this and only then use the frog to taper the ends. You will get much longer, more consistent strands doing it the way i've recommended. Using the frog all the time will just snap the strands and you won't be able to get them fine enough.

mikekeswick · Post by **mikekeswick** » Sat May 02, 2015 6:44 am

On your next bow make the core much thicker to start with. It will help you make good joints and more importantly it will be stiff enough when gluing the horn on to not twist on you.

Tapsnap · Post by **Tapsnap** » Mon May 04, 2015 7:31 pm

Thanks Mike. I managed to get the twist out with a little heat. It was actually easier than I thought it was going to be - only light heating on the horn side seemed to fix the problem.
I applied the first layer of sinew over the weekend. I tried to work as methodically, gently and quickly as I could in a very hot room but I did have problems in laying down the sinew evenly. It's a little lumpy right now, maybe after a little drying it will flatten out. I bought the yellow fish bladder glue, advertized here on this forum. Despite the high temperature of the room I was working in, it gelled really quite fast. I could barely get the next strip on before the previous one gelled. I'm not sure if I got the consistency right but I measured out 50gms of dried glue to 200gms of water. It looked really thick to me. But this is what I have used throughout the bow.

Tapsnap · Post by **Tapsnap** » Wed May 06, 2015 1:59 pm

Two days of drying and the sinew is lying much flatter now. I will put on the next layer over the weekend.

Bj?rn Sofeit · Post by **Bj?rn Sofeit** » Wed May 06, 2015 4:01 pm

Consider using gelled bundles. It's smart to have an electric element close, so that you can warm them up before putting them on the bow.

Tapsnap · Post by **Tapsnap** » Thu May 07, 2015 12:47 pm

Gelled bundles - You mean kind of like the Korean bowyers do it?
Also the bundles were warm enough when I put them on the bow but they cool rapidly once I have smoothed them down. It's just the nature of evaporation (I remember something about "latent heat" from my physics classes) Anyway, the room was super hot. My wife is a ceramisist and has 4 industrial kilns. I was doing the work in the kiln room with two of the kilns firing at the time.

Bj?rn Sofeit · Post by **Bj?rn Sofeit** » Thu May 07, 2015 2:47 pm

Yes, the korean method of gelled strips. It's extremely easy. Comb and saturate until the strips are perfect. If you feel insecure about hitting the right width for the strip, you can get a translucent plastic plate and mark it on the other side.

Let them rest on a plastic plate until they feel like leather. Before you put them on the bow, warm them up over the electric element until they get softer. When they have a consistency like uncooked salmon filet, they're good to go.

Tapsnap · Post by **Tapsnap** » Fri May 08, 2015 7:37 pm

Well, for the next layer I need to build up the edges and flatten the cross-section. I may try it for the final layer.

mikekeswick · Post by **mikekeswick** » Mon May 11, 2015 5:36 am

Yes i've run into problems with my sinew layers when trying to work in somewhere too cold and the bundles gelling almost as soon as they were laid down. I'm certain it's why my last couple have failed.
Next time i'm going to use the Korean method as well.

Tapsnap · Post by **Tapsnap** » Tue May 12, 2015 1:52 pm

Over the weekend I applied the second layer of sinew. Again I struggled with it gelling too quickly. After two days of drying it looks a lot better than when I had just finished applying it.

Tapsnap · Post by **Tapsnap** » Fri May 27, 2016 6:00 pm

I added the third layer and left it to dry.

It has been drying for over a year and yesterday I began tillering it and working on the twist that appears to be still quite considerable.

I have had it on the tillering stick and the bends in the limbs are actually quite even,

Jenes · Post by **Jenes** » Fri May 27, 2016 8:42 pm

Nice precise work, fingers crossed.

pcoutin · Post by **pcoutin** » Fri May 27, 2016 10:39 pm

good luck
Second horn bow, and looks like a Korean. Wow.
Maybe you should alternate the sides the clamps go on next time?
May get more feedback on the ATARN facebook group if you need any..