Recurve bow building - how to back a bow with snake skin
A snake skin bow backing can be a beautiful addition to any traditional bow. In this video Clay Hayes shows how to back a sinew backed osage recurve bow. This method will work for any selfbow, wood bow, longbow or recurve. If you're bow hunting with a sinew backed bow, the skins can help protect the backing and add some nice camouflage as well.
The process starts by dehydrating the snake skins so they will lay flat and conform to the bow's back. After a test run to make sure they are going to fit, titebond 3 is used to glue the skins in place. Wrapping with an old t-shirt or ace bandage will help keep the skins in place and tight against the bow while drying.
After the skins are dry you'll need to trim them to fit the bow's back. Clay uses a mill file and 220 grit sand paper to trim the skins. A bead of superglue around the edge will lock the edges in place and create a nice transition from the bow to the skins.
Once everything is dry, several coats of tru-oil will seal everything up and make a nice finish to protect the bow.
These copperhead snake skins came from Anthony Tindell. You can find him on the Leatherwall forum as alphamale. Email him at archeraholic@gmail.com
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Пікірлер: 100
Absolutely GORGEOUS‼️✴️ Definitely an heirloom bow
Clay I have to say what a sick looking bow , love it . 👍
Looks great Clay, well done. Can't wait to see some hunting series videos with this beauty. This is definitely on my to-do list.
@ricardokylo7249
2 жыл бұрын
i guess im randomly asking but does anyone know a method to get back into an Instagram account? I was dumb forgot the account password. I appreciate any assistance you can give me.
@bobbyroman6785
2 жыл бұрын
@Ricardo Kylo instablaster =)
tru-oil=amazing that skin looked phenomenal. great work, im definitely building a sinew and snake skin backed bow because of this video. probably hickory, thanks a million!
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
👍
Hey Clay! I think a great video would be you and Ryan Gill get together for a Florida hog hunt!
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
We might try to make that happen.
@Todzilla386
5 жыл бұрын
Great idea!
That thing is sweet... Clean work man!
Thanks for the tips. I have had good luck using a needle/syringe combo, for pinpoint glue deposits, when I've had air pockets in leather work. Linoleum too... Thanks again
@clayhayeshunter
4 жыл бұрын
works great!
Cool looking finish 👍
Looks Great!
Great video.
Snake skin on snaky bow looks amazing.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks Hank
Another fantastic vid clay. very much appreciated. hope to be working with some snake skin in the near future. what might help you to dry out your wood more efficiently try putting a dehumidifier in the box instead of the heat lamps. it wil regulate the heat / moisture evaporation alot easier with less chance of the wood warping or splitting. i use it for prepping my woodturning and knife blanks. would work great in that small area.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
That would work great!
You are awesome dude
Muy bueno le pusistes el cuero de vibora cascabel muy bueno quedo mortal
Didn't care much for the nocks at first but with that snake skin they really look good. Beautiful bow. A lot better looking than fiber glass. Hang that bow on the wall in your living room to show it off. It's a show piece.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks Larry
Beautiful work. I unfortunately have a violent aversion to snakes and that bow laying next to you in the fall leaves might create some entertainment or animosity depending on which side of the fence you fall on. It is still a beautiful bow.
Hey man, is it better to use a tanned snake skin or one that just been dryed out with salt for a backing on a self bow?
Another way to get them bubbles out you can use a hypodermic needle and inject some tightbond underneath and press back down. Rub with damp cloth to clean up extra and tape a wrap of masking tape (blue or purple) around till set. Works great for me but takes a bit more patience.
@clayhayeshunter
10 ай бұрын
good tip
@ndoghouse6853
10 ай бұрын
@@clayhayeshunterhey Clay! while I got you here. I just broke my forth recurve using dry heat and don't know why? I can bend side to side to srraighten or remove twist no problem but for some reason the front to back for recurve aint working. Im heating with heat gun for 10 minutes till belly wood just starts to color. any tips? I'm thinking trying steam next time? do you bend before or after tillering? I notice if you bend then you remove more wood then I loose a bunch of bend. I've been working wood for quite a while but haven't bent much.
Hi Clay, I was curious if this would work on finished bows, I seen in the comments below that Rodney asked the same question. If a guy just lightly scuffed the back in theory it would work and also it might give you a little more poundage? Strange question I know but I’m new to the Boyer trade.
Awesome job! Would this same process work well for a finished laminated longbow if i sanded the finish on the back of bow before applying skins?
@guitjolin
3 жыл бұрын
I use a product called "limbsations" on my laminated bows. Super easy, removable, lots of color and pattern options...onestringer.com/bow-accessories-and-skins/limbsations/
You did show using the old jogging pants leg to hold down a rawhide backing in a previous video. I think maybe it was in the board bow series.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Ah thanks. I remember now!
What a coincidence I use t-shirt material in the internal glueing process. Of making my scrapper slingshot frames, accept I bond in a different way.
Please tell me your going to keep uploading the red cedar selfbow videios I was really getting into that one.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Yes. I’ve got the next one lined up for next week.
Hear that mockingbird after dark, I’ve just moved to the mountains but I’ve lived in palm Coast Florida for several years, there was a mockingbird that came to an orange tree in my backyard for three years, he’d sing from 10 pm till dawn sometimes. I actually snuck up on him and filmed him singing one night by holding up my cellphone camera to one of the eye pieces of my PVS7 night vision. I don’t know how they don’t get eaten by snakes and house cats singing in the dark like that.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
They’re cool birds!
Volte que aprender inglês kkkk gosto muito de seus video
Hey there Clay. I really have enjoyed your bow building. I’m making one for my granddaughter. Why do you put skin, sinew, or leather on the back of the bow? Is it structural or just for aesthetics?
@clayhayeshunter
4 жыл бұрын
Snake skins protect the sinew. Sinew, if done right, can add speed and performance.
If you have a small air bubble, can you just poke it with a needle and top with glue or something?
that is the sexiest bow I've ever seen!! I think the next snake that crosses the road in front of me might be in trouble ;)
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
😆
Can snakeskin be used on a machine made recurve to make it a little different from the norm, great work by the way Clay.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Absolutely. The methods are a little different though. I think 3Rivers has a tutorial on their site.
@mickusable
5 жыл бұрын
Clay Hayes thanks Clay, I'll have a look.
would the layer of snake skin and glue increase the poundage a little? can i do this to my ILF recurve limbs of RCX-17RCX-17?
I use leg wrap for horses wooks like a Ace bandage
@clayhayeshunter
2 жыл бұрын
That works well
Have any tips on applying real snakeskins to a fiberglass backed bow? I was thinking of using 15 or 30 minute epoxy. Thoughts?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
I think someone wrote an article about that in an older issue of Traditional Bowhunter Magazine. You might drop them a line at tradbow.com
Does sinew backing make Osage any faster? My Osage selfbow shoots faster than a custom longbow I bought years ago that’s Osage with fiberglass laminates.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
It can but it really depends on how well the bow is built in the first place.
Do you have any of these snake skin backed bowed that have been well used? It seems that over time the skin could become dry and stringing and unstinting the bow could split or crack them. I guess you'd have to keep it well oiled.
@clayhayeshunter
3 жыл бұрын
I seal them up really well so they have a protective layer over the skin. But they can bet beat up after a while.
Could you possibly do a few videos on how to make a horsebow/ mongolian horse bow???
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Perhaps sometime down the road.
On your video of sinew backing this bow it looked like you don't heat up your gelatin hide glue before use. Is that what you do or was that just missing from the video?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
It’s warmed up. It’ll gel if it gets cool.
@tylerwong9627
5 жыл бұрын
@@clayhayeshunter Ok that's what I figured. Love your videos, I appreciate the response.
Is it possible to make bows out of juniper and if so are they good bows
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Watch next weeks video. That’s exactly what we’re doing!
Would it be possible to take a factory recurve or longbow and turn it into a two piece takedown?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
I suppose that would depend on how it was constructed but I think it would be possible for many of them.
@ShaneSteeI
5 жыл бұрын
I think many of us have older factory recurves and longbows that might need some revitalizing. It would be cool to see a video or two about modifying those bows and bringing them back into service and perhaps turning them into viable two piece hunting bows.
Do you work out? Your arms look slightly more massive than they used to 💪
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Does a few pushups in the morning count?
@AFCAWorldBodybuildingArchive
5 жыл бұрын
@@clayhayeshunter it does! Every physical activity does. 💪😎
Will you do a video on putting on the fake snake skin 3 rivers sale and the coating thats put over them ?
@clayhayeshunter
4 жыл бұрын
I could probably do that. Thanks for the idea.
Can I put a snake skin over a rawhide backing.
Can wood glue be used as backing glue?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Yes
Okay Mr. Hayes... I have found myself in a pickle. I have been shooting my bow since I was 4 years old and I am now 21 but I’ve always shot right handed in that time frame. My current bow is 45lbs at 28” but with my draw it’s around 47-49lbs. I was recently given a left handed bow and never thought anything of it. Well the other day I was just wondering what on earth I was gonna do with it. It’s a 50lb Shakespeare Necedah x-26 58”. So I decided to just go try it out just out of fun. But I ended up finding out that I shoot better with it left handed than I do with my right handed bows. It feels more natural and I’m much more consistent. But I am right eye dominant so I was gap shooting it and driving tacks anywhere from 10yrds to 40ish. So my question is, should I make the switch to lefty or just forget about it and keep doing what I’m doing with my right hand bows?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Shoot what you shoot best. But I suspect you’re shooting it better because you’re more focused on shooting the bow properly. If you have that level of focus to the right handed bow you’d shoot it just as well. And you said you’re gaping with the left handed bow. That suggests that you’re shooting the right handed bow with a more instinctive method. Aim that thing!
can this be done with a factory recurve ?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Yes but the methods will be a little different. I think 3Rivers has a tutorial on their website.
Kind of confused... Is the skin still wet and he places it on the bow?
@clayhayeshunter
2 ай бұрын
Yes
Does the skin increase draw weight?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
Rawhide would a little bit snakeskin doesn’t.
Hey bud how come you dont sell any of your bows i wouldnt mind buying one with some arrows bc there is no way id ever be able to build on as much as id love to.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
I’d rather teach someone how to build their own. Plus I don’t like dealing with custom orders.
Have you used fish skins for backing?
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
I’ve used shark skin.
@Makete100
5 жыл бұрын
@@clayhayeshunter wow would love to see that.
Hey Clay! Are these skins from snakes that skinned themselves or did you hunt them and skin them by hand? ....can self-skinned skins be used for backing a bow?
Do you know what needs to be done to a snake skin to prepare it for this other than fleshing? And probably salting I'd imagine
@clayhayeshunter
4 жыл бұрын
Don't put salt on it. Salt will soak up humidity. You don't have to do anything to it. Just glue it down. If it's dry, rehydrate it first.
@tylerparker3024
4 жыл бұрын
Oh ok. I figured you'd have to do something to keep it from rotting, thanks for the info I sure appreciate it
Where could I get one of these bows from u
@clayhayeshunter
4 жыл бұрын
Shoot me a message through my website. Twistedstave.com
Lol @ the animals in fast mo
Is your two piece bow instructional available for purchase anywhere else other than Patreon. I'd love to support what you're doing but can't stand the idea of paying into a business that is so diametrically opposed to freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
@clayhayeshunter
5 жыл бұрын
It will soon be available as part of an online course. If you’re not on my mailing list go to the website and sign up. I’ll send out a notification when it’s available.
Your content is fantastic, but the lighting of your camera is terrible.