How about a showcase here of your snake-backed bows. Reptile art!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v247/theferret111/skins.jpg)
I thinks I smell'a fish in there Ferret?
I think its carp your smeelin, and If I had to guess its the bottom one. Man Ferret those are some SWEET lookin bows. I have always wanted a snakey selfbow. You make em' to sell??
Lol yup that's my Timo bow "Alpha Static" outfitted with carp skins on the bottom. As purty as any snake which is saying alot for the skins of a garbage fish.
The rest are from top..western diamond back, prairie rattler, mojave rattler,eastern diamond back, copperhead and bull snake
ROH..no sir, sorry.
Thats too bad, I will have to learn how to make em one day. I am limited to board bows for now. I REALLY like that bullsnake bow thats right above the carp one. That stave has alot of character and those skins are gorgeous.
Nice
Hate snakes but love them Snakey and Snakebacked bows. Finally got a Snaky one of my own - from friend Dano, as previously seen in these pages.
I saw some snakey osage bows last weekend at OK Wildlife Expo. Ralph Renfrow and Todd Weldon were building bows there. I got to talk to Todd some and he is first class friendly. Ralph was covered up with people asking question. I caught Todd when he was busy with the drawknife on a stave and he stopped and answered all of my questions and mae me feel like an old friend. This is why I love traditional archery. Great folks willing to share knowledge and time with a stranger.
Any drawback to using snake skin backings such as ;seperation,fadeing,or sealing issues.
None I have found.
I've done one osage selfbow with snake skins, and I'm working on a yew bow that I'd like to skin.
I've seen some folks that are able to get a smooth-as-glass finish over skins and I'm wondering whats the secret? On the one I did, I used masking tape to get all the scales off, and smoothed on a coat of superglue on the skins and let that dry. I finished it with wipe-on poly and it turned out nice, but you still see the texture of the skin. I was hoping for a glass-smooth finish. Any pointers??
I never tire of seeing those bows Mickey, great looking bows......
David
Mickey, they are stunning!! Shawn
Hey Jonathan, I use up to five coats of super glue very light with light sanding ( 220 grit) between each coat. I finish off with three to five light coats of polyurethane, light steel wool between each coat. Almost looks like skins are under glass. Good luck