How To Build A Sinew Backed Hickory Short Bow 

Thank you!!

Awesome dude! I’m glad you found it. I’ve been long delayed in finishing and posting it, but I have a video in the works on just sinew backing itself. I hope your backing goes well!

Sounds like we both do! I’ve sorta picked little bits of information and ideas from a lot of places and incorporated them with my own.

Thanks man!

Thanks dude!

Thank you!

Thanks so much dude! I suppose because it’s super relaxing for me. Everyone has their go to therapy activities. Woodworking is one of mine.

Thanks very much! I’m glad you think so.

That’s awesome! Good luck. Work slow and steady, and definitely let me know how it finishes out.

Heck yeah! The world needs more bow builders! Thank you! You should definitely video your progress. Sometimes I look back and wish I had done videos earlier on in my learning.

That’s how I started out too. Thanks very much for the sub!

Thank you. I’m gonna do my best to get a whitetail deer and maybe a turkey with them this year.

Nice! What wood are you working with?

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

For sure. Definitely keeps the quality of your craft higher.

Thanks very much!

Thank you!

Nice! Thanks for watching them. Yes, but then you would lose some of the “working limb” length because the handle wouldn’t bend the same. It isn’t much, but it adds up. Essentially the rule of thumb is to have the total working limb length at 2x your draw length. If you break that rule by going shorter, you can damage or break a bow, especially at medium to high draw weights.

@@EccentricArtisan right on. Thank you for the great info brotha 🙏

@@dustinhoffman9843 No problem man!

😂😂😂 You’d be surprised. She’s very approving and supportive of my hobbies. Wouldn’t be with her if she wasn’t.

@@EccentricArtisan That's Awesome!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. I still shoot 27” with a compound bow, but believe it or not my draw length has actually shrunk to around 23” when using a traditional or primitive bow. It has a lot to do with what style of shooting you are comfortable with. I used to shoot so much with a compound and had been trained traditionally. I stood stiffly upright. I was too rigid and mechanical. To me it doesn’t suit this type of archery as well. More recently than this video even, I have started pausing only briefly or not at all before release. I try to release when I hit anchor which is the base of my thumb touching my chin. I acquire my target and point of aim as I draw, rather than after anchoring. I bend a bit at the knees and waist. I cant the bow significantly. This is similar to the way that Ryan Gill shoots, and I would say that watching him has had a good deal of influence on my draw shrinking as well as other subtle changes to my stance and release. I’ll link his channel in case you haven’t seen him before and are interested m.ru-vid.com/show-UCGi4XEw-4mC3StQVpNubofQ

@@EccentricArtisan yes, I have watched him too. I think youre right in the points you made, I have just joined an archery club and I do find them a bit regimented, I find myself considering how a north american indian might approach it, I think primitive archery is quite different

@@christinenorriss9675I definitely agree about primitive archery. Different times require different solutions. I’m sure they had good ones too, as they managed to feed their families just fine.

Thank you

Thank you! Thinning the handle more from the sides would require leaving it thicker on the belly side (towards you). The reason for the type of handle in the video was to allow bend through the handle which utilizes more of the bows potential energy. I think you could make it thinner, but be careful to leave plenty of thickness on the belly to be safe.

Thank you! Well, the old rule of thumb is double the draw length to get the total working limb length, and I tend to stick close to that. So for 27”, bending through the handle, I’d make it at least 54”.

@@EccentricArtisan Sweet, thanks for the reply!

@@caseya.4902 no problem dude!

Thank you! This particular bow is perfectly flat when unstrung. In my opinion the reflexing effect is much more significant and present when sinew is combined with hide glue. And when it is intentionally sought after by use of fastening, clamping, or forming while it cures. That isn’t to say that the sinew and Titebond hasn’t prevented set from occurring, which it may have, simply canceling out the set but not presenting reflex. I would say the advantage to this glue is mostly in its moisture resistance. I’ve built a couple bows of this style with the same glue and sinew combo and the first one was particularly good. Currently averages 165fps at 65 lbs when drawn to 23 inches.

@@EccentricArtisan Well, thank you for your detailed answer! I may try one of these days just to experiment it!

@@lordka-zar No problem! I’m looking forward to doing a few with hide glue soon as well, so I’ll get to see how it affects these shorter bows. I have a feeling short limbed bows don’t show reflex as naturally from just glueing, but I could be wrong. It’ll be interesting to see either way.

@@EccentricArtisan Indeed, steam or dry heat are used to recurve the tips or to set the handle back. But the sinew / hide glue combo improves the reflex due to collagen bond but it is of course minor compared to what we do with heat before applying the sinew. I am convinced the Titebond 3 remains a decent alternative which is moreover waterproof and less messy to use

@@lordka-zar I’ve definitely noticed more reflex visually with hide glue on a longer bow I did last year. And I would say that the Titebond is in some ways a bit easier to manage as far as prep. There’s a lot more that goes into hide glue.

Thank you! Nope, currently just making them for personal use.

Hi, thanks for the question. You are correct about gaining more power. In order to make it significant you must add in more reflex than what the sinew will give on its own. Sinew will add some power, but it’s biggest advantage is making the bow withstand more stress. As for gluing it’s best if your glue is not too thick or too thin. Just the right amount of water will make it bond strongly, but to much or too little will weaken the bond.

@@EccentricArtisan as i thought, basically the titebond doesn't add reflex like glue hide, i had this thought because actually the tendons start working after a certain stretch, just like when you do muscle stretching, at first you feel nothing and then it starts pulling. in your opinion what is the exact water-glue mixture? have you ever tried to glue the sinew on a horn with the titebond? I would like to try but have heard mixed opinions

@@ilcignoeilgrifone yes and my reasoning for titbond III is to have a bow that I can take out in rain if necessary and not worry about loosing much weight or slipping glue. I do like hide glue for dry use days. I usually eyeball the mix and look for how it runs, but I would guess it’s around 90% glue and 10% water. However, you see in the video that I completely soften the sinew in water first which is key. The glue mix won’t saturate the sinew properly without it. I haven’t tried it on horn, but I would say it probably works well with the right glue to water ratio. I don’t know if you might need slightly less water for that or not.

yes I also softened them as if I were using hide glue, I mixed a lot more water almost 70% water and 30 titebond it took longer to dry but the layer is thinner and a lot lighter, I have another sami style bow to do and I will try to reflect it much, much more this time

@@ilcignoeilgrifone if it works it works, but I feel like having more than 30-40% water would be too much. Haven’t tried it though, so if you find that it is good more power to you.

Насколько я понимаю, влага всегда будет просачиваться обратно, независимо от того, какие масла или финиш используются. это только замедляет процесс. Главное - хранить лук в сухом теплом месте, когда он не используется. Это поможет сохранить его сухим вместе с отделкой. Еще один метод, который я еще не пробовал, - закалка огнем. Это включает в себя медленный нагрев лука над слоем углей, чтобы изменить структуру древесины. Впоследствии он всасывает меньше влаги и сохраняет большую мощность. Есть видеоролики на RU-vid, демонстрирующие эту процедуру, и я хотел бы когда-нибудь попробовать ее сам.

@@EccentricArtisan спасибо дружище! Познавательно. А про " закаливание" живота лука над костром в сети говорят давно. Даже мастера в Англии делающие лонгбоу считали за правило прогреть тис над огнём. Насколько я понял, ты делаешь прототипы индейских луков? У нас в России по ним мало информации. Некоторые недобросовестные обзорщики иронически отзываются об их боевых свойствах. Хотя те же современники 19- го Века видели как Лакота на охоте загоняли в бизона стрелу до пера! Я лично верю. Удачи.

@@Вилли-ж6т Пожалуйста. Мне нравится смешивать разные техники, используемые в Северной Америке, но ничего не копировать в точности. Я считаю, что вполне вероятно, что во всех старых культурах здесь были луки, обладающие значительной убойной эффективностью. Спасибо!

This is the comment I have been waiting patiently for 🤣 and yes living room is one of my shop spaces. Just depends on the day and project. Thank you!

👍 you welcome i liked your vidéo whatever the place when passion take you you do what it whisper in your head through your ears

@@daigans couldn’t agree with you more

What painting do you use? This black one?

Lol, I’ll do it at your house and make a video on the process, titling it “How To Raid Your Brother’s Beer Fridge”

@@EccentricArtisan 😂

Hey man, I’m sorry you found the wrong video and got upset. You’re certainly right about hide glue or sinew glue working excellently for this application. I have built bows with both that I thoroughly enjoy, and have gotten equally good results from. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling anyone that there’s one way or another that things have to be done. That would be absurd.