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 [email protected]

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