Snake skin on a bear recurve

[bowman221]

#4495

Is there an other forum or topic on how to put snake skins onto a bear recurve? Thanks Justin

[William Warren]

#31421

3 Rivers has a good video tutorial on their website. Is this a new model Bear bow or a potentially collectible bow? If it is an old bow you might consider not permanently attaching the skins. There are some really good imitation skins on the market that will not damage your bow.

[David Petersen]

#31480

Bowman — Welcome to tradbow.com … and Duncan, thanks for the good info. Basically, skins can be applied to any bow, no matter the make or material. My Shrew is skinned, so there goes its collectibility. I tried the tape skins several years ago and while they go on well and look real from a distance, they were shiny and camo–reducing shine–is a big reason for skinning a bow in the first place. So I’m wondering–have the fake skins improved significantly recently, and if so, which are the best and why? I had my fakes, a leading brand, on for about a year and when I peeled them off there was so much glue left on the bow that even with Goo B Gone clean-up was a real chore. But in the end there was no lasting evidence they’d ever been there. Most bowyers and other skinners, I hear, use the same brand of wood glue that I’ve built many bows with, TiteBond2 — yet I never had cause to research if there is a good solvent that will take off the glue without harming the finish on a glass bow. If there is, then skinning is no risk to collectibility. If not, it seems the trick would be to find some sort of adhesive that would hold real skins on for the long run, yet can be removed with standard solvents if collectibility becomes an issue. Rambling thoughts … but I would really like to know if there are any vastly improved fake skins out there today that don’t shine, don’t look like vinyl tape (which they are, or were), don’t cose as much as real skins, and can be removed cleanly after long application. Thanks, dave

[bowman221]

#31622

No this is not a collectors bow, I wish I had a collector bear. It is a 2010 bear grizzly, I just need to add camo to the front as it is black glass.

[William Warren]

#32037

In that case, some diamond back skins will look great on black glass. I followed the 3 rivers method and used Barge rubber cement to attach and satin poly urethane to finish. I removed the scales with a popsicle stick (this takes some time but you need to get every last one off) You may have to fix an occasional lift here and there or add a coat of finish occasionally. Here is my Predator, diamond backs on black glass. I got the cheaper black glass knowing it had to have skins!

[bowman221]

#32165

Very nice!! Duncan I will have to do that once I have money for snakeskin

[Backcountry Joe]

#32416

I skinned a recurve last winter, I used Titebond II to attach the skins, I used the backside of a butter knife to remove all the scales and rubbed in a few coats of CA-1 (model glue). I finished it with several coats of Tru-oil. It was fairly simple and turned out great.

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