I making a recurve and just sanding it. I put sinew on the back to the tips. I thinking of putting skins on it. should I take the sinew off on the curved tip and put the skins on up to the curves?
If it is a static recurve you don't need the sinew on the non-working portions of the tips and it only adds unnecessary physical weight. Also, the sinew can pull off the inside curves as it dries. I leave the last 6" of the tips free of sinew and skins because it isn't needed there and to prevent excess wear on the string. A simple wrap at the end should hold it fine. I usually do a sinew wrap over the end of the sinew and a silk thread wrap over the skin.
You do, however want sinew through the handle area. I neglected to do this on the last two sinew backed bows I build and lost some of the zip I should have gotten plus both bows began to take set in the unsinewed handle area or at the fades.
Thanks Pat, but it just broke out about 6" out from the handle. I had about an inch to go. Back to another stave.
How did it break? What wood are you using?
It was an Osage stave and broke when I was exercising it, and I don't know why it broke, it looked pretty goods.
Did you wait long enough for the moisture to get back into the limbs after bending the recurves?
Yes I waited, but the limb broke about 6" from the handle
Do you have pics of the break? It is odd in my experience for osage to break like that unless there was a knot or grain runoff in that area.
Here is some pics.
(http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm216/ranger500us/IMG_0501.jpg)
(http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm216/ranger500us/IMG_0500.jpg)
(http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm216/ranger500us/IMG_0499.jpg)
sorry for the loss.