The bow is in the mail as of yesterday.  Sent it priority and insured.  Should be at Timo's by Saturday-Tuesday-ish I'd think.

Don't ya just get nevouser and nervouser as this thing goes along?

Sheesh, you have no idea how intimidating it is knowing I'll be the one following up on all you guys craftsmanship. Im scared to even think about touching the bow.  

Curtis - I hear you loud and clear. Granted, I was sick while I was trying to get my part done but I was going slow and doing alot of tedious hand work. I normally knock out the horn overlays in one afternoon on my bows but the further this bow gets, the slower you have to work. You know you can do it faster but you don't want to screw up.

The bow arrived a few mins ago.......I am once again astonished by the quality of workmanship that is represented in this beaut! I won't even try to describe how well done everything is.....Just take my word for it.

I measured the necks, and they are narrow as 3/4", so the skins will be stopping in that area, and there won't be much showing,so the transition should be smooth.

A snake wood overlay would look nice, but after seeing it, I'm leaning towards horn.

Horn will- compliment the wonderful horn nocks,(luv that snake head Tom),and the horn belly,(wonderful job again John). Also the leather arrow rests are darker,(great job Dave)so it will also match well with them.

The back of the handle is flat, so some rounding can happen.( and needs to IMO).

Apply a strip of horn,shape it, and flow the skins into it, just like on the horn tips?

Also, can I scrape some of the rind down on the boo,without affecting the tiller much?

Wow, that was quick Tim.  I didnt' expect it to get there before Saturday.

Gotta ask, what do you mean by "flow the skins into it."  I'm guessing run them right on up over a ways and sand them so thin they just kinda melt into nothing?  That would look real cool the way I'm picturing it.

Tim - Just a suggestion but it might be easier to lay down the skins first, then shape the overlay to outline and scribe the skins to it. I dunno, I'm sure you'll make it look good, whatever you do.

I think when Mr. Nagel wins the bidding    he should bring it to MOJam and we can all see the finished product. I also think it would be cool to extract and print all of the build-a-long info and pics (for both bows) and have everyone sign them as a momento for the winners.

Everyone's part in this bow is what makes it so special but I bet Mike can't wait to see it all done, eh?  BTW Are we gonna name this thing or does the winner do that?

Tim,

That sounds good, do what you think will work the best.  She's yours for a while now.  The back at the handles needs a bit of work yet by the looks of the pics.  Go ahead with the horn if you can blend the skins into it.  

To prep the back for glue, sand with 150 grit.  You don't need to take the all the rind off if you don't want too.

Mike

Tim, I'd also vote you just do what you think is best.   Pretty sure it's going to work out fine whatever you decide.   Could even be horn with a little pc of snakewood on top.  Maybe some detailed scrimshaw on the horn?    Some bull elk fighting....perhaps a turkey strutting....pigs rooting....
Have fun!
As I recall JD sanded a little on the BB to clean it up.   I'm not familiar with the rind on Tonkin, but a little clean up shouldn't affect the tiller.   I've stopped scraping all the rind off, and just lightly sand to clean up.   Skins seem to stick just fine.

ttt

Wow, this is lookin good fellas. The skins are but a  great finishing touch on an already outstanding bow.       Pictures Tim.

Got a piece of horn in the mail from John tonight,(Thanks John).Did a bit of prep work.

Thinned a piece of horn down,flattened the boo a bit,cut a sliver of snakewood to overlay on the horn. Everything is cleaned and ready to glue.

We have some big storms coming in right now, so will wait til tomorrow night to do some more work. I'll try to remember pics George?

The most difficult part about this,is filing the overlay in, without getting into Daves leather work!  Slow and tedious stuff. It's gonna be a ride!

Timo - The horn should scrape pretty easy with a razor blade. I like the razor blade because it's small, a little flexible and pretty easy to control. Those foam finger sanding boards work nice getting edges blended as well.

Hope there is enough horn there to use Tim.
Don't get stressed out over any of this.   It's just a bow.  
(don't forget the scrimshaw)

Srimshaw smimshaw!  

I cut a 5" strip of horn,and shaped it close to desired size, I went ahead and radioused the ends so I wouldn't have that worry later.I planned on leaving them just a bit proud to let the skins but up tight, and flow into them making everything flush,

 

With that in place I then cut a small strip of the snakewood,to compliment the horn, and tie the theme to the rest of the handle .

 

Now the real work begins......Lots of patience was excersized here folks.....I used my fingers and thumbs as guide fences to make sure that I didn't get into Daves awesome leather rest.(one reason fences aren't made of flesh). All came through well.

 

I feel like the handle is more suited for shooting now,as all the flat abrupt areas are now flowing into a rounder gentler handle. Also the pics don't do the snakewood justice.This stuff has got to be the prettiest wood I've ever seen.

Time to find the right pair of skins.

Lookin good Tim, nice work. Am I the only one considering taking out a loan to bid on one of these bows?  :D

 Dang son that looks right nice.... Terry

Nice job Tim!!  Now on to the skins.  LOL

When's the auction?

Mike

Great job Tim, has a nice contrast with the arrow rest, gonna look great with the skins added.

Joe Don

Now ya see? That's nice!

Timo - Can't you just imagine this bow under a finish? Gotta go get a lottery ticket today....