Im in the process of making my first board bow,i want to back it with something but was not sure when to do this.also i hear people say there bow is a certain weight at say 25 inches. what kind of brace height are we working with at this stage?
 thanks for any help.

ttt

TTT

http://groups.msn.com/ferretsarcherywebpage/makingrawhideforbacking.msnw

http://groups.msn.com/ferretsarcherywebpage/bigbird.msnw

Back it before you start tillering

Brace height doesn't matter when you are checking poundage, it all come out the same.

Thanks Eric,its not too late to back it if I already started tillering is it?
I was thinking of backing it with artificial sinew,would it be better to use strands the length of the bow or shorter sections of sinew?
thanks again.

Artificial sinew is not good for backing and gives you little or no benefit. Heavy linen cloth or even strips of blue jeans soaked in glue would be a better alternative. I have always used hickory or real sinew backing. Of course there is always rawhide.