First attempt at a snake. New and improved with finished photos

[GREG IN MALAD]

Jamey, it shoots really nice. I was impressed with the way mulberry works, and I like the color better than osage. It has 1 1/2" of set when unstrung and quickly returns to an inch or less. I have some bighorn sheep I might use for the tip overlays, then after a couple weeks of shooting it will be ready for skins.

[GREG IN MALAD]

I finished it off today after work. It is wearing diamondback watersnake skins and tru-oil with bighorn sheep overlays. I need to thank Okie64 for the stave and Snakewood3 for the skins, come to think of it a friend gave me the sheep horn also.

 

 

The skins really stand out in sunlight.

 


 

 

I have been experimenting with different ways to apply tru-oil and finally found a method I like.  
 

 

[okie64]

That turned out really nice Greg. That finish job is amazing! You turned out another awesome looking bow, as usual.  

[Osagetree]

It is cool looking!

Tell us your tru-oil method. It looks really glossy and deep.

Great job!

[GREG IN MALAD]

Joe, the problems I was having with Tru-oil was it dries too slow and it doesn't level itself. I solved both of the issues by thinning the Tru-oil 15%-20% with mineral spirits and baking the finish in my bow oven at 90-100 degrees. Also, I use DuPont Sontara lint free towels to filter and apply the finish. You can get the towels from aviation supply stores, they're not cheap but they sure work good. I filter the oil through a towel into a clean plastic cup before each coat, whatever I dont use gets poured back into the bottle.
To start I apply enough filler coats to fill the grain, with light steel wool buffing between coats. Before the final coat I wet sand with 600 grit.
And that's all there is to it. Using the oven lowers the humidity so the finish dries faster. Thinning the finish allows it to level out, and filtering the oil removes the dirt and chunks before they end up on the bow.

[Mark Smeltzer]

Come on over and lets shoot it!

[beetlebailey1977]

Man that thing looks nice...Love the skins and the tips!!

[Stiks-n-Strings]