removing scales

[kat]

I recently got a set of limbs skinned with eastern diamondbacks. When I got them, I was surprised to see the scales on them.
This is only the second set of limbs that I have had skinned, and the other set had the scales removed.
Is this normal?

[John Scifres]

no

[kat]

What do you think will happen if I leave the scales on?  Will they tear the skins when they come off?

[Pat B]

Was the bow finished over the scales or is it just the scale scars that are so obvious? Eastern D-backs have coarse scales and scale scars.

[kat]

These seem to be actual scales. They catch of everything. I was thinking of putting a few coats of tru oil over them to seal them.

[Bowjunkie]

Don't do anything yet. Be SURE they are scales and not just the skin itself, or scale scars as Pat put it. If it was done by an experienced bowyer, I'm betting all the scales have been removed and it's just a 'coarse' set of skins.

Additionally, it was probably finished after the skin application and if you put an uncompatible finish over top of it, you may end up with even worse problems. If your finish doesn't adhere well to the current finish it may crack and flake off, then you may end up stripping the skins off and starting over.

I've put on rough skins, and even after every single scale was removed and finish was applied, they were still rough and would feel very 'catchy' when rubbed against the grain. Heck, one of them feels like the rough side of a farrier's rasp :^) I was even concerned for the durability of the string loops due to stringing and unstringing.

One thing that helped a little bit was to burnish and sand a wee bit with the grain of the skins between coats of finish. You have to be careful though because it's easy to damage the skin, especially the tips or points of the scars.

In your case, I would start by contacting the person who did it for you and ask them if they removed every scale, and what they used to seal it. Who knows, in the end, you may be better off just leaving it alone.

[Echatham]

i ran into this on my swap bow. took about 8 heavy coats of tru-oil and sanding in between coats after the first 3 coats, but i got her smoothed out.