Horse bows

[Gimley]

Hi gticm2 ( or can I call you G for short? )
Was re-reading some of the posts and noticed your thing about horse bows. I make bows ( nope, not trying to sell you one), mainly flat and cable bows. Have a look on my site and you'll see a Meare Heath replica.

The next project is a horse bow. I've got some info on it, not that there's much that I can find, and the horn, but can't get the sinew over here without paying a b****y fortune for it.
Do you know if it's possible to get it over there, and sent over? One of the biggest problems, I think, is our stupid 'health and safety' laws.

[gt1cm2]

G would be my husband, Grayson. Yes I like my horsebows, one I can use them with my horses and they don't upset my rsi.

as to the sinew.... um no idea sorry, I don't make bows. You could try asking on http://atarn.net/phpBB2/index.php as there are a lot of guys that make bows out of horn, sinew and fish glue and may know where to get some from cheap. Have you tried your local meat works directly? I do the accounts for one here in Wellington and we sell beef tendons quite cheap so maybe one over there might? then you would just need to do the prepping to get it fibrery like.

[Gimley]

Cheers for that, I'll have a look, it'll be interesting anyway. Been looking for somewhere that makes them for ages.

I've tried going direct to the abatoirs, no luck. It's mainly since the BSE scare over here a few years ago, dont know if you heard about that, probably not. Now ALL what they call ' waste products' have be burned, even the horns. Typical knee jerk reaction of the government, but it makes it almost impossible to get stuff like that now.

I suppose I'll just have to go deer poaching

[wuzzle]

[NigelT]

You can buy sinew from this site in the US, but you might run into trouble with customs because it's an animal product - either they won't be able to export it or you won't be able to import it.

http://nativeway.safewebshop.com/glues__pigments_and_hafting_materials.html

Nigel

[Gimley]

That's a problem I know about already, though I will have a look at that site. I was hoping more to get it from a small abatoir, or even privately, and have it sent in plain brown paper packages

What do you reckon on the possibilities of getting Shark skin?

[NigelT]

Shark skin should be fairly easy to get... or at least it would be here in NZ. Talk to any fish and chip shop (or whatever the UK equivalent is) - over here they call it lemon fish or something like that and it's fairly common. You could also try a fishmarket or even wander down to the docks and talk to the guys climbing off the fishing trawlers. I'm assuming the skin is a waste product and isn't used elsewhere - you just need to get hold of it before it get to the bin or someone who worries more about liability than helping someone out.

I have absolutely no idea how you could go about 'tanning' shark skin though.

Nigel

[Gimley]

I've tried that over here. The local fishmonger keeps me few, when he's in the right mood!, but Shark is really difficult to get. It's relatively easy to cure, a friend of mine's in the skin business and used to be a taxidermist, he tells me how to do it.
Just wondered if there was someone your way who could send dried skins.

Why is it the things I want to get hold of most are the most b****y difficult????????

[Bogue]

And Gimley did make this statement:-

[Gimley]

That's not a bad idea, I'll just double check that I've got the processing info right. The way is do it is simple, and it's works for Dog Fish, which is a small species of Shark we get here. I use it for sandpaper.Watch out for the thread.

This fella had to know about that sort of thing to be a Taxidermist ( Taxidermy--------------stuffing dead things ), and I think he was in the tanning trade before.

I know some MUCH odder people than that

Prophylactics????????????????????? Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Suppose it depends if it's rough side in or out