Bow thumb leather

[rudall]

Could someone please advise me on the best way to fit a thumb leather so that it is nicely bevelled down onto the stick? Also is it usual to put very fine leather on top of a 'core' of thicker stuff?

I'd like to be sure I can put a nice new leather on before I take the existing one off a bow!

[frizz]

Thumb leathers are one of the hardest bow repair skills I had to learn, and only recently have I developed consistancy in installing them. First, select a good quality leather, not too thick. I prefer kangaroo, but have also used cowhide and various lizard skins. Cut the leather to the correct size, so that it overlaps about3-5mm when wrapped around the shaft. I use a leather skiver, available from Tandy leather, to thin all four edges of the leather to a taper. I like to use leatherweld, also availaable from Tandy Leather, to glue the leather on. After gluing the leather, I use a smooth tool handle to burnish the seam and ends of the leather. It is not uncommon to install a thumb leather over a filler, such as tape, or string to bring the surface of the shaft even with the wrapping. Good luck.

Larry

[Oded Kishony]

OK now here's the fast and easy way to do this. Get double stick carpet tape that will wrap once around the stick with no overlap and slightly shorter than the length of the leather, this goes on the stick.

Get good leather-I sometimes buy old kid leather gloves at antique stores and use the back of the hand where there's usually zero wear. Bevel the ends and the overlap so there's no lumpiness. Apply glue (hide or yellow glue work well) to the beveled edges and the overlap. The double stick tape will hold the rest of the leather in place. Get some inner tube rubber and cut into strips . After you've wrapped the leather then wrap the rubber tightly over the leather in the same rotation as the leather, let dry for 15-20 minutes and you'll be amazed at how great it looks. Examine a good bow to get some of the details of how it should all look, such as placement of the seam etc.

Oded Kishony

[Jimbow]

I have never tried the double stick tape but it is a very interesting idea.

Slightly thinned 'Titebond Original' (an aliphatic resin glue often called yellow glue) gives excellent results and allows you to work with the leather and clean up with water. Coat both surfaces and allow to get slightly tacky, then assemble. Some leathers will require 2 thin coats.

Overlap leather about 1.5 to 2mm and form all four of the beveled edges with 80 or 120 grit sanding sticks, aligning the edge on a hardwood block while sanding the bevel. This gives better control than skiving for me but everyone has their own preferences. Trim the sanded edge fuzz with a very sharp scissors under a magnifier and repeat until an even beveled feather edge is achieved.

If the wrap must be built up, I use a coarse brown blotter paper acquired somewhere (don't remember). Two available thicknesses of .010 and .020 provide flexibility for shimming up silver wire and faux whalebone thicknesses with various leather thicknesses.

Use a dial caliper and measure as you go, comparing with a wrap diameter on a bow that that you want to duplicate.

Major problem is finding proper stiffness of leather in the proper thickness and finish.

I prefer .018 to .020 leather thickness but suppliers products vary from under .008 to well over .030. They can all be made to work OK but with much extra time and effort.

The suggestions of searching for used leather gloves and jackets is good because you can be selective.

Another suggestion is to only apply glue in approx. 2 or 3mm widths to both surfaces at each glue area. This allows the unglued central areas to retain softness and resilience.

After assembling the leather wrap , I use the round handle of my #4 glue brush to form the leather end bevels while rotating the stick on my wrapping fixture.

Once you develop the knack, any old bow can be made to look like the best 'old masters' wrap!

I hope this helps.

Jimbow

[rudall]

Thank you both very much for your excellent advice.

[Regis]

The double sided tape idea is real interesting. I have doublesided celephane tape which is, of course, very thin and light. If you want thin tape like this, it is available from suppliers for trophies and signs like Johnson Plastics or Hermes.

[Oded Kishony]

Regis,

>I have doublesided celephane tape <

That's probably too weak. I use double sided >carpet< tape.

You can forego the tape and only use glue but it's a bit more awkward-the tape grabs the leather and holds it in place. The trick here is the use of broad flat rubber bands to compress the leather, which means that no burnishing is needed or very minimal at most. This is a job that takes me 10 minutes at most and I charge very little for it. I use a long Japanese knife to cut the bevels in one cut, all four bevels in under two minutes.

Oded

[Jimbow]

Good suggestions, Oded! I do get fine results but I do tend to worry it to death.

Probably takes me 20 min. to a half hour.

I will try your Japanese knife skiving trick if I can find a long blade knife.

I'm curious-- what thickness leather do you prefer?

Jimbow

[Regis]

Oded,

Just tried it(celephane). Didn't work well. The celephane tape is not weak but, it has no compression, so will only work on very very smooth surfaces like glass and metal. I'll go with your carpet tape.

Thanks for the great tip!

[Oded Kishony]

> what thickness leather do you prefer? <

I've never measured it.

OK

[Oded Kishony]

> I will try your Japanese knife skiving trick if I can find a long blade knife. <

The Japanese knife I use is similar to this one but longer.

I think this one would work too

http://www.thejapanwoodworker.com/product....p;dept_id=13221

Oded

[Jimbow]

Thanks, Oded.

This company sounds great. I just ordered their catalog and will order this knife you suggested.

Good sharp tools make work so much more enjoyable!

Jimbow

[Regis]

Larry,

Last year(I think) you posted the leather weld and the skiver idea. The leather weld works great for me. I ordered some then and will be using it a long time. The skiver, on the other hand, is probably better in someone elses hand. I've tried it and only get it to work on large and stiffer leather. It must take some knack that I don't have to use it on small pieces.

Thank you for the leather weld tip and any help/explaination on the skiver.

[frizz]

Hey Regis, the leatherweld works so great because it dries soft and flexible, makes for a very comfortable grip. I've found that the leather skiver needs frequent blade changes to work properly. I use a a new injector razor blade after two grips. The way I use it, I cut the leather to the size I need, and lay it right on the edge of a cutting board and slice the leather a a slight angle to the edge. Dull blades don't work at all.

Larry

[David Tseng]

I use aneconda snake skin obtained from Tandy Leather. The snake leather is ideal; it is thin and lasts much longer than cowhide.