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Originally Posted by mightyd would i still need to cut my own size?? and then glue it on my bow?? how would i do that??? I've never done anything like that....... |
This seemingly simple job is one that requires a lot of skill to get a professional looking bow grip. First you have to acquire the leather that is uniformly thin enough to bend around the stick yet thick enough to give your fingers some cushion. Then you cut the leather with a razor sharp knife to the dimensions needed for the grip allowing enough extra to overlap the grip by about 1/2 the circumference of the stick. Then comes the hard part - skiving the leather edges. The two edges that do not overlap are tapered to practically nothing for a width of about 3/32". Doing this will allow the edges to fold over and smoothly conform to the stick once the leather is moistened with the thick hide glue. The two edges that overlap must be skived for about 3/8" on the top of one end and on the bottom at the other end. This is so that where the ends overlap, they will be approximately the same thickness as the rest of the (non-overlaping) grip leather.
Remove all remnants of the old grip. A paper towel soaked in water wrapped around the old grip will soften the old glue and allow you to safely remove the old grip. Once the old leather is removed it is time to glue on the new one.
Mix up a small batch of thick hide glue. Start by applying a 1/4" wide strip of glue on the end that was skived on the top side of the leather. Take a piece of masking tape and temporarily attach the the leather end to the stick. Then wrap the remaining leather around the stick making sure that the ends all line up properly. Apply a piece of making tape to the end of the leather so that it will stay in place. Let it dry over night. Remove the masking tape and apply hide glue to the bottom of the leather being care not to pull the previously glued end away from the stick. Once glued, take the stick in your hand and rotate it like a BBQ spit using your thumb to smooth the leather and round over the edges. You will have glue on your hands but don't stop to remove it until the leather adheres to itself. Take a damp paper towel and remove the excess glue while rotating the stick with the other hand. Take a dry cotton cloth and continue working the leather for a few more minutes. That's it.
I did forget to mention that it is much easier to do with the hair off the bow, but it can be done with the hair on if you are careful.
Leather Bow grip (thumb grip).... Need one 
