This will truly be a "build-along" since I was cleaning the freezer out just yesterday and found 3 deer hides. I'd seen this style of quiver made on another site, although no pictures were included - this will be a learning experience for all. This uses hair-on deer raw-hide with borax rubbed in for preservative. No oil is rubbed in so the quiver stays stiff and keeps its shape. Step one: Beat the dog...she ate one of the hides I had thawing - least I still have two more. Actually one good hide would probably do, but two is good. Anyway, step 1-A: Flesh out one side of the quiver:
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020202.jpg)
Step 2: Have the forms magically appear -
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020203.jpg)
The form for the quiver is made of a 2x6 however long you want your quiver. This was about 24 inches long. Taper the 2x6 down to about 4" on the bottom end - rounding it in the process. I used a router to radius the edge. Screw it to a scrap piece of plywood. On a similar piece of plywood, cut out the stretcher. It will be the same shape as the form but slightly oversized. I probably cut it with too much slop, bout 1/2" around. 1/4 would have probably been better. I used the band saw for speed and screwed the form back together, a saber saw would do well...but slower... for cutting out the stretcher.
Step 3: Rub borax into the back of the quiver and tack it to something to dry - the neighbor's fence for instance...
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020206.jpg)
This half will dry before you shape it - I left the tail attached, may have it hang off the bottom - we'll see how it works. The body of the quiver will be formed wet, prepped with borax as well before clamping it into the form.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020208.jpg)
Hope this works... :pray:
:rolleyes:
Once the borax was rubbed in, I folded over the top edge of the quiver for some additional stiffness, making sure a good dose of borax was inside. Hopefull it will cure. Then I stretched it over the form, stapling it to the base plywood well away from the 2x6.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020210.jpg)
Now the stretcher is clamped over the form, pulling the hide tight while it is screwed into place:
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020211.jpg)
Run some drywall screws into the plywood to lock it down:
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020212.jpg)
I smoothed out the hair, and now we sit and watch it dry. With the cold, dry air, hopefully won't take too long. I put a fan on it just to speed it along. See you next weekend! Steve
I'm watching, this looks cool. This would work with other mammals also right???
very intrigued. Thanks for sharing
Kyle
anxiously awaiting your next post
Full quiver - I guess it would. Not sure how thick a hide would be cured by the borax. I will say I shaped and dried a turkey skin and fan for a wall hanging close to 10 years ago with borax and it has held up well, even in a humid Georgia garage. We'll find out soon enough. Steve
How many squirrel pelts would you need to do this? :p
One for each arrow. :readit: :biglaugh:
Looking good.
PS; Wouldn't carry that thing on my back during gun season! LOL
I agree with you, Carpdaddy - unless I paint it orange!. I use a bowquiver for hunting anyway. This'll be for fieldpoints -
Maybe this could be moved TTT or over to the how-to when completed. I am waiting to see the finished product.
Looking good, SOS! Can't wait to see the finished product! Thanks for sharing! :bigsmyl: :thumbsup: :campfire:
Nigel
The stuff I see and learn on tradgang continually amazes me. Can't wait to see how this quiver turns out.
hey sos this is a good thread man well done
Hmmmm .... I just so happen to have a couple of fresh hides in the deep freeze here. Have to keep an eye on this one.
Good thread, wonderful writing style and I like your work habits. Good neighbors make good fences, right? :thumbsup:
nice job ( are drywall screws traditional :bigsmyl: :thumbsup: )
Well, how long's it gotta dry? Any finished pictures yet?
Looks like it will be pretty darned nice.
I'm baa-aack. Few more steps in the right direction. Things looking okay, but a few lessons learned as well. Here is the raw hide out of the form, along with the flat piece:
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020269.jpg)
I pulled the hide out of the form and am letting it dry out a little more - as I stated earlier, I probably should have cut the stretcher with a little less slop, but should work okay. Second, drying the flat piece on the neighbor's fence, not such a good idea unless you live in the dessert. It did well, but we had some off and on rain. I finally pulled it off, thinking it was good and dry, but when it continued to dry without being stretched, it it puckered a little and isn't as flat as I would have liked. Find a way to dry it stretched flat inside!
Next thing I remember was to do a little sanding, especially on the part that will fit against your back to smooth out the rough spots - gently so you don't go through the hide:
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020271.jpg)
Hope to do a little trimming and layout tonight. Right now, back to detailing an old car for my daughter's 16th B-day. Last time I wash it!
Some more progress this evening. Marked out the quiver, leaving about a 1/2 inch lip that will serve to "sew" the two halves together.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/Lines.jpg)
Tin snips work pretty well for trimming it.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/Trimmingquiver.jpg)
I may be working too hard at trying to get it to keep it's shape, but just keeping it lined up...
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/Holdingshape.jpg)
Made a cardboard template to play with. Remember, when marking on the skin side of the back piece of the quiver, it will be backwards....if you know what I mean.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/Quivertemplate.jpg)
For the strap, I'm using a $1 leather belt from GoodWill. Excellent source of leather belts (for knife handles, too). Using some cloth to work up a template to test out the fit.
Ask questions if it is confusing....
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/Testwithbelt.jpg)
More to come..... :wavey:
Darn...now I'm gonna have to try this too...I'll never finish all of these projects. Daryl
cool! :thumbsup:
I cut out the back last night and have arranged the pieces for a little "teaser" on what it will look like. After church, I'll try to get to the final fitting and start punching or drilling holes, whichever works best. Never have done any leather work - this should be interesting.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020281.jpg)
That is so sweet. Great job so far and I love the tail being attached. I also love seeing other parts of our trophies being put back into the circle just like the american indians did. Looking forward to seeing it finished.
SOS, can you compare that hide stiffness to something? It almost looks like fiberglass when you had those clamps on it, 4 pictures up.
Guess I'll start saving hides.
Would a salted hide work?
Steve, that is great and very cool looking!
Dan
im wondering about the comfort of that thing. Since its not tanned i doubt it will be very soft. Wouldnt you think it would crease? Very interesting, i have 3 hides in the freezer and i wish i had 3 more. I may have to try one of these and play 'round with it.
BTW-i love the tail left on.
VTer, It is fairly stiff, but since deer is thinner, not nearly as rigid as cow rawhide. Can't think of anything good to compare it to at the moment.
Pintail, never had a backquiver so I can't compare comfort. As you'll see below, I finished it and it feels pretty good. Might think about glue some felt on the back.
Anyway, finished up, let's check it out! :saywhat:
I lined up both halves and stapled them in place (forgot to get a photo, sorry) and went around the perimeter with the punch knocking holes as evenly as I could - hard to space with hair on cuz you can't see half of them. Pulled the staples and here's the result.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020301.jpg)
Now on the original quiver, the fellow made a similar but smaller wood form and made a rawhide pocket and flap to mount to the quiver. I did not do that but I did punch some holes in the quiver to mount a chunk of antler. It was off my first traditional buck, so it definitely has some good mojo in it. Here are the holes and the mounted antler.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020303.jpg)
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020304.jpg)
I'll put the rest in the next post.....
Time to sew this puppy up. I bought some artificial sinew to make it, but decided to use some brown B-50. This way I'd be sure to have plenty to really stitch this thing together. Let's see, how does that go, "Knit one, purl two...."
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020308.jpg)
I don't know my stitch names, but on the edges I did a "whip" stitch in both directions, switching to a "running" stitch around the tail and where the strap hooked on.
It seems to fit pretty well and "don't" look half bad with El Cheapo the longbow. :archer: I'll need to play with the length of the strap some and shoot with it a little to see if there is anything I'd change. Will let you know if I think of anything.
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020310.jpg)
I'm ready for the Georgia State Shoot, now. May not help my shooting, but what was it the old Saturday Night Live character said? "It is better to look good, than to shoot good....and you look marvelous!" :biglaugh:
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020309.jpg)
Cheers, Steve
Lol, Looks great :clapper:
Do the arrows rattle a lot?
Looks great SOS! Good job! I really like this one....will have to give it a try some time! ;)
Nice work.
Can you please post a picture showing how you attached the triangular pieces of the strap to the quiver?
Thanks for sharing SOS.
That'll be great til a red tailed hawk swoops down and grabs your butt mistakin that tail for a squirrel!
Definitely don't wear it during gun season.
:thumbsup:
Yep, this will definitely be for 3D shoots!....Didn't think about the redtail hawks, coyotes or bobcats...Ouch.
Joekeith, I was thinking about adding a divider - any good suggestions? Be nice to put some flu-flus up top and field points close to the hand.
looks awesome! If I didn't know better I'd think that tail was yours!
I like it. Dont know if I would wear it hunting :eek:
I like it. Dont know if I would wear it hunting :eek:
SOS, This one is definitely on my list of stuff to make. Really looks good.
That looks great!
I made one similiar aeveral years ago, except I wet formed some saddle leather. I also added two pockets and a sheath. The only gripe I have about the quiver is they really rattle the arrows together because they are stiff.
I'll try to post a pic soon.
Good Job,
Carl
Very nicely done. Enjoyed watching it from start to finish. My hat's off to ya!
I'd be careful about running through the wood with that big "flag" just a waving...
Here are a couple pictures of the quiver I made using a form like you did.
While I was at it, I made two smaller forms out of 2x4 to use as pockets.
I also had made a knife to match the riser on my bow, so I after I had used the stretcher, I slit the side and crammed the knife down in between the form and the leather. I lined it inside before I sewed the back on.
I'm sure your quiver is much nicer to carry. The leather I used is pretty heavy.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b260/plybenderpics/Quiverpics002.jpg)
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b260/plybenderpics/Quiverpics004.jpg)
Gatekeeper, I laid out the back panel with lacing the belt on in mind, these photos might help...
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020316.jpg)
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020317.jpg)
(http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j87/SOS_321/Quiver/P1020318.jpg)
Plywood, Someone PM'd me and asked if he could used tanned deer skins....how stiff would a tanned hide be if you soaked it and wet formed it like you did your leather...any idea?
And using it tonight, it is a little noisy, but I planned this for 3D shoots, so not a problem. One thing I need to learn, you can dump all you arrows out if you lean over the wrong way....oops. Thanks for all the kind words! Steve
Steve,
I doubt a tanned deer skin will work. The leather is thin and probably won't keep its shape. The stuff I used was referred to as harness leather and was extremely stiff. It dried like rawhide. In fact, I had to use a drill to make the holes to stitch.
Here's a picture of the seperator I sewed into my quiver.
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b260/plybenderpics/Quiverpics006.jpg)
Regards,
Carl
I cant wait to see how mine turns out got it in the strecher now but mine wont have a tail.....my dad got a little tired of skinning by the time we got to caping out the tail so he decided he could just pull it right off the bone.....doesnt work just snaps tail in half.......
well im done mine didnt turn out quite as well as sos but i did learn a few things along the way that might be useful to anyone else. it can be done with one hide. and make sure you leave that half inch on the edges to sew them together anyless and it just becomes a huge headache.... trust me thanks agian sos it was a great build along
TTT for Schuster, plus a few updates.
As to how noisy it is, it does soak up a little sweat and forms to your body, making it a little tighter around the arrows - enough so it might be difficult to pull a broadhead out if you used it for hunting.
Our state shoot was really dreary and drizzly for 2 1/2 days. Softened up pretty good, so I stuffed some newspapers inside and put it where it would dry when I got home. Kept its shape quite well.
Steve
I like it! I have 6 or 7 hides left over from my now closed taxidermy shop. I think next week I might make a few of these for me and my friends.
Great post!!
Steve,I really enjoyed the build along.The quiver looks great in person also.
All the hair fell off mine but it's still a great quiver. Do you think the Borax will keep the hair on? You did a great job here. Thanks for the lesson.
Straitera. Borax doesnt preserve the hide. It is used to repel bugs. Hair slips due to bacteria breaking down the skin that holds the hair folicles. Fleshing and borax does work if done right (I have some myself), the key is to remove all traces of meat, fat, membrain but it still isnt always a sure thing. Safer to salt then tan.
Love the quiver SOS.
TTT for Bucky1123. 2 years old, no hair slippage even after a couple of rainy 3D shoots.
Well now I know what I am gonna do with one of my hides in the freezer. Should be a nice project; plus I could use another quiver. :thumbsup: