Ben,
Bring one of your MOAB's over and we'll skin it up next.  I'd like to see the look on your face as I take some 60 grit to the limbs.  

great job......moccasins can have a nasty attitude, they look so nice on a bow though......  

Great job RM81, I'm in the process of skinning the limbs on my Shawnee, and know what you mean by hitting them with sand paper, my 1st thought was I'm roughing up $600.00 CF limbs, and then I went and painted them so the skins will no get so dark

       

Got a little more done tonight.  Here's how it looked after drying for almost 24hrs.  While not completely dry, I thought it was dry enough to start the trimming.  First thing I did was to glue any spots where it wanted to lift where the skin starts near the riser and where it ends near the tips.

   

I had about a 1/4 inch overhang and started trimming with the razor.  After I got most of it trimmed back, I switched to a file.  You can also use sandpaper.  If you decide to use a file, go very very slow and do not take off more than you need.  I filed through the skin and the layer of glue and stopped when I got down to the glass.
(Edit: The reason I used a file is b/c the skins were thin and I was trying to blend into a beveled edge.  If the limbs have a hard edge like most three piece takedowns, I would just use the razor knife.)

   

Used masking tape to peel off the remainder of the scales.  Press the tape on and rub it in to make sure you get the scales to stick.  If you're glue is not completely dry, be sure to hold down the edges near the riser so it doesn't peel back.  Also peel your tape from the head end of the skin to the tail end.  I don't know for sure, but I've heard it can rip if you do it the opposite way.

   

I then sanded the edge where the skin meets the bow with some 400 grit to help blend it in and smooth out some of the file marks.  I also very lightly sanded over the entire skin.  The more I sanded here, the more color I lost so I wouldn't suggest sanding a lot.  I'm happy with the result with the exception of where the skin stop on the riser on one limb.  Lesson learned.  I like how the tips and the edges turned out.

   

   

Next is a top coat.  Still not 100% sure on what I'm going to use.  I have Tru Oil, Tung Oil, and Helmsman Spar Urethane on hand.  Right now I'm leaning towards Tru Oil, with a light spar urethane over top.  I guess I have until tomorrow to decide.  Thanks for following along.

Looks great.You have talent.  

Looks Great.

WOW really nice job..

Looks GREAT!!!!!

Nice work you have done there, glad the skins worked out.

Really nice looking finished product. Good descriptive detail on how you made it happen, thanks!

Looks very good.  I do love those skins have very nice colors.  Some of those buggers have a lot of green on them.  Where I live down here most of them are near all black with very subtle colors.....almost ran over one the other day with the gator.  If I had a gun I would have tried to kill him but he struggled to slither off since it was so big.

You don't lose color when you sand it.  Like I said, take a damp rag and wipe the dust off after you are done sanding.  That will bring the color back.  Sand after each coat.

Sharp  

Very nice!  I have a very nice set of cotton mouth skins here at home...i need to find a bow to put them on.

What did you spray over them?

Josh

Thanks everyone.  I didn't spray anything yet.  I started with the first coat of Tru Oil tonight.  Spreading a very thin layer with my finger.  Going to do a coat each day and very lightly sand in between coats.  I'll post some more pics when I have something to show.  Thanks for following along.

Sweet..........

Snakeskin is leather, a file will leave slightly fuzzy edges on larger skins like python, etc.. for those use a SHARP razorblade held at a slight angle. Just be careful not to angle it down into the limb glass or you'll get a thin sliver. If you do, super glue or loctite 420 (better) will seal it up.
Bow looks great, VERY nice patterned cottonmouth skins.
Air bubbles can drive ya nuts. A small wallpaper roller works really well. They are angled slightly and you can work all the air out to one side on future skins.

Great job!

The file worked ok.  I hit it with some sandpaper afterward and it smoothed out nicely.  I did notice the fuzzy edges before using the sandpaper though.  Once it's complete I'll get some closeup pics out in the sunlight and post them.  Going to add a second coat of Tru Oil tonight, and lightly sand it tomorrow.  Thinking of going with some 600 grit I have out in the garage.  How long should the Tru Oil dry between coats.  The bottle says at least 2 hours, but I've read to leave them for 24.

Nicely done