I am helping a friend build a bow and he wants antler tip overlays on It. I have never done this before and would appreciate any help. Pictures would help. So far we have the limbs glued and rough tillered. Riser is roughed out and he is contouring every thing to his liking.

Thanks to Kenny for the prompt service and awesome lams. We really like the lams. My wife wants one like that now.

 
Look at that smile. He CAN see the bow in there

Moose antler

Not antler, but Bighorn sheep.

Perfect timing Greg. Considering adding tips to a couple of my Hills. Maybe a how to somewhere describing in detail?

I love the look of antler tips, but I do worry about them over the long haul.  From what I have heard (and seen come in the shop) anlter tips seem to have a higher failure rate than phenolic.  I think the antler dries and shrinks and I have seen a number of them that have come off.  Maybe it is in the way they were put on in the first place?  I'd be curious to see what others experiences have been.

Whip as you can witness most bows survive the original owner,the quality on the glues is improved,everything can be fixed and last but not least we need to feed the restores.LOL.
Said that i love them and I have them on some bows of mine that are 10 plus year old.So far so good.

Robertson Vision LB.Sheep horn.

Sheep horn,Bighorn limited edition.

Robertson vision LB.Sheep.

Zipper SXT.Elk antler.

Thunderhorn LB,elk.

Nice as it gets Caccitore. Did you add those tips or buy them that way. What glue? Really nice fades on them all.

Morrison with kudu tip.



Silvertip with rough sheep horn tip.

I have, and have had, a significant number of bows with horn or antler overlays on the tips. Not one of my bows has ever "shed" a tip or had a problem. Worth noting that all of these bows were built by bowyers with many years experience, and they liked working with horn and antler materials.

I don't know the exact procedure for adding overlays but I'd say the correct adhesive is paramount. I'm guessing of course, but a non-brittle adhesive would seem essential. Degreasing and cleaning the surfaces has to be performed. Seeing that horn and antler are porous, I would assume a final moisture-proof finish is required. I've always used rubber tip protectors on my bows to preserve the finish and keep moisture out of the laminations.

Northern Mist Whisper

Straitera,all are original,much more to come!

Tip with rough sheep horn

Hey Greg-
That looks good! Talking w. my bro yesterday about that bow. I'm jealous!!!!

Gun, let's work out a bow build into your next visit. Rainer is a whiz at grinding off stock to make the contours. I can't keep up to him.

Rainer was over today and boy did he make progress on the riser. I'll tell you he isn't shy about taking stock off, and this is his first bow. Take a look, he is going to be shooting this real soon.

Only antler tip I ever saw come off wasn't mine but I was stringing the bow        only thing out of normal was the bow was left in a truck overnight in below 0 temperature.

PS nice Green Bay Stormy Kromer