Antler tip overlays

[jess stuart]

It has been a few minutes since I used antler on a bow.  I seem to recall we saturated the pithy part of the antler with CA glue then glued on with epoxy. Does my memory serve me well or is there a better method? Thanks

[Pat B]

I think filing the pith is the critical part when it comes to good adhesion. Be sure the glue surfaces mate well and pre-taper the limb end of the overlay so the string slides easily to the string groove without any obstruction.
 

[garyschuler]

I believe some guys boil the pre tapered overlay a few minutes to soften the horn, then they clamp it to the lip tip to cool. This pre shapes the overlay to the limb contour. Then they fill pith and rough sand a touch and glue tip on. Check with Kirk at Bigfoot Bow's as I believe he might have been the first to do it this way.

[Bryan Adolphe]

I have been doing quite a few and no failures to date, i grind as thin as possible with 36 grit and try and get rid of most of the porous part of the overlay then soak overnight in acetone then heat them briefly then let cool and clamp with
EA-40 .I havnt used deer only moose and elk .

[Tim Finley]

I did everything from soaking them in acetone to drilling tiny holes with a dentist bit and boiling . I finally realized that antler swells and contracts with cold, heat and humidity and eventually they will come off. And they may come off at a bad time . I came into my shop that was 72 degrees from out side that was -10 unstrung my bow and both antler tip overlays came off. I use horn works great and doesn't come off .

[Kirkll]

Antler tip overlays are cool looking, but are a pain in the butt. You are much better filing the piece of antler flat or use an 80 grit sanding block first. Then use heat and clamps to bend the piece to fit the shape of the limb tip dry. THEN use super glue or EA-40....  But i never glue the antler directly to the glass.

I've had my best luck gluing the antler to an 1/8" thick piece of linen phenolic flat, then shaping the phenolic to fit the glass.

Even still.... The damn things can and will pop off at any given time. I finally just quit using antler, and use horn material like cow, or buffalo, or even sheep horn. It's much more flexible and bends easily with heat. Ive never had a problem using horn overlays.

[jamesh76]

Sounds like I am likely to lose a tip sometime after reading all of this. My bows are all self or board bows, I flatten then rough surfaces and clamp deer antler with TB3. So far all have held.   Never thought of heating to bend/form them.

[Longcruise]

I would not have expected that from TB3.  I need to be giving it more use.

[Pat B]

If the back of the tip is flat and the antler base is flat and the two mate perfectly there is no need to heat and bend. With the TBIII being used you may not have to fill the pith but I would anyway just to be safe. If a thinner glue is used I would seal the pitch first then make sure both surfaces match perfectly then glue them down.
FYI, I've found that a rubber band cut and wrapped around the tip overlay and limb tip is a good way to clamp after gluing. It gives you even pressure with the uneven limb belly and the back of the overlay.
 All I have ever built over the last 35+ years is wood bows, selfbows and backed bows. I tried a glass bow once but it broke before I put a string on it.