How to Back a Bow With Sinew

While many Native American tribes utilized the bow and arrow, not all were made the same way. Native people of the Great Plains were faced with the lack of flexible wood. In order to make a bow of hard wood work well, sinew was used to back the bow, resulting in greater durability and flex. Backing a bow with sinew can be done in modern times the same way as it was centuries ago.

Things You'll Need

  • Sinew
  • Rock or hammer
  • Water
  • Horn and hoof glue
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Pound the sinew until its shreds apart using a rock or hammer. Gather together bundles of 8 to 10 strands of sinew, all of the same approximate length. Gather as many bundles as possible.

    • 2

      Soak the sinew bundles in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. Coat the back of your bow with a thin layer of horn and hoof glue.

    • 3

      Stretch and lay the bundles onto the back of the bow in a brick pattern, with the bundles staggered lengthwise along the bow, side-by-side. Begin at one end and work your way down to the other until the entire length of the bow is covered with sinew.

    • 4

      Apply another layer of glue over the first layer of sinew. Repeat step 2, this time folding the sinew over the bow ends and wrapping the sinew around the bow ends. Ensure that you make the wraps about 1 inch under the string nocks on both bow ends.

    • 5

      Coat the sinew once more with glue from end to end. As the sinew dries, it will shrink and create more flex in the bow.