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Hide glule as a short open time so you need to work fast.. I count the strands on bundles and divide strands from the same leg sinew or tendon among the two bundles. I also rotate every other strand so that the tapers balance out. Clip about 30 strands per bundle and match bundles of equal number and size strands. I use chrome plated spring clips 0 Bulldog that you get in art supply stores. Also rabbit skin glule is very clean and strong and about $20.00. Superior to woodworker's hide glue which may have bone chips. Sinew glue has too much grease in it. My conclusion is from actually making and using it, not something I read in a book. If you don't soak the bundles in warm water, ithe dry sinew will soak up too much glue and add unnecessary weight to the limbs. Too much glue will result in cracking sounds when you pull strung bow first time. Allow at least two weeks between each coarse or layer. A stainless steel pet comb from pet store good to comb out strands. Lay, brick style patter, starting from tip. Use first bundle on one tip. Then go to other tip of bow and lay on matching bundle. The glue should not be much hotter than 120 degrees. Strip excess water off drained, wet sinew bundle, dip in hot hide glue and strip excess glue by pinching between thumb and finger and pull through. Overlap the back unto the belly for the first run down the mid limb. Fill in only after strands are glued from tip to tip. I put bundle 1A in front page of magazine and bundle 1B in the back page. I use may 20 bundles of 30 strands each for a 52 to 60 inch bow that has limbs of 1 and 1/2 wide. After two weeks if you want another course, begin as first with tips of bows and meet in the middle in the handle. Final course will result in a slight crown down the center of the bow. Don't worry about overlapping the sinew onto the edge. Can be trimmed by sanding once dried. Was the bow degreased and roughened up with a dull hacksaw blade or toothing plane before sizing the back of the bow? Are there a lot of recurse on the tips? If so you'll need to wrap with rubber strips from inner tube or artificial sinew thread or water resistant bandage. Be careful in wrapping that you don't push the sinew off to one side. The reverse stringing and tourniquet effect will help maintain some reflex in the limb. As the glue dries and pulls the limbs into more reflex, the string you have connecting the tips will loosen. Sinew backing adds moisture back into the dry or season limbs of the bow. There can be cracks on the belly from the moisture evaporating too quickly and unevenly, espceially on juniper, cedar and yew staves. The Chinese manuscripts tell of boiling big pots of water in a closed room. The heat and steam helps with the short "Open time" before the glue sets - maybe 75 seconds. As the glue continues to heat it will become thicker. I add hot water from the double boiler or a coffee pot of hot water to keep the viscoisty of the glue close to maple syrup or pancake syrup. You'll need a bowl of warm water or a sink with running water handy to wash the excess glue off your hands. I line the kitchen counter or table with lots of newspapers before I begin. Roll up or protect any carpeting or wood floors. Although hide glue is water soluble, it can peel paint and varnish and stain carpets. By counting the strands in the bundles and matching them from the same tendon, you'll come out with a properly tillered bow if the bow was properly tillered before you began sinew backing. Once you have waited at least two weeks between applying sinew, you can put the bow in a hot box or wait about two months before putting a string on and pulling. Final tillering can be done by either sanding off some sinew or adding more depending on where your bow weighs out. Remember that as the bow cures and dries, it will gain in poundage. Getting in a hurry and trying to artificially heat and fast dry can result in the sinew lifting up or getting voids between the first and successive layers of sinew. I've learned the hard way since the '80's. Knox gelatin works great in making thicknener for fruit tarts and a thickner for strawberry pie. I saw a tube with someone throwing Knox gelatin in his mouth, mixing it around and spitting it out to help haft a stone point on a shaft. If the primitive would have had it, they would have used it , right? I'm not a big fan or Knox gelatin as you can see. Nor liquid hide glue that comes in a bottle. The bottled glue breaks down if on the shelf more than six months. Adding vinegar to it can make it dry a little sooner. Save it for fletching and u se real hot hide glue for your sinew backing. I'll have to do an article on sinew backing or maybe later a bok. I do give classes on bow making and sinew backing.