Deer hooves have a black surface finish.  I assume that color is consistent throughout the material.  And since it is not a domestic animal, a deer hoove should be relatively clean to handle.  I think that a black bow tip would be attractive, with or without the use of matching black hair.

So you don’t think the hoove is homogeneous enough to be sawn into discs and machined?

Stainless steel bow tip revisited.

I keep forgetting that we live in the future.  I had a day to think about an easy method of making a stainless steel bow tip.  Here goes.

Many foreign beers are available in a mini sized stainless steel keg.  The interior wall of the keg is protected with a polymer liner.  The exterior advertising is easily removed with a solvent.  The hair knot hole could be approximated with a hand held metal punch (Harbor Freight or similar) and filed to meet the wood with a diamond coated needle file (again, Harbor Freight or similar).  

No issue if polymer is missing on interior.  In that case glue to exterior advertising film.

I would not trust a glue bond directly on the metal, but think a glue bond on the polymer  (or advertising film) is worth a shot.  Correct.  Glue only and no pins.

Hi @steveduf and others.  Suggested alternate method for ebony and ivory bending.  Assuming you have already made tip clamp recommended above.

Ebony.  Place prepared ebony tip and place on a stainless steel culinary mesh strainer. Suspended mesh strainer over an open pot of boiling water for about five minutes.  Remove tip from strainer and immediately clamp to bow head.  Remain in clamped position for an hour or so before glue up.

Ivory.  Immerse prepared ivory tip and place on culinary mesh strainer.  Immerse half of strainer (containing ivory tip) in a pot of boiling water for about 15 minutes.  Point of strainer is to suspend ivory from pot bottom to keep from scorching.  If you lack strainer, keep stirring water to keep tip suspended.  Remove tip fromstrainer and immediately clamp on bow head.  Remain in clamped position for an hour or so before glue up.

The above should work.  I will consult my Kun manual for making bows and will report back if he used a different method.

Hi @steveduf .  The mention of the bending form threw me.  No way you want to use something like a rib bender.  

Hide glue or original Titebond should work fine for both the ebony and ivory.  I would use something like styrene model cement on the synthetic tip armor.  

I would try to avoid the use of any type of glue for the hair wedges, and particularly stay away from super glue on the wedge.  I get loads of cf bows for the cost of postage because the oriental technicians insist on making them “throw aways” by this practice.  

@steveduf and others.  I went to a luthier last week who mentioned another glue option of which I have no experience.  He uses fish glue and said that it had more tack than hide glue.  

You might want to provide a hole on the ebony and ivory before you glue them to the head.  Harbor Freight and others sell a hand held plier type hole punch that comes with various sized punch sets.  I think that they go for about $20.  I think that you would get a cleaner hole from something like that than a drill.