Hi everyone, I'm from the UK, a keen but repressed amature bowyer for the last 7-8 years. I only work with wild woods, self-cut staves and the odd purloined branch...My favoured tools are those that suit the job in hand, i have a set of auriou rasps (blessed) - 2 old spokeshaves, a couple of drawknives, a couple of gransfors axes and a big box of scavenged flint of dubious quality, yet useful beyond all measure...
I'm currently working on a hornbeam shortbow, studying knot-raising and grain follow - I have 2 halves, one is waiting in the wings while i work the first half - which is full of knots and a few twists, the other is less knotted/twisted so I'm practicing on this half first! Incidentally, because of the rather tight timber situation over here, I have never actually had the chance to work a straight stave! I'm sure when one presents itself I'll be non-plussed;-)
I have roughly 30 bows under my metaphorical belt, half of which I still have and continue to adjust/trim, the other half have helped me to cook various items of food on the bbq;-) I've tried oak, ash, birch, willow (I know), hornbeam, maple and various branches. So far the oak once seasoned seems most reliable, the ash rather brittle, birch seems always to be unreliable (i.e. fear manifests on every tillering draw;-) ) the willow is fine thin/short/wide and backed (i use heavy linen), the maple is tough to work and just doesnt like edged tools of any kind (even a plane gets the cold shoulder) but the hornbeam is interesting, it smells great, loves the spokeshaves and is much more pleasant to work than I've been led to believe...hmmm
My ethos is that each and every shaving of wood that I make is teaching me the craft and linking me to places and subjects that I love, I'm a completely blank page to the subject of primitive archery - every movement and every pull of a bow links me to another time and place. Its that thing isnt it? that image of sitting round a campfire, preparing arrows, flint heads, patiently tillering in the warm glow and crackling flames...snapping out of it to find that I'm in the shed!! .........
Best wishes and kind regards to all ;-)
D
