annoyance

[sleek]

So my old skill belt sander broke down on me the other day. Boy I missed that thing. So when I finally got a huge upgrade with the refund today I was stoked, this thing is huge! I set myself straight to work on past due projects. Not only does it draw 5 Amps, but I decided to buy a new to me ceramic 36 grit sanding belt.... and promptly destroyed a bow with it. It hogged wood off like a wood chipper. So now the 30# youth bow I was making for the 12 year old son of a friend of my wifes is in the burn pile.
It was already short and narrow so there is no piking it, re-curving tips and heat treating it to save it. Handle is too narrow now to make it a bendy handle bow either. Dang it. Perfect piece of 3 year old black locust. Thick ring stuff too with only 2 rings inside the bow. Its so darned annoying when I make mistakes like that after just over 3 years of making bows. Grrr...... stupid stick.

[Joec123able]

Belt sanders and bows just don't mix ....

[sleek]

I figured that would be the opinion of many on here. But it is so easy to use.... just at the same time, so easy to over use.....

[adb]

Belt sanders and bows just don't mix ....

Rubbish!! I profile almost all my bows using my belt sander.

[Pappy]

No problem with power tools at all, but me and belt sanders do not do well together, at least not for tillering or taking off belly wood,I use one all the time on tips/grips and knife scales,but not for limb work .I have better control with a band saw/drawknife/rasp or scrapper.  Band saws will ruin one in a big hurry also if you don't watch out,but over the years I have learned to control it pretty good ,heck I have seen them turned into kids bow with a rasp and scrapper.
   Pappy

[osage outlaw]

I quit using my belt sander on bows and started using my rasps and files more.  The quality of my bows has improved with the switch.  Some guys have no problems with them, but for me slower is better.

[Del the cat]

Belt sanders are good for laminated/backed bows and straighening up adges...
But how many primitives are straight?
Like all tools, there's a righ time and a wrong time for 'em.
I'm currently using a belt sander on a booYew bow let's hope it doesn't turn into a boohoo
Del

[Ink]

A belt sander works just fine, you just need to switch to a 60 grit belt. Check floor tiller often when using one. The trick is knowing when to stop using it and switching to the scraper and file.

[Eric Krewson]

I have seen a number of bows ruined in my shop by a belt sander, ruined a few myself when I first started out.

The key to using a belt sander is knowing when to stop using it. I narrow tips, flatten sides, flatten overlays, handle add ons, true up side bulges in the limbs and a host of other jobs. I never tiller, be it floor or long or short string, aggressively shape handles or fades, work on the back(unless I am flattening for bamboo) or work tip overlays to their final shape.

The biggest mistake I make with my belt sander is daydreaming and getting my knuckle into the belt, done it way too many times. Just finished healing up from my last encounter with a 36 grit belt, it takes over a month to heal because the skin and flesh are GONE.. 

[George Tsoukalas]

I use one for selfies and point tapers.
I don't recommend power tools of any sort until bow #6 and I'm way over that number of bows. I've actually broken more than 20 times that number. LOL.
Here is my sander.
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/simplearrow.html
Jawge

[JW_Halverson]

There is absolutely no room for power tools and primitive archery in MY shop.  For the rest of you it's your own decision.  And now I readily admit my hypocrisy and tell you how much I love my quarter sheet palm sander.

For me, it's not about turning out great bows.  It's about making wood shavings with hand tools.  That's what I am doing, I just happen to pick bows as the format for my shavings.  How I choose to do this hobby is dictated by why I do this hobby.  For others, the final product is what is important and ANY means of getting to the end is fair game.  Cool, love to drool over your bows just as much as I drool over one made by somebody wearing a possum loincloth while scraping a stick with a broken beer bottle. 

Mind you, ADB, I will probably tease you a little about how when the power goes out you will have nothing to do but stare at your expensive boat anchors with power cords.    But it won't stop me from coveting those gorgeous bows you turn out.

[Joec123able]

Belt sanders and bows just don't mix ....

Rubbish!! I profile almost all my bows using my belt sander.

Cool I don't

[rossfactor]

I gotta belt sander.  I use it on bows sometimes.

The power tools argument can easily become a slippery slope.  Personally, it depends on my mood. If'n I'm feeling like a cave man, its out with some rocks. If'n I'm feeling like shaping some wood as easily as possible, its out with some power tools. 

But I usually do my fine tillering with a Nicholson and a cabinet scraper.

gabe

[JonW]

I guess I'm just lucky. I use nothing but a belt sander for tillering. I switch grits as I go.

[bubby]

some of my bows I do all hand tools, but I have bad arthritis in both wrists so I use power tools a lot, 36 grit on the belt but I mainly use it to sand down to the profile lines, almost all sanding by hand with a sanding block or just sand paper, just how I have to do it, personally don't care if power tools aren't primitive or not, bub