annoyance

[beetlebailey1977]

I use my sander on tips to rough them in and handles if necessary but not at all on limbs.  I do have a oscillating sander that I have not even hooked up.  Oh yeah I use my bandsaw like crazy.  Rasp, drawknife, surform, and scrapers for limbs......all the way. 

[Gordon]

I use my belt sander for lots of things, but never tillering.

[sleek]

Like JDub, I really appreciate the shavings made by hand tools. each piece of wood has its own character and personality. You get to know it very well when you work it by hand. Those bows become special to me. I get to know them and there is a bond, like we worked together to one final goal. I took nothing and with my knife and the tree, we take it from one form of existance to take on an entire new life, as a bow and a very noble thing indeed. From start to finish when I use only the knife, the same one that fells the tree makes the bow. Often with the same edge. No sharpening inbetween.  I am working a white oak bow with my K-Bar right now actually.
  But it does depend on the mood I am in. I find myself pressed for time and mostly work with my power tools. I use my Knife as a tool mark removal tool and final tillering. It is very convenient, impersonal, and I get good results... when I am not a speachless donkey that is. I have only given away one bow I made by knife only. I wonder how its doing?

[JW_Halverson]

I have only given away one bow I made by knife only. I wonder how its doing?

Sadly, it languishes in the corner...loved, but untouched by the owner.  He claims he is busy with 70+ hours a week between two part time jobs and a non-profit he runs.  I think he isn't trying hard enough.

[DuBois]

I feel for ya man! As I have heard said on here, "it's easy to make a kids bow unless you want to". This fits me pretty well  and that's without power tools!

[sleek]

Dont worry JW, I think that you will soon have a dark skinned latina gal deliver you a package to help you with your problem. Time will not be a problem with what you are about to recieve....

[JW_Halverson]

Bad news, my mail carrier moved to a new route.   

[H Rhodes]

I enjoy shaping with a hatchet and tillering with a farriers rasp and scraper.... but, when my tennis/bowyer's elbow starts hurting like hell, I am all about power tools.  In fact, the belt sander and band saw is the difference in me continuing to build bows or just sitting around wishing I could when that elbow starts complaining.  To each his own. 

[sleek]

I hate it when the elbow starts acting up. How do you treat it?

[H Rhodes]

I tried ice, heat, compression wraps, etc. but none of that really did much good.   I think resting it from whatever repetitive motion that brings it on, is the only real solution for me.  I did do some excercises to restore the range of motion and take ibuprofen.  It is no fun, but I think there is an epidemic of tennis elbow on this site!  My first year of building bows, I chopped and rasped and bent wood till my elbows sound like rice crispies.

[Eric Krewson]

I forgot to mention, I have a monster case of carpel tunnel in both wrists from draw knifing the bark and sapwood off hundreds of osage staves. Can't hold a fishing pole or ride a bike without my hands going dead as a wedge in about 5 minutes. When I was making 15 bows a year my dead hands would wake me up 20 times a night. As I backed off on the hand tool work plus wearing a brace on my wrist I can now sleep all night without loosing feeling in my hands.

Love my power tools, they keep me making bows.