Dealing with disabilities. Looking for help.

[Gordon]

The only thing I could think of was learn how to be very precise at removing wood using a sharp and high quality spoke shave and work with knot free wood. That should significantly reduce the amount of repetitive work associated with filing and scraping.

[Del the cat]

Avoiding those hard woods is a good idea. Hazel is prob' much easier to get than Yew, it's fairly soft and a joy to work.
Maybe instead of flint for knapping try chalk   I did see some nice bone and antler points somewhere too.
Del

[artcher1]

I feel for you brother! If we changed the names it could be me writing this script. Although not a disabled vet, I am a veteran with an arthritic disability similar to yours. One can't imagine the suffering of arthritis victims unless their experience it themselves.

Back to your question. Cut back or lose the pain meds. In a few years your mental capacity will diminish to where you can't or won't want to engage in anything.

Make work easier, get a bandsaw. Use good shape tools. Super hardwoods will work you less than soft woods with the right tools.

I love flint knapping myself. But I can't do that anymore. So I make steel trade points instead.

So, if you can't set or lie down for long like myself, might as well say busy. I think you found the right hobby to help with that.

Best of luck..........Art

[Buckeye Guy]

Thank you for your service !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A good band-saw will do wonders , once you get good at using it you can come off it  at or near floor tiller !
Have you tried dry heat from infrared and stretching exercises before working on projects !
Take care and drink lots of water !
Praying for you, Guy

[Parnell]

I appreciate this post, what a good thing to bring up.  Also, thank you for your service.  I do not have issues with arthritis but I did lose vision and most of my left eye at 20 years old in a firework explosion that I didn't see coming.  Kaboom!  I knew from the start that I'd never be able to hit a curve ball the way I used to, but that doesn't stop me from still going to the batting cages.  Sounds like you've got some great suggestions.  My thought is embrace some power tool use but that doesn't mean you have to stop using hand tools completely.  Just use them how and when you can.

We do the best with what we have.  Right?

All the best to you and all of you who serve,

Stephen Parnell

[dwardo]

Power tools dont get up on the own and make bows, they are just tools at the end of the day. I do most of my bow making at night when the little lad has gone to sleep so I have no chance of turning on power tools.

Happy tillering 

[Peacebow_Coos]

Thank you for your service sir

[usmcsgt]

  Thank you all for the kind words and helpful advice.  I think a good bandsaw would be a good investment. I will look at a good 14" bandsaw from grizzly or look on craigslist. 

   I have a few different drawknives. Some a real sharp for shaping and profiling and others for chasing rings. I also have the bow scraper that David Robinson sells. That helps with tillering some.

   I haven't had so much luck with the standard Stanley spoke shave. I'm not sure why.

   Like I mentioned earlier, sharp files and rasps do help a lot.

   I also have nerves that are impinged at my elbows, so it's not comfortable to keep my elbows bent for long or my little fingers go numb and it feels like my elbows are on fire. Plus, using a draw knife for long periods of time is also tough. But, I'm working on exercises for that.

   I find myself spending more time planning out my bows than before. I try to be more precise than I used to. I don't just fly through wood like I used to.

   Knapping chalk? That's a new one. I actually consider obsidian and glass pretty easy to work and not so tough on the joints to work.

   

[usmcsgt]

Power tools dont get up on the own and make bows, they are just tools at the end of the day. I do most of my bow making at night when the little lad has gone to sleep so I have no chance of turning on power tools.

Happy tillering 

   Good one Dwardo! I am not trying to be a purist or anything, I really just prefer the feel of hand tools. But, that may change over time.

[George Tsoukalas]

Brian, than you for your service.
I think a band saw and good quality belt sander would help.
Jawge

[usmcsgt]

  Another thing to add would be, to learn proper techniques and methods of and for each tool that you are using. That is one of the reason why I like to watch other bowyers at work. 

  Having a good work bench setup is another thing that is helpful. I read Stim Wilcox's book on bow making and saw a few cool tricks he does as well as several articles I've read in PA magazine.

 - David

[Hamish]

Hey Sarge, I don't know what you've been through, but I have a lot of chronic health problems, and like some of the other guys have said power tools really do help to ease the physical burden. I love hand tools too, but reserve them for finer work. If you go down that route you also need to have good dust control, and a decent dust mask as lots of bow woods have nasty dust. You don't want to add to your health problems with chest infections, and sinus trouble.
I guess you already know this, but pace yourself. Bowmaking takes a lot of concentration, especially tillering. It makes you tense, which is a problem if you have shoulder or back pain, or arthritis, your posture slumps and you get in the habit of working this way and it puts even more strain on the joints.
What do your  physical therapists say about your arthritis and impingement?  A good therapist should really be able to help with that, identify the cause and to relieve tension with exercise/therapy. Not all therapist are equal. I have been to some which are downright useless, to those which are a great help. Doctors seem to be good at treating the symptoms, but not always so good at identifying the cause of the symptom and really addressing the cause.
I wish you luck, never give up when you have a bad day, but do give yourself at break at these times. Its all about waiting out the storm, until you have a good day.
                                                                                                    Hamish

[kiltedcelt]

Not much that I can add that others haven't said already, however I do have a couple suggestions. The power tool thing can help somewhat, but I think since you got your rasps sharpened that should help a lot. Something to consider about using the hand tools would be to handcraft some larger handles for your rasps so that you don't have to have your fingers gripping in such a tight fist to hold onto the regular size handle. The bowyers rasp that Dean Torges sells also has a second handle attached to the front end. You might consider drilling holes through the front end of your rasps so you can mount a second handle to the front of the rasp. Using the bigger handles will be a little more ergonomic. Also, some folks take a card scraper and mount in a lengthwise handle that holds the scraper by means of some wingnuts to add tension. The long handle gives you something to hold onto that is much easier than holding the small scraper by itself. Also, if you're going to be experiencing difficulty in drawing the bow because of the arthritis in your hands, you might consider adapting your bows to use a release aid like the compound shooters use.

[usmcsgt]

   Hey KiltedCelt,

    Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into the larger handles. I had the torges rasp but, I ended up giving it to my little brother.

   The bow scraper that David Robinson from Medicine bow woods is like you are describing. 

[sleek]

Ever think of putting a wrist strap on your hand tool handles so that most of the force is transferred to your wrist and not all on your fingers? Think of it like the wrist strap on the trigger mechanism for a compound bow. I bet that would do absolute wonders for your fingers.

Also I should add, I have a bulging disk in my back frm the Navy that gives me absolute hell sometimes. I cant even sit down into my easy chair without it giving me fits at times. Washing dishes for more than 10 min is a no-go for me due to the counter height. To remedy this problem At the work bench I built a very large 4x8 work table that is almost chest high. I dont bend or stoop in the least bit while working on bows anymore. And I can lean against it with comfort when I really need to. Give a try to that also if you can.