Best Tool in the Cookie Cutter Bowyers Toolbox?

[DavidV]

A couple of years ago I started buying cheap (less than $20) hand planes from flea markets just to get them working again. However I left them only to furniture work until now... not sure why, I guess I assumed bows were too much of an organic thing to use something as precisioned as a 14" bench plane on. Well I was wrong because it's the perfect tool for the "cookie cutter" bows I've been making. Take a straight grained hickory, oak, or maple board, lay out the side tapers and start hogging away wood with an aggressive plane. Then you can taper the belly just by taking progressively shorter strokes towards the tips, which is way more even than a rasp. And if I somehow got a flatspot I corrected it by bringing the blade up and skewing across the grain.
Only the finish tillering I did with a scraper.
Well that's my latest epiphany I'd like to hear if anyone else had the same... or more likely the exact opposite.

[BOWMAN53]

My farriers rasp is the most used tool i have. I get a bow 75%tillered with it.

[LEGIONNAIRE]

Its a debate between my hatchet which does 80 percent of my rough out and my rasp which does 80 percent of my shaping and tillering.. I think I can replace the hatchet but not the ferriers rasp, so rasp it is.

[mikekeswick]

Bandsaw 

[lostarrow]

 Band saw and then  block plane , for board bows. Then to spoke shave (rounding edges and faring curves into the stiff tips) and last to scraper for final tillering. The rasp and files are for shaping the real curvy bits like handle and nocks for me.

[Joec123able]

My rasp does more work then any other tool. I haven't had the pleasure of roughing a bow out in 10 mins with a bandsaw yet

[adb]

Roughed out on the bandsaw, cleaned up on the belt sander, and then rasp & scraper to the end.

[SLIMBOB]

If you took my rasp away I wouldn't miss it much.  Lot's of guys swear by them though, so it just shows the diverse ways people can get to the Promised Land in what we do.  Draw knife and belt sander.

[Badger]

  Years ago I did a lot of cookie cutter bows. Besides the block plane I like the spokeshave. I only use the rasp now for handles and around the tips. Draw knife and scraper are my two main tools anymore. If I pack up tools to go work on a bow away from home I pack a draw knife, scraper, nicholson rasp, nock file, a bastard file to sharpen the scraper with, and a file cleaner.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Jointer. With a little playing a guy can pump out 95% tillered boards off a jointer all day. I lost my recipe, but I bet could get close again.

[RyanR]

I got a farriers  rasp a few months ago and it is my main tool. I think I could do everything short of cutting the string nocks with it. I also use a hatchet, scraper and Shinto.

[Mark Smeltzer]

I guess I'm the only one who uses my hunting knife for scraping. Between that and my draw knife I'm all set.

Mark

[Pat B]

Band saw for rough out, rasp for shaping and scraper for tillering.

[IdahoMatt]

Band saw for rough out, rasp for shaping and scraper for tillering.

+1. Same same

[bushboy]

never really liked rasps till i got a shinto,it rocks!