Ipe with hand tools!

[PEARL DRUMS]

Just be cautious, Ipe can tear out in big and/or long chunks if your not.

[PatM]

I wouldn't even have started!
Are you trying to reduce it down to where you can do a glue-up with it?
If so I'd find a good local furniture makers and get them to rough it out.
Same if you are trying to get a surface dead flat for a glue-up - ask them to run it through a drum sander.
There is zero chance i'd waste my time trying to get slats ready for a glue-up by hand....no way! As mentioned ipe dusk is a killer.

Really? I have flattened Ipe with no trouble with just coarse sandpaper stuck to a board.

[HoorayHorace]

So best to glue up the laminate before starting work...for future reference?

Save starting a new thread, what are the rough dimensions for an English longbow pulling 100lb at 31?

I've gone for 1.5 width tapering down to 1/2 at width, 1.25 down to 1/2 at depth. Now I'm thinking this may result in a much heavier bow, as ipe is so heavy. 
 
75 ntn too

[Sidmand]

I've worked Ipe down with hand tools on a couple of bows.  Draw knife and a nicolson #49, made a pyramid bow and am working on another.  The first broke, not because of my tools but because I backed it with what I thought was white oak that turned out to be red oak, but I digress.

What I did learn is that you can do it, and it's not to bad, but you better wear gloves!  My wife had to fish probably two dozen splinters out of my mitts afterwards, especially after rasping down the belly profile and getting the sides even.  Like tiny little steel wires embedded in my skin. 

[bubby]

100# draw weight, how many bows have you built?

[HoorayHorace]

Two laminate longbows.

Now want a warbow/heavy longbow.

[Sparky Buckwheat]

I have tried to make 7 ipe board bows. I have tried the drawknife, spokeshave, stanley shurform, nicholson rasp, ferrier rasps on ipe.  I try to avoid any angled blade (spokeshave, drawknife) as they can rip huge chunks if they hit interlocking grain sections.  The stanley shurform seems to be take forever with ipe, so i do not use it.  The rasps and sanders have become my best friends with ipe. I use the bandsaw for roughout now that I have one.  I enjoy the hand tools but the bandsaw makes the roughing out too easy and fun.  I personally love ipe.  It makes extremely functional and beautiful bows if you have selected a good piece of wood.

[fiddler49]

I use a Dewalt hand power planner for tillering and profiling. No dust!!! just small chips. Eats ipe!! My favorite power tool for making board bows!!! cheers fiddler49

[mikekeswick]

I wouldn't even have started!
Are you trying to reduce it down to where you can do a glue-up with it?
If so I'd find a good local furniture makers and get them to rough it out.
Same if you are trying to get a surface dead flat for a glue-up - ask them to run it through a drum sander.
There is zero chance i'd waste my time trying to get slats ready for a glue-up by hand....no way! As mentioned ipe dusk is a killer.

Really? I have flattened Ipe with no trouble with just coarse sandpaper stuck to a board.

Yes really. I could also flatten it with sandpaper but I have a drum sander. Trust me you/I can't do as good a job by hand  It takes about 5/10 mins to prepare a set of lams with it AND they are perfect. If you must do it by hand sandpaper stuck to thick GLASS is the way to go.
As for those dimensions.....100#@31.....75 ntn - 1 1/8ths wide x 1 inch thick at the handle. Keep the width the same for 4 inches either side of handle. Then taper into 3/4 inch 8 inch from the nocks. Then into 1/2 at the nocks. Thickness should be a straight line taper from 1 inch at the handle to 1/2 at the tip.
The dimensions you have given would make a 200# bow....seriously!

[---GUTSHOT--->]

I cut my ipe down to width with a table saw then band saw it to 1/4 inch and then I trade a quart of molasses that I make to a local cabinet maker to run it through his planner to 1/8 inch works great but I've learned after my first bow blew up and took a price of brass and band sawed it and put a hacksaw blade in it to make a groove scraper sow the epoxy will hold better no problems

[PatM]

I wouldn't even have started!
Are you trying to reduce it down to where you can do a glue-up with it?
If so I'd find a good local furniture makers and get them to rough it out.
Same if you are trying to get a surface dead flat for a glue-up - ask them to run it through a drum sander.
There is zero chance i'd waste my time trying to get slats ready for a glue-up by hand....no way! As mentioned ipe dusk is a killer.

Really? I have flattened Ipe with no trouble with just coarse sandpaper stuck to a board.

Yes really. I could also flatten it with sandpaper but I have a drum sander. Trust me you/I can't do as good a job by hand  It takes about 5/10 mins to prepare a set of lams with it AND they are perfect. If you must do it by hand sandpaper stuck to thick GLASS is the way to go.
As for those dimensions.....100#@31.....75 ntn - 1 1/8ths wide x 1 inch thick at the handle. Keep the width the same for 4 inches either side of handle. Then taper into 3/4 inch 8 inch from the nocks. Then into 1/2 at the nocks. Thickness should be a straight line taper from 1 inch at the handle to 1/2 at the tip.
The dimensions you have given would make a 200# bow....seriously!

You haven't seen my glue surfaces.  however I'm trying to let people know the minimal things they need. It doesn't help much if you make it seem like a new bowyer needs  a full shop before they can get anything done.

[mikekeswick]

  True, I wasn't meaning to be derogatory or anything.
And I agree with what you are saying, it certainly is possible I just mean there is no fun in flattening ipe by hand so why not make use of tools that can do the work in a few minutes, even if you don't have them yourself then it's likely there is a shop somewhere nearby that will.
Anybody who flattens ipe laminates entirely with hand tools deserves my respect, a pat on the back and a cool drink!

[Prarie Bowyer]

I like hand planes for ipe, and scrapers.  I draw my profile, cut it. Then true it up with a block plane.  Then I use it as a template for the bamboo.  Trace around it, cut out the boo then thin it with hand planes and a melt sander or sanding block with 50 grit.

[Knoll]

melt sander?

[PatM]

Belt.