cutting splices with hand tools

[Jodocus]

I'm still having a hard time, takes a lot of fiddling to get it to fit. how do you go about it? Any tricks or procedures would be welcome.

[bubby]

I think PatM does all his with hand tools maybe he will chime in

[WillS]

Patience, patience, patience.... And a sharp Japanese pull saw.

I kept getting frustrated doing it by hand until I got a pull saw, and now while it's not easy, it's certainly achievable.  I'm a big fan of the method of boiling the splice ends in water for an hour before dry fitting (really wedge them home hard for a tight fit) and letting it cool for a day or two before gluing.

[Jodocus]

Patience, patience, patience....

yeah, that's what I meant with a lot of fiddling... I tried the boiling method, It's really helpful. I additionally clamped the splice area from the sides with good effect. And I do use a pull saw, although it's a cheap one.

You cut the male or the female first and then fit the other one to it?

Also, I tend to get slightly round faces from the cut no matter what (both sides, the cut flares out towards the edges) and have trouble getting them straight with a rasp.

[Pat B]

Ty a "Z" splice. You can cut both pieces at the same time and then fit them together.

[PatM]

 A pull saw  that cuts a thin kerf and practice. Get some scraps and work on them before trying to get it right with perfect billets.
 Only a v splice has a male /female configuration. All others are hermaphrodite.

[WillS]

I do Z splices every time.  I can't cut them together as it would take forever with a hand saw, so I cut both separately and then sand and file them gradually to fit.  They're never perfect, but I use offcuts of wood to plug gaps, tapping them in coated in glue, and it seems to work! 

[mikekeswick]

No it won't take forever and the fit will automatically be much better. Most importantly it keeps the cuts on the same plane.
Or just use a simple v splice to make live easier in the fitting process.

[Chief RID]

Jay made it look so easy in the Bowyers Craft! He did use a band saw. It took me about 3 hours to fit a store bought door threshold yesterday afternoon so I can't imagine a bow splice.

[Jodocus]

...it keeps the cuts on the same plane.
Or just use a simple v splice to make live easier in the fitting process.

It might indeed reduce the round faces since the cut is longer... I'll definetly give it a try. And yes, I was doing a v splice to make my life easier. Just seemed less finickly.

[PatM]

If you can't make a v- splice fit you REALLY need to practice. 

[bubby]

Yeah they don't get much easier than a V

[bradsmith2010]

everything about bow making is difficult at first,, thats why we do it ,, right???

[joachimM]

I concur that Z-splices with hand tools are pretty tough for the unexperienced...
Simple V-splice does the trick for me, at least on my last bow (which is around 40#). After the glue has cured I drill two holes and add round plugs to secure the splice.

[bubby]

everything about bow making is difficult at first,, thats why we do it ,, right???


My dad had a saying, if it was easy anyone could do it