Special Bow Making Equipment

[DC]

I'm with the others that would like to see a good adjustable caul. One that would go from longbow to RD.

[High-Desert]

Absolutly! I'm always up for trying to improve efficiency when bow and arrow making. I think the best thing I have come up with that has made bow making easier is a little adjustable marker that I can run along the back of the stave, near the sides, and it marks a line on the side paralleling the back. I use it on all the time and has made making even thickness taper so much easier.

[Eric Krewson]

The post I put on the end of my work bench in conjunction to my swivel vise has worked as an adjustable caul for me. No telling how many staves I have straightened while using this arrangement.

[Selfbowman]

I took a hand grinder and cut my farriers rasp down to about 7-8 inchs removing the handle section. Comes in handy on straight edges like side of bow  and rounding the edges. I just lay it on the bow plane away. Arvin

[Badger]

      I like that post Eric, I see a lot of uses for it. Back in the 1940's and 1950's there were several magazines going around like popular mechanics and I think science illustrated where " Do it yourselfers" would post projects on how to do things. They had all kinds of trick little gadgets they used in bow and arrow making. The old flightshooters were especially adapt at making jigs and things for accuracy.

     Bowmaking is just like any other hobby, it has a lot of different aspects to it. Different people will excel or be drawn to these different aspects. Tool making and technique development is just as fascinating to some as making bows. We all benefit from the diversity of interests we share with each other.

[Dances with squirrels]

I recently made an adjustable caul with each stand insert easily removed and replaced which changes the amount of deflex and/or reflex, and with solid recurve inserts for the ends too. I use it more for backed bows and trilams than selfbows, but parts of it it works for them too.

Also, an adjustable aluminum taper sled, from 0 to any degree of taper you'd want. Again, more for backed bows, and composites. Very versatile.

Made a simple taper gauge with a chunk of scrap oak and an indicator gauge, posted pics here before. It can be run down a limb in 2-3 seconds, revealing how the limb tapers in thickness, or not. It can be used to check thickness across the limb's width too. Faster than a caliper or dial caliper.

Got a bend gauge as well... made with a chunk of aluminum and an indicator gauge... it could be made of wood as well.

Currently working on a pair of precision indicators with load cells to show how much weight is on each limb as the bow is drawn.

Also made a way to attach an accelerometer to a bow grip to measure hand shock.

Necessity, and sometimes just curiosity, breeds invention.

I don't know if I want to reveal all of my secrets, I should probably patent some of these things  Besides, figured all this stuff was just too high tech for primitive bowyers 

[Badger]

I recently made an adjustable caul with each stand insert easily removed and replaced which changes the amount of deflex and/or reflex, and with solid recurve inserts for the ends too. I use it more for backed bows and trilams than selfbows, but parts of it it works for them too.

Also, an adjustable aluminum taper sled, from 0 to any degree of taper you'd want. Again, more for backed bows, and composites. Very versatile.

Made a simple taper gauge with a chunk of scrap oak and an indicator gauge, posted pics here before. It can be run down a limb in 2-3 seconds, revealing how the limb tapers in thickness, or not. It can be used to check thickness across the limb's width too. Faster than a caliper or dial caliper.

Got a bend gauge as well... made with a chunk of aluminum and an indicator gauge... it could be made of wood as well.

Currently working on a pair of precision indicators with load cells to show how much weight is on each limb as the bow is drawn.

Also made a way to attach an accelerometer to a bow grip to measure hand shock.

Necessity, and sometimes just curiosity, breeds invention.

I don't know if I want to reveal all of my secrets, I should probably patent some of these things  Besides, figured all this stuff was just too high tech for primitive bowyers 

    You sound like the perfect guy to develop some of the tools we use. I have always wanted to develop a shooting machine that had load cells built into it that could plot a force draw curve on one draw of the bow, have it all hooked up to an excel program that would make all the calculations we do.

[Dances with squirrels]

That would be convenient. I wouldn't mind building a shooting machine. The accelerometer is touchy and it's values vary with human influence. The load cells can also tell us whether we're drawing it on the tree the same as we do by hand. I have much building and testing I want to do, I just haven't been able to spend the time in the shop lately.

[Jim Davis]

I use the same wrench method Erik posted above, but I use a big monkey wrench and don't have to add weight on the handle end.

In the arrow department, most of you have probably seen my refinement of a router setup. I drive the square stock with a 3/8 drive hex wrench chucked in a drill (chuck gripping the hex end).

[Jim Davis]

This from Fine Woodworking Magazine

[willie]

Made a simple taper gauge with a chunk of scrap oak and an indicator gauge, posted pics here before.

DWS, can you post a link to the thread with the pics?

thanks