Share your tips and tricks.

[Pat B]

Store the Tru-Oil up side down, resting on it's cap to keep it from skinning over in the bottle.

[PEARL DRUMS]

To add a bit more. I've been told storing it in the fridge will make it last longer. I haven't tried that. I only poke a small hole in the cap seal rather than tearing the whole thing off, helps control flow. I also store it upside down as Pat mentioned. 

[bjrogg]

Thanks Pat and Chris. I'll have to give that a try.
Bjrogg

[PEARL DRUMS]

BJ you're making so many bows you wont ever have to worry about it turning to gel!

[lebhuntfish]

I have found that a vacuum sealer works great.  When im done with my tru oil I just tighter the lid, drop it in a vacuum bag and let the ol food saver do the rest. 
I found a bottle the other day that I didn't remember having from over a year ago.  It was still like new. 

Patrick

[BowEd]

The refrigerator helps to prolong super glue too.Actually in the freezer really.

[bubby]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7A7Ihiii2kP9cE9D3

This is a quick little video I made showing how with the use of a hot glue gun you can save your paws when sanding down overlays and things like a golf tee for an arrow rest

[bjrogg]

Like that one bubby. Always hard to hold those skinny little ones.
Bjrogg

[BowEd]

For those people not owning the TBB series new to bow making here's a way to access density on unfamiliar wood for bows.A person can feel in the hand also but this is a little more accurate.I cut some nice bow worthy honeysuckle the other day and always wanted to try this wood as it is abundant here.I dried [a must] a symmetrical 1/2" dowel 5" long.Made markings on it every 1/2" for a total of 10 increments marked.Took a plastic tube sealed on one end.Filled it with water.Dropped dried dowel into it.Whatever stays below the water is your density.
This honeysuckle is close to .80 density by only having two 1/2" sections of the ten stay above the water.


This local honeysuckle sapling stave at 1.75" wide will do well for bow wood of 50#'s or more for sure at 62" long or more and 1.5" wide with a stiff handled bow.Even below 62" long in a bendy handy style.Small pith in center of sapling.Well behaved wood while drying when roughed out to 3/4" thick limbs mostly full rounded handle and just shellacked on the ends and back.Debarked easily and clean right after cutting.There are other things to find out about the wood yet.Whether it likes heat treatment.It's tension and compression qualities.More than likely it's good bow wood.To give a it a reasonable first test a flat belly design is in order.

[upstatenybowyer]

Great trick Ed. Let us know how that honeysuckle turns out. 

[DC]

Cutting Bamboo backing.
I just figured this out and it made cutting the boo on the bandsaw much easier. I clamped a piece of wood to the table of the saw so that it just covered the blade.(first picture) It needs to be thin for the last cut, that's why there is different pieces of wood in the pictures. Draw a line down the edge of the boo about 1/16" from the back.(you can see the line in the second picture) Run the boo through the saw following the line on top and holding the bottom against the piece of wood. This means you only have to pay attention to the line and not top and bottom at the same time. Turn the boo over and draw another line 1/16" from the back on the other side. Run it through the saw again. Now you have a thin strip that just needs a few passes through the belt sander. I did two sets of cuts. One with the boo full 2" width and then again after I had trimmed it to width profile. Last picture boo is about 1/8"+ thick

[Eric Krewson]

I do the same thing free hand and tilt the bamboo into the blade for each cut. I use the rind as a guide instead of drawing a line and cut as close to it as I can. 

[DC]

I just found that the piece of wood clamped to the table gave me one less thing to think about.  Doing it freehand with my lack of dexterity every time I checked to make sure I wasn't getting too close at the bottom of the cut I would lose track of the top of the cut.

[Eric Krewson]

I just cut one side at a time, I tried to cut top to bottom on my first BBO, it was a disaster.

[burtonridr]

Pay attention and figure out which way the grain is running off on your first couple strokes with the draw knife. A lot of time I will stroke down the limb to remove wood on one side, and stroke up the limb on the other to prevent the knife from digging to deep.

If the grain is being especially difficult to work with a draw knife, use a sureform rasp and make long even strokes at a 45* angle to the limb instead.

I've lost a few bows to grain tearing, hopefully these will help new bowyers.