Is anyone using floats?

[zoomer]

Some are called planemaker's floats. Apparently they are resharpenable. Are they any good for bowmaking?

[Hamish]

I haven't tried floats. The plane makers style would have too short a cutting stroke to be useful for anything but working a small section on a limb.
There are auto industry body files that have a shallow float like cut. They are longer like a rasp and have been used by the late, great Glenn St Charles, of Billets to Bows, book and video. They are supposed to give a cleaner cut than a rasp. I haven't used one yet either.
They are much cheaper than floats which are only available from specialist woodworking tool manufacturers.

[Eric Krewson]

I believe they are called Vixen files.

[DC]

Is this what you're talking about only flat? An old bodyman gave this to me about 50 years ago. It may have worked on lead but it didn't work on bondo. Spent more time cleaning it that scraping with it. I can't imagine trying to sharpen it.

[DC]

Wikipedia def
"A flote is a woodworking tool used in the art of bowyery. Flotes are specialized, traditional hand tools that are used to shape the bow during the process of tillering."

And this

https://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,18277.0.html

[dylanholderman]

I’ve used the auto body style, they do leave a very clean surface but you have to push them in a pretty straight stroke or they will leave thin gouges.
I don’t know how they would be more easily resharpened then other types of file though, I thought you sharpened files with acid?

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

I used It to make my first pair of tip overlays and was about to post about it. It has 2 different sides, one aggresive and one milder side, at first i tought It was a worthless tool but i had to find out how It worked and then i could make butter smooth surface

[bradsmith2010]

I have used it but didn't know what it was,,,I think it is useful

[zoomer]

Perhaps this type of tool could be very useful if flat with straight teeth and long enough. It could be maintained very sharp I think. Thanks for replies.

[zoomer]

Some say metal brushes dull rasps. Well I can't clean my rasp completely with only a nylon brush. I think that straight toothed floats can be cleaned with a sweep of a nylon brush across the float.

[dylanholderman]

Perhaps this type of tool could be very useful if flat with straight teeth and long enough. It could be maintained very sharp I think. Thanks for replies.

neat i hadn't come across the straight toothed ones, all of mine have the semi-circle tooth shape. i think you are right you should be able sharpen it with a good saw-file like in your pic.

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

They van be cleaner a bit if you go side way over a splintered piece of end grain and sometimes when i have nothimg to do i clean everi single tooth with the point of An. Old knife but be sure to dont touch the cutting edge

[Jim Davis]

wikipedia's definition of "flote" does not seem to be supported by any real dictionary.