New Bowyer With Question About Tools?

[tlow13]

         I am a 22 year old college student and I have always been fascinating with traditional bows and bow making. I have not had the time to make one yet, but I have been following and reading lots of posts on this website and I am trying to assemble the right tools to get started on a bow of my own. If there is already a comprehensive list on this website then that is great but I haven't been very successful in finding one. Also I know that a draw knife is pretty essential but I was wondering if it is better to have a curved or straight edged draw knife.
         Also if any you have any tips about a good wood to use for a first timer. I go to school in Utah right now, but my family lives in Seattle WA, and I am also going to Fort Worth Texas this Christmas so perhaps I could pick up a piece there. Any and all suggestions would be very much appreciated.

[Buckeye Guy]

Most start out with a strait draw knife , a farriers rasp, something for a scraper, and some sandpaper !
Hopefully you can connect with someone in Texas to hook you up with some Osage !
It is good as it gets !
Have folks at home find you some Yew !
Have fun 
Welcome to PA
Guy

[Del the cat]

I'd say a spoke shave is V handy, but get a flat soled one, the curved ones can be a pig...
Often old tools are better than the modern equivalents, especially true of draw knives! (one with a slight curve is fine too)
Del

[DuBois]

I don't think I could do anything much if I didn't have a good hatchet for the rough out first. I had been getting by with very basic stuff and I recently added a scraper; it is a great addition. I found a real nice old draw knife in an antique store for only a couple dollars more than a new made in china and it was soo much better. Welcome and keep us posted. Marco

[J05H]

I recommend a good farrier's rasp. They work extremely well, but you have to be careful 'cause it's easy to go too fast.

[bushboy]

i bought a 6' x2"wide aluminum straight edge for 20 bucks that i use often and a 3'x1-1/2" one is also quite handy.shinto rasps also rock!

[Joec123able]

I have a straight edge draw knife I love it. rasp, hatchet, draw knife, and whatever you can use for a scraper would be what I call essential tools. Don't need any bandsaws or belt sanders. A good rat tail file is nice to have but not essential

[IdahoMatt]

If you are planing on working staves I would recommend a drawknife for chasing.  A farriers rasp for removing a lot of wood quickly, but a half round rasp like a Nicholson 49 is great for irregular staves.  It will make less room for error.  If you use a farriers rasp for tillering it is easy to remove too much wood in certain areas.  If the stave has any dips and valleys (most of them do) it is easier to get a more uniform thickness taper with the round side of the rasp,  followed with a scraper.  I made my scraper from an old handsaw blade.  No power tools needed.

Be sure to post pics of your progress

[Grasshopper Mouse]

I'm with bushboy on the Shinto rasp. I'd be lost without mine. The fine and coarse sides on the Shinto rasp really make it two tools in one.
A good drawknife is pretty useful for staves, as is a good sharp hatchet to get the bulk of un-needed wood off.
One of those 4-in-1 rasps is handy.
A scraper is pretty essential and a chainsaw sharpening file will let you make nock grooves.
Add a few grades of sandpaper and you're fairly well set.

Guy

[IdahoMatt]

I totally forgot to mention the Shinto also.  I have one and love it a very valued tool in my arsenal.

[kevinsmith5]

I own a boatload of tools myself but my great grandfather only used a hatchet, drawknife, farriers rasp, and a scraper he made from the thick glass on the bottom of a coke bottle (and he made better bows than I fear I ever will). There's a mollegabet build along on YouTube where all that is used is a four way rasp and a straight edged ruler (that works, I've done it).
I strongly recommend that if you're looking for hand tools you hit the antique/junk stores. My $15 drawknife woulda cost me $100+ for one of similar quality bought new. Ditto on planes, rasps, and spoke shaves.

[wood_bandit 99]

All I use is a farriers rasp, a slightly curved draw knife (make sure it has corners to the blade that stick a ways out and have those a few inches from the handle. It helps with getting into cracks if you have any lumpy staves!) a goose neck scraper, a flat scraper, sand paper, a half round b*stard file. (Rather not cuss just in case! Lol!)

[dwardo]

All of these tools are designed to remove wood. Some faster than others.
The less wood the tool remove such as sandpaper the easier is is to control and less chance of removing wood you cannot stick back on again.

At one end you could make a bow using sandpaper only but it would take a glacial age to do but,, on the upside there is less chance of removing wood you did not mean to before you knew about it.

I use a axe to remove the larger wood and splitting. A drawknife and rasp for roughing out and a cabinet scraper and sandpaper to finish. I would say the top tools that make things easier are axe, drawknife and scraper. The scraper properly sharpened will strip off more wood than would expect, a fantastic tool.

[WillS]

Can't really add to the list - drawknives, hatchets, scrapers and a couple of really good rasps plus a good range of sandpaper are all you really need to get going (in fact you could almost certainly turn out some excellent bows with just those tools)

One tiny piece of advice I will add that served me well - the minute you think "ah, stuff this, it's not removing wood fast enough, I'll use the drawknife..." it's time to stop for the day and come back tomorrow    You'd be amazed just how much wood you can remove with a simple scraper.  Don't learn the hard way!

[Pappy]

I am a tool nut and have lots of them,most I never use,but if I could only have 3 ,that's the way I started ,it would be a good scrapper/old straight blade draw knife and a farrier's rasp. That will get it done. Might throw in a chain saw file in 5/32 and sand paper alto I don't use a lot of that.  :)Everyone I know has their favorite tool,you just have to jump in and it won't take long before you figure out what works best for you,no real right or wrong tool,it all about taking wood off in the right places.
 Pappy