Holmegaard build along

[PK]

Watching your Build Along is much easier to remember that reading all those articles Ive been searching for, thanks for the lesson.PK

[Ghost Dog]

This is like reading a suspense novel. What will happen to our hero in the next episode?

[adb]

Good day, Everyone!
Well, we're back in the deep freeze, here in Mid-West Canada. The temp this morning was a balmy -32C, with a brisk wind, making it -50C with the windchill! A good morning to stay inside, and work in the shop!

When we left off a few days ago, we had the bow at low brace height, and 50# @ 20". Today, I've tillered further. I put away the rasp, and from now on, I'll only be using the scraper and sand paper to get it to final weight and draw. Remember, our goal is: 52 - 57# @ 27".

There is NOTHING worse, in my opinion, than woprking with crappy tools that are dull. Cheap dull tools make me curse. So, for my scrapers, I like to keep them sharp and burred with a special tool. It's a variable burnishing tool, which sets the burr angle. As you all know, a scraper edge should not be square for working wood, It should have a burr, or hook, on the cutting edge. Depending on how aggressively you want to remove material, will determine the hook angle, up to about 15 degrees.

First, I'll place my scraper in the bench vise, square up the edges with an 8" flat mill bastard file, and the put the hook edge on.

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Once this is done, you should be able to feel a nice hooked edge on your scraper.

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In the past, I just used to work my scraper in my hands. I found this caused 2 problems: my hands got tired (especially my thumbs), and my finger tips were burned, caused by the heat generated by the friction of scraping.
So, I purchased a scraper holder. Worth every penny.

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It's a hard resin plastic body, guaranteed unbreakable. It has two thumb screw holders on each edge, and the middle thumb screw allows you to put a bow in the scraper.

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Depending on how flat you want the surface you are working, you can set the amount of bend in the scraper's middle. Remember, if you want a flat surface, you CAN NOT use a flat tool.

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OK, it's ready to go!
Now, I'm removing the tool marks from all the surfaces, except the back. The bandsaw marks are all gone, but the marks from the rasp all need to be removed.

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I'm not really tillering with this step, but I am removing wood. It's important to try and do this evenly, so your bow doesn't get out of tiller too bad.
So, after the tool marks are mostly gone, I'll low brace it again, and put it back up on the tiller tree and work the limbs for at least 50 or more pulls, being careful not to pull it past final weight or length.
I'm also watching to see how the limbs are moving, and because I'm pulling directly on the string, I can feel the weight, especially the initial weight. Initial weight should be strong. In other words, the bow's first bit of pull should feel strong. I don't like using a pully system. I can't feel what the wood is doing as easily. I know this is a bit more dangerous, but if I go easy, I can feel if the bow is stacking. I haven't been clocked yet, and I've used this method for quite a few years.

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Looks to me like the right limb is a bit behind. This is with the bow at low brace, by the way. So, I'll remove some more material.

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Next, I want to bring the brace height up to almost normal. Here, it's at 6.25". Remember, that's from the bow's back. I just love that braced Holmie profile!

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From here, it's just more tillering and working the limbs. I only take a few scrapes, and work it some more. At least 50 pulls. Remember our tillering mantra: remove wood where the limb doesn't bend, and leave it alone where it bends too much!

Well, here she is... getting VERY close. In this pic, it is 60# @ 26"!! Time to back off. From here on, it's sandpaper time. It still looks like the right limb is still just a smidge behind.

Remember, take a piece of paper, and cover up the outer limbs, looking at the inner bending limbs only. Move the paper up from the tips, until you hit the steps where the outer limbs thicken. 

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I only had the bow statically braced on the tree just long enough to take a pic. Set seems very low. Here is a pic of the bow, immediately after unbrace. Looks to me like less than 1".

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One of the real advantages of the Holmegaard design is string angle. Look how low the string angle is in the previous pic of the Holmegaard on the tiller tree. Now, compare that to a normally tillered bow, like this one. Less stacking, less finger pinch. For the same draw length and weight, a Holmie is smoooooth, and doesn't feel as heavy.

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Time to do some finishing work! Hopefully, more posts later today. I have to remember that the fellow I'm making this for is a leftie, so when it comes time for the arrow pass and rest, I have to put them on the other side!!