Pesonal secrets to building selfbows without power tools?

[1/2primitive]

One of the things that helps me is that when I am chasing a ring, I use a small, flexible drawknife that I have to almost entirely finish it. I have gotten pretty fast, if  I do say so myself.

My tool kit consits of a hachet, two drawknives, a rasp(a new Shinto rasp ), a scraper, and the nock file, of course.
     Sean

[DanaM]

As Tim taylor says "More Power"

[tom sawyer]

A band saw is a wonderful thing, but a big ol' hunk of hedge will dull a $20 blade pretty quick.  I try and split them down near size first, and use a hatchet to clean up the stave.  Then I use a drawknife on the sides so I know I'll have at least 1/2" of thickness along the length.  I've seen many people at bowmaking festivals, taking a quarter split and ruining a blade in trying to reduce it on a bandsaw.  In fact, a pie-shaped wedge will tip over easily and bend that sawbladem ruining it even before it gets a chance to become dull and/or lose its set.

I've made a few bows with nothing but a hatchet.  I like a hatchet with a narrow blade and a single bevel, my favorite is a roofers hatchet with a 3' blade.

Using the hatchet, I've found it works well to chop little cuts along the side of the piece, then cut down to remove chips.  When I don't do this, I often wind up pulling giant splinters off the wood as I try and reduce it.  Anybody else got tips on using a hatchet to reduce wood to near dimensions?

[JackCrafty]

Other than using green wood, my only advice on reducing staves with a hatchet it to reduce the tips first and then work toward the handle.  Don't reduce the tips too much at first because they will bend or break off as you're chopping the stave.  If you reduce the stave starting in the middle, the wood may tear out too much and ruin your stave.....you'll also have to swing much harder, increasing fatigue.

[tom sawyer]

I usually start cutting sides down maybe a foot from an end, and then back up 6" at a time and work towards that already-worked end.

[woody]

I love a draw knife and a sturdy vice for massive wood removal on split staves and for the back...then a farriers rasp, course rasp, fine rasp, scraper, and sand paper for the belly...it depends on what mood I'm in.   

[ThimoS]

I use a sharp heavy knife and a wood hammer to split staves out nearly close to floor tiller, while green. Then coat them in lacquer and let em sit a bit. This method works on elm, sasafrass, black-locusst, erc just to name a few.

When they feel dry enough I begin work with a surform then just sharp scrapers till they are tillered.

[Dane]

D Tiller, I too love chisels like you. I have a good 1" mortising chisel, which I keep razor sharp, I used on that last Holmie I did, it was great around the handle and fades for fast, but accurate wood removal. I use a square beech carving mallet for all my chisel work.

Dane

[D. Tiller]

I need to sharpen my chissel. Seems like it dulls up on me right quick or I just don't know how to sharpen it correctly!

[tom sawyer]

I have a froe tha I got a local blacksmith to make for me, it works good for reducing splits but I need to make a different handle because I'll sometimes hit it hard enough to whack my hand on the stave.  I once saw a froe with a handle that was curved at the end, that is exactly what I need.  I think of this every time I bust another knuckle.

[bowmo]

The only real trick I had come up with before I started using a band saw was to draw out the bow on the back, and then use a hand saw to make two angled cuts roughly where the fades of the handle are, down to about where you want your rough belly thickness to start, and then use a hatchet and a hammer (from each end) to split off two or three inches of thickness from the belly wood right up to those saw lines all at once...

dan

[welch2]

Lennie just make a new froe from a longer piece of metal .This is Bob's froe I used a john deere bush hog blade ,to make the the blade .



Ralph

[Badger]

Cool looking tool Ralph, I gotta make me one of those. Steve

[Stonedog]

I had a 14" bandsaw.....and ended up getting rid of it.....because I didn't use it right.....my screw up were just that....mine.  Operator error.

I went over to hand tools.  I like to build laminates.  Hickory backed, Ipe cored with thin 1/4" thick oak handle lams.....

I have found that the table saw will cut my cores to width.....from there on out it's hand tools.

I use a tennon saw to get it close to my lines....then clean up with a shurform and farriers rasp......yes, it takes longer.....but works for me!

[tom sawyer]

Ralph nice froe, that handle has nice character.  My blade is indeed a bit shorter, but even so if you are trying to split a big piece you have to whack the blade so hard that it is easy for the froe to pivot instead of pushing down into the wood, making the top of the handle hit the stave.  Ouch.  Of course when a split is that big, I suppose I should be using wedges instead of the froe.  It works much better on the smaller pieces, and then you can direct the split by torquing on the handle.

I do have a much bigger froe head, the thing is massive.  It'd take a handle larger in diameter than a maul.  I think it was a homemade shingle knife.  Never have out a handle on it.