Something long and narrow, in hickory...

[islandpiper]

This is my third bow.   The first was an oak board from Lowes, shoots good, but has a very light pull.  The second was White Ash and shall be known as the Long A$$ Handle Bow, named by Sailordad, I think.  I gave it to a fellow who wanted it, and he was happy, so I was happy. 
Bow #3 is Hickory.  I bought a BUNCH OF IT for not much money, sawed it into 1x2's by 6-foot pieces.   The worst of them, the one on one edge had growth rings running from corner to corner on the end, so I used it first.  So far, I'm  real happy.   It looks like the upper limb is still a little stiff.  I'll scrape it some more tomorrow when I get a chance.  And, I'll get a few more pics showing the profile of the back and the shape of the handle area.  (normal length this time, thank you very much...)

Piper

[Pat B]

Tiller looks good.        Pat

[islandpiper]

Pat, coming from an established expert like yourself, I take your comment with great pride.   Still, if you were here drinking coffee and looking at this bow, you'd say...."Hmmm,  upper limb looks just a little stiff yet."

I probably scrape differently than some of you all.   My scrapers are thin, not the thick commercial scrapers you get at the wood working places.  Mine are about the same thickness as the steel in an Exacto saw.   They sharpen square on the edges with a pull down a 10" mill file, no burr to set.   Fast, flexible and very agressive.  If anyone is interested I'll post a thread just on scrapers.   I  use them in my day-job.   When you use something for long periods you just learn to use the best tool for the job. 

You know, another thing I have, is a small block plane with a toothed blade.   This lets me cut up-grain, down-grain, across - grain.....wherever, with no tear-outs.  I wrote this up for a magazine several years ago and it was published.   But, I'll be glad to share details.   It really speeds things up in wood with any sort of un-even grain. 

piper

[Pat B]

Piper, I'd be interested in your scrapers and the toothed plane blade. Any info would be appreciated.     Pat
   

[rivercane]

I would like to see some pics of this plane.

[OldBow]

You ought to be happy with this bow. Very nice. Any chance of more pictures...unbraced, braced, tip, handle, etc. Anyway, bookmarked for October Self BOM.  Thanks for the post.

[islandpiper]

The plane and scrapers and digital caliper are all on my bench at work, and with any luck i won't have to go in till Tuesday.   Then, I'll get some numerical data, show some shapes of my scrapers and get some pics of the plane.  

I modified the plane a little to close up the throat, this makes tear outs less likely.  Then, I annealed the blade and using engraving tools (dang, another bad habit of mine), ran a series of V-lines on the flat side.   Then, I re-hardened the blade, sharpened it up and went back to work.  As apart of my job I ALWAYS have to work in curly maple and sometimes curly or cantankerous rose wood and ebony.   This plane saves the day.  

piper  

[islandpiper]

Hang on, lots of pics:  Some views down the back, to show the outline, then some handle pics from different angles, and one showing the slight arch across the belly.   The back is FLAT, but the belly is slightly arched for feel, weight, and ease of scraping.  And a couple showing at least one limb, unbraced and then with a long string on, showing a sort of low brace, till it is final tillered.   













Piper

[sailordad]

piper,
for a third bow that is very very nice, even the handle is great lol.

yup that looks like keeper there.
tiller looks good, and did i mention that the handle looks good to. lol

keep up the good work

                                                                             peace,
                                                                                   tim

[Eric Krewson]

Third bow, great tiller (top limb is a little stiff) and an innovator in wood working tools. I think we have a future bow making master craftsman among us. Looking forward to the scraper info.

[islandpiper]

I've already published the pics of the plane and the "how to make it".........  see:  http://www.luth.org/backissues/al65-68/al68.htm

So, I'll take new pics and re-write the info. 

piper

[Pappy]

Very nice bow piper,Looks good to me.Nice job. What is the weight and draw on it ?
 
   Pappy

[islandpiper]

Here's a shot of one of my scrapers in action.....nice, controlled curley shaving, no real "armstrong" effort required. 

Piper

[islandpiper]

OK.......So, it's a pretty bow.....nice lines and some say, a nice handle.   I borrowed a scale and with my old-guy vision up that close to the scale, it seems to show about 25 Lbs pull at 24".  Now, I think I draw a bit more than that, so it might increase the pull a hair when i do. 
But, my question for all you experts is this:  currently the bow is 68" end to end,  about 1 1/4" less NTN.   If I cut the bow down by , say one-inch at each end and taper it again will the draw weight increase?  enough to make the work worthwhile?  any way to really estimate the difference ahead of doing the work? 

Thanks!!  piper

[cowboy]

Fine looking bow piper! Now that ya mention it maybe top is a little stiffer, or it could just be my eyes - tillering usually drives me nuts .