I have decided to take the plunge and try my hand at making another self bow. I got a roughed out stave from Mike at Pinehollow Longbows and I need some tools.
Quite a bit of shaping needs to be done and I was wondering, what would be the best tool to buy? I have a scraper, files and a couple of wood rasps but I need a tool to remove wood rapidly before final tillering can be done.
I was looking at a draw knife or a spoke shave. What would be the best bang for my buck?
A draw knife can do almost anything a spokeshave can do, but it can also hog off bark and bulk belly wood, and bring a heartwood stave down to a good back ring. You can cut the sides of your bow down to outline, and, if you don't care about your edge much, you can use it as a scraper.
Bang for the buck..... absolutely a drawknife
drawknife... Nuff said
I agree with No-sage. A draw knife, rasp and scraper is all you need to build selfbows from staves. A sharp hand ax and the ability to use one properly can also be good for bulk wood removal and shaping. I don't say that from experience though.
Later you may want to upgrade to a band saw but it is definitely not needed and you will learn more about bow building and the patience needed with hand tools.
Try to find an older draw knife. Flea markets, "antique" shops, etc usually have them for $20 to $30 and the steel in them is generally lots better than a new one of affordable price.
For shaping a roughed out stave, I'd lean towards a rasp. "Roughed out" to me means cut to outline and thinned to 3/4" or less in the working limbs. If you have more wood than that to remove, a well managed drawknife is the safest. Mind the grain and don't get in a hurry. Start at the end closest to you and draw towards the end.
i used to rough out my board bows completely with a surform.lol. it took awhile but i made sure i wasnt taking too much or gouging with power tools. a drawknife will work well, as these guys said just go slowly and watch the grain.
I gotta get me a draw knife. I use some old planes my dad used when he was a construction worker. I figure a draw knife would be alot faster.
A farriors rasp removes wood quickly. I picked one up for $17 at a farm supply store.
There are buildalongs on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/
Thoughts of mine on tools (http://analogperiphery.blogspot.com/2007/06/bowyery-tools.html)
hope it helps.
QuoteI was looking at a draw knife or a spoke shave. What would be the best bang for my buck?
Drawknife.
I vote for the farriers rasp too, removes wood fast but no risk like a draw knife were one cut to deep can turn your 50 lb bow into a 15 lb bow in a second. Draw knife is a great tool, but there is a learning curve, a roughed out stave that you paid some good money for probably isn't the best thing to practice on. Oh, and you can always get a free farriers rasp from a farrier, they get too dull for hoof work after a couple of days, so they usually have a pail full sitting around, they are still sharp enough to do good work on wood.
farm and tractor have them for like 25.00 bucks/in a pinch.
A draw knife and cabenit scraper!
Second limbcracker's comments about practicing with a drawknife. I'm a complete rookie on bows but have built masts using a drawknife. Practice on some scrap similar to your bow wood first!
QuoteI vote for the farriers rasp too, removes wood fast but no risk like a draw knife were one cut to deep can turn your 50 lb bow into a 15 lb bow in a second.
Use the drawnkife
bevel side down, and don't use the drawknife for tillering.