Bow building workplace

[pdccr]

Let me know whats in your bow building workplace, i am going to clean up a corner of the shed and turn it into what ever i can. I have been asking around and its clear that i need both a bandsaw and a table saw and as luck would have it i can get both those pretty easily.

I also accumulated a fair few tools from when i began building and i also have the chance to salvage some old tools from the shed. Please post ideas or plans of your workshop or better still some pictures. I am also going to make a list of tools that i should need so if you cant build a bow with out a tool and its not on the list please post!

Here is my list;

Rasp
Hatchet
Small file
G-Clamps
Sandpaper
Spokeshave( in the process of getting one )
Bandsaw/Tablesaw
Orbital Sander


Thats all i can think of but please share your thoughts.

[stringnstik]

Rasp. Yes but dont use it
Hatchet Nup
Small file Yes for the nocks
G-Clamps I prefer the quickgrips
Sandpaper A little (see below) I hate saw dust
Spokeshave A must have
Bandsaw Nope, wouldnt say no tho
Tablesaw A well worn Triton
Orbital Sander Yes but I dont use it for bow making. I hate saw dust

My additions
Belt sander I sometimes use the front circular part to help curve the handles. I hate saw dust
Scrapers Love this, far better than sanding. Quicker, slicker and gives a beaut finish. Less nasty sawdust
Drawknife More and more of the above items are being replaced by this one device. Less nasty saw dust.
Modified Markers guage For marking out profiles.
Titebond glue
Tilling tree Must have.I have a pulley and a fishing scale setup.

[pdccr]

Ok thanks for the addition, i need to get a draw knife and some titebond glue. Where does everyone get theirs?

[ichiban]

hey,
i get my titebond 3 from carbatech here in canberra but my addition is,
the eletric plainer-if you chose your staves well there is very little waste
and a set of digital calipers- preferable ones that measure in atleaset thousanths of an inch (sometimes there heeps expencive so look around the set i got cost $40 the other model was $190 with the same measurements and degree of error

[pdccr]

Do bunnings stock the electric planer?

[ichiban]

yep got mine there for 40 bucks and the new blades cost almost that much so i just buy a new one (no risk of the motor burning out)

[pdccr]

Ok awesome, getting some plans for my new workplace. Got a whole pile of wood i want to see if i can turn into a decent bow. looking at backing them with quandong.

[looseplucker]

bandsaw
drill press
belt and disc sander
handheld belt sander
orbital sander
handsaw
bandsaw
files and rasps (various)
digital and analague calipers
spokeshave
drawknife
hatchet
mallet
chisels
G clamps of varying sizes
bench with vise
scrapers
about 2km of rubber inner tubing in strips


and a whole mess of other odds and ends that might come in handy

[pdccr]

yer, cleaning up my old grandads corner, what a bloody mess. You name he has it, the only price is the time you spend trying to find it. Cleaning it out to make a bowmaking corner. Also for other bits and pieces.

[ichiban]

i persoanly like making lots of dust and shavings (good bedding for the rats) so i would recomend LOTS of sandpaper from say 36-40grit up to 300-400grit for a sweet finish (if it was up to me i would get a 600 grit buffing wheel)

[greybeard]

All of the above with the exception of the draw knife, everything I need to make all styles of bows [except those from the dark side].

As the need arises I add to the stockpile of tools and other bits and pieces.

I have a dedicated dust extractor for my bandsaw plus a larger model that serves my table saw, lamination grinder/riser shaper and a six inch belt sander with a nine inch sanding disc.

Daryl.

[pdccr]

Thats how i pretty much started, i started with just a rasp, then i got some G-clamps and then i just kept building on. I am salvaging some old tools from the shed as we are cleaning it out so i can take things from there aswell.

[ichiban]

at the end of the day it really depends how good you are with tools, some people use there band saw as a "power rasp" there is noooooooo way i would/could do that sucsessfully so i personaly just use tools that remove wood slowly, less chance of making a big mistake that way. when i made my last bow i just used 40 grit sand paper for the last few inches of the draw to make sure that i couldnt over do it.

[pdccr]

Man i had a good day today, you should see the tools i salvaged.

Posting some pics soon.

[pdccr]

Ok here they are, made a lot of progress today.

These are some pics of the corner i will be taking over. Mostly junk that will be of no use untill you throw them away.

Image022.jpg (73.56 KiB) Viewed 3346 times

Another view of the workplace.

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The monster pile of wood that my father bought when the mills closed down. Mainly red ceder, beach, teak, quandong, mountain ash and a timber i couldnt recognize.

Image026.jpg (61.93 KiB) Viewed 3342 times

Some of the tools i salvaged, in this pile is g-clamps, 2 hatchets, files, spanners, hammers, pliers, tinsnips and some other bits and peices.

Image028.jpg (76.3 KiB) Viewed 3339 times

And the highlight of my day, in a pile of old metal i pulled this out. This is the an old spokeshave that is 50+ years old and is as sharp as my hunting knife. This sopkeshave has no handles so i will turn some out on the lathe but just finding this was really exciting. Its quite a large tool so i will definitely give it a go one the weekend when i hack into my spotted gum stave.

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Still more to come!!!!!! Cleaning the rest up on the weekend.

[ichiban]

thats a draw knife, a spokeshave is its very little brother

[pdccr]

Ahhh i thought it looked a bit big, do they still sell spokeshaves?

[greybeard]

Hi Toby,

This is a spokeshave.

Spokeshave 03.jpg (17.23 KiB) Viewed 3303 times

To the best of my knowledge the one in the photo is over 60 years old [was my grandfathers'] and has the original blade.

Newer versions have knobs to set the the blade angle, cost about $50.00, ones similar to that as shown in the photo are about $15.00 from Carba-tec.

Apart from shaping selfbows they are excellent for removing the soft inner of bamboo that is to be used for back and belly laminations.

Daryl.

[pdccr]

Yer i understand now daryl, i just google'd it then and had a look, from what i can see the drawknife would be good for roughing out a bow and the spokeshave for laminations or fine work. I also read in the bowyers buble that the best tools are the ones that have the original pieces, one of the bowyers used a spokeshave and kept it sharp all the time but the other bowyer used a bluntish one. I will make up some handles with brass or copper ferrules on them and get these tools up and running. Will post some pictures.

[ichiban]

there a grate lil tool greybeard is in the same boat as me, im using my granfarthers its a very old stanly and as sharp as the day it was made

[MrsStringnstik]

t

My additions
Belt sander I sometimes use the front circular part to help curve the handles. I hate saw dust
Scrapers Love this, far better than sanding. Quicker, slicker and gives a beaut finish. Less nasty sawdust
Drawknife More and more of the above items are being replaced by this one device. Less nasty saw dust.
Modified Markers guage For marking out profiles.
Titebond glue
Tilling tree Must have.I have a pulley and a fishing scale setup.

hey, you forgot the couple of kids you holler to hold things for you when you run out of clamps!!

[pdccr]