Beginner - which tools will i need?

[Apprentice]

Hello, my name is Jonathan and I am a long time fan of archery. I have woodworking experience in other areas and have decided to take up bow building as a hobby. I was hoping to get some tips on some essential tools neccesary for bow building. I have read up om bow building and I feel ready to give it my first attempt, but first I need to get the appropriate tools.

Some tools I've come across for removing wood are:
The Stanley surform, spokeshave, drawknife, nicholson rasp and wood planes.

Unfortunately I do not have a bandsaw, but I do have a high quality jigsaw, which I believe ought to be capable of roughing out a bow. However for the tillering process, I could use some tips on which tools I should get. 

I was thinking of buying a surform and a spokeshave, what are your opinions?

[youngbowyer33]

i have a spokeshave, and i hate it.but i also dont really know how to use it and i also haven't given it much of a chance. as for the surform, i have one also and it helps me with my floor tillering and some of the long string. i dont have experience with drawknives, but i hear it takes practice to use, so i would recommend a good hand plane. as far as rasps go, the nicholson 4 in hand is pretty good, but i dont find it takes enough wood off, so i got a big coarse bastard rasp. i would also suggest cabinet scrapers for tillering.

[sailordad]

well all i use are
draw knife if i need to remove bark and chase a ring
bandsaw for cutting out the rough shape
sure form for floor tillering and getting to the short string,i dont long string tiller
once i can get a short string on it all i use is my scrapers
small chain saw file for cutting nocks in
sandpaper for finish and final tillering
my digital camera and computer help with all stages of tillering,i take a pic and put it into widows paint and overlay and eliptical to check tiller(thanks to El D)

[Apprentice]

Sounds like I should get the surform and some cabinet scrapers then. Thanks

More opinions?

[nugget]

sailordad named off all the good stuff. I would recommend a farriers rasp also or any real aggresive file.

[Apprentice]

Ok, I'll get a good rasp then.

What does it mean to chase a ring?

I also can't figure out, unless I buy a plank, how can I turn a log into a plank without a bandsaw?

[Justin Snyder]

What you need is a scraper a draw knife and a rasp. If you are starting with board bows you don't need the draw knife.  The rest are extras.

I started with a home made scraper and an old farriers rasp. I have chased a ring with a farriers rasp and scraper, but the draw knife makes it much easier. Old knives or scissors can be used for a scraper as can almost any flat piece of quality metal. I like the farriers rasp because you can get it for cheap and it has the coarse side and finer side.

Chasing a ring is when you take the back down to one growth ring. On white woods like hickory you don't have to chase a ring. You take the bark off and that is the back of the bow. With osage and some others you have to take the lighter sapwood off so you chase the first ring of heartwood.

Plank ? ? ? You can use boards which you buy. If you use staves you split them out of the log with a hammer and wedges. If you read this you will understand a lot more from what you read here. http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,978.0.html

[Apprentice]

Ah, yes I meant board but wrote plank (excuse my english). The glossary was helpful, thanks for the link.

Alright. So I'll get a scraper, should I get a rasp and a surform or will one of them do?

What I meant with the log question was, can you extract a board from a log, without using a bandsaw?

[BigErn]

       Hey Justin,
Thanks for the link,i've been looking for that post also!
                                               Ernie

[Justin Snyder]

Ah, yes I meant board but wrote plank (excuse my English).

Your English is fine. A plank is a form of a board, but I wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing. It is possible to make a board from a log without a bandsaw, but it is difficult. Men have been making boards and beams from logs for many centuries. Hand saws or drawknives would do the job just fine.

I prefer a rasp over a sure form, but it is a personal preference.

[Apprentice]

Alright. I'm mainly asking because the availability of anything usable here is next to nothing. The main wood sort sold around here is pine, everything is pine and with the exception of shops that sell construction supplies there are no shops that sell woods. I might have to work with logs...

[Justin Snyder]

Check the shops that sell wood for cabinet makers. That is where I buy my boards.  If you do find a log it would be much easier to make staves and build selfbows.

[Apprentice]

I think I can get ahold of logs from a friends land. What is the typical "stave" shape like? And what method is used to turn logs into staves?

I want to start out just building a selfbow with nothing added except a riser for the handle.

[El Destructo]

I think that You need to start with a good Board and learn the Basics first....go to Georges Site ( Jawge) and learn from all of the Knolledge that He has amassed there  on how to turn a Board into a Shooting Bow... http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/archer.html

Since You don't say where you are from ...I would either look online...or at your local Feed Store for a Ferriers Rasp...then go to Home Depot and get a flat Stanley Surform...back on the Internet for a  set of Good Cabinet Scrapers from Veritas ...or get in touch with Sawfiler on here ...names Shannon....He makes a Killer Scraper that will hog wood or be as delicate as can be ....man I love Mine! A Bandsaw is not a Must...I have ruined more wood with one than with out...I use a Jigsaw when I need to rough out a Stave...or just my Rasp....

So.... A Sabersaw/Jigsaw to rough out the Board/Stave....a ferriers Rasp or Surform to hog off excess wood... a Tiller Tree or Tiller Stick...which you will find plenty of Information on here for building either of these from some scrap wood....Cabinet Scrapers for Tillering to perfection....and lots and lots of Sandpaper to smooth and finish the Masterpiece that you are about to create....and remember to start to save all of your Pocket Change...because this is going to become an Addiction....believe Me!!

[Apprentice]

Oh excuse me, I live in Sweden, so finding things will be more difficult for me. I'm going to try and find a board, but I might have to use a log...