roughing out bows with an ax/hatchet

[Del the cat]

Axe is great especially on the softer woods like Yew or Hazel. When you are old and bald with tennis elbow you can have a bandsaw then
Get an axe made from decent steel (I went for a Bahco one, which is Swedish steel) Most imortant learn how to sharpen it well.
You want a weight that suits you, I'd advise against going too heavy*.
IMO. If it looks like shiny chrome or has a rubber grip... don't buy it
Del
* If you need heavy, maybe JW will lend you his shovel

[mikekeswick]

As has been said Gransfor Bucks axes are simply superb.
Seriously I also thought I knew what a quality axe was until I used one of these
Link removed cos I was unintentionally breaking the rules.....Gransfors bucks website - I recommend a google!
Just have a look around that website.....drool drool  Proper tools and worth every single penny/cent. I have given mine some serious stick, have only sharpened it once and it still pings fine hairs off my arm. Awesome piece of kit.

[nathan elliot]

I like to work as much as possible with an axe or hatchet. As has been mentioned the GB Swedish carving axe is very good. I personally prefer the mini hatchet, not every ones cup of  tea as its so small, I just like it. That said amazing tools can be made for a couple of ponds if you can find a nice old axe head and re haft it.






Go for a head about 600grams anything over a kilo tiers the arm unnecessarily.

[Del the cat]

Ooooh they are pretty... you got me wanting to re-haft my maky old heavy axe now
Del

[Steve Milbocker]

Our local chainsaw shop sells Husquvarna axes and hatchets. quality tools. About 60 bucks for either.

[mikekeswick]

Some nice work there Nathan.
I completely agree if you can find an old axe it's very likely to be worth the effort to clean it up.

[Blaflair2]

I use a draw knife to rough out the bow. Then a rasp. I'm not very accurate when it comes to chopping

[4dog]

man nathan..thems some purdy choppers...obe of em really caught my eye...3rd in from the left bottom...like it!

[GlisGlis]

I'm not an expert bowmaker but I've done many woodworks
As a general rule i prefere a short kind of machete to do the roughing.
I found it more precise and less tiring for my arm/hand
I mainly like the fact that i can hit very close to the hand being powerful and precise at the same time. with an axe/hatchet is more difficult
Something like the one in the picure with enough mass and quite short and with a hand slip stop

[Don Case]

Does anyone use an adze? I'm guessing the only difference is turning the bow 90 degrees.

[toomanyknots]

i use this...found it under a house i was working on.

Ha, I found one of mine in the middle of the woods stuck in a tree!

[DavidV]

These are literally all the tools I've used for the past few bows I built.


The machete does the roughing and a lot of the scraping since my vice is on loan, and honestly I like not using the vice.

Huisme- I think I have the same drawknife. Do you have trouble keeping an edge on it? I sharpen it with a white Arkansas stone and it stays keen for a little while then it gets to a point where I can't shave even the straightest grained wood. also I work with the bevel down because it's so wide.

[Joec123able]

These are literally all the tools I've used for the past few bows I built.


The machete does the roughing and a lot of the scraping since my vice is on loan, and honestly I like not using the vice.

Huisme- I think I have the same drawknife. Do you have trouble keeping an edge on it? I sharpen it with a white Arkansas stone and it stays keen for a little while then it gets to a point where I can't shave even the straightest grained wood. also I work with the bevel down because it's so wide.

I have the same draw knife and mine doesn't hold an edge long especially on Osage but at the same time it's super easy to sharpen it so I still enjoy using it

[briarjumper12]

Our local chainsaw shop sells Husquvarna axes and hatchets. quality tools. About 60 bucks for either.

The Husquvarna axes have been getting good reviews on other forums that I frequent. The are made by Hultafors in Sweden. Also, of note, they make a carpenter's axe that has gotten good reviews and looks promising.

I am the in the process of restoring an old hewing hatchet. Flat on one side and bevelled on the other. It is of quality steel but is requiring quite a bit of work to get the edge back in order.  The to carve a handle and hang it. I look foward to seeing how it compares to the Gransfors carving axe.

[briarjumper12]

Does anyone use an adze? I'm guessing the only difference is turning the bow 90 degrees.

I don't see why a adze with a straight bit wouldn't do fine job. Should even be able to work the fade area with it too.  Great, now I have to buy another tool to try LOL.  That really does seem like a good idea, worthy of exploration.  I have been looking at the curved adzes for bowl making anyways.   They are EXPENSIVE. Some of the curved ones i been looking at are around $300 apiece.