Getting Good at Gouging Wood - 1st Bow

[vinemaplebows]

use your drawknife up-side-down the flat side should be on top, you won't dig as much.

[mwosborn]

X2 what Slim said...lots of ways to remove wood.

Personally I like to use a sharp draw knife to about 5/8 - 3/4" thickness and then use a file or shinto.  But as already mentioned, you need to know when to change tools.  A draw knife can ruin a stave almost as fast as a bandsaw - almost!

[huisme]

use your drawknife up-side-down the flat side should be on top, you won't dig as much.

This is pretty much my default these days.

[Jazzdad]

I have used a dknife on the belly. But an important lesson is to know when to switch tools. Jawge

George, it also helps to know HOW to use a tool.  I'm too old to be embarrassed by what I don't know... but I do feel a smidge sheepish for using the shinto that I own the wrong way  .   

The drawknife was my go-to tool because progress was slow with the shinto when I first started working on this bow.  Then, the other day I read the following enlightening words from Stim Wilcox's, The Art of Making Selfbows, "...rasp being held at almost right angle to the wood, with correct direction of cutting stroke at 45 degrees across wood." 

That's NOT how I was doing it!  However, today I corrected my errant technique and removed the crap out of some belly wood with my shinto!!! The tear outs are gone and I still have enough wood to salvage what I thought was a lost cause.

Seriously, it was one of the more gratifying days I've had in a long time.

[Del the cat]

Tools are a progression, you need to know the limitations of each one and the tricks to getting the best out of it.
Those gouges look like maybe the edge of the blade digging in to me?
Use a draw knife until it stops working for you, then go to maybe a spokeshave, then a rasp, file, scraper and so on.
One trick with a drawknife (and other edged tools) is to pull it towards you at an angle e.g say right hand closer to your belly than the left, this gives a slicing action. Turning the drawknife over or reversing the wood can help too.
BUT there is always a point where the tool becomes ineffective or too coarse ... I pencil a mark R for rasp to mark those points, typically it is where the grain dips sharply or there is a knot.
We've all done it and torn out a big gout of wood where we didn't want to.... you have to recognise the trouble before it happens and use the right tool for the particular bit of wood.
Del

[Jazzdad]

Del, that's really helpful!  I will be incorporating both of those tips into my repertoire. 

Thanks!

 

[Springbuck]

I stop using the drawknife when the bow is twice as thick as I need it.

Faceted tillering helps.  Take off one corner at a shallow angle, take of the other corner, take off the middle in two passes, etc.  You'll also get a feel for when you are cutting into the grain, or against the grain.

[Badger]

  On most white woods I switch to a spokeshave when I start getting close and then slightly facet the belly to allow the tool to work easier. By slightly facet I mean almost flat. I keep a rasp handy to deal with tearouts.