Cold hard truths about bowyering

[Taxus brevifolia]

#47.     It's true, you really can't see your tool marks until AFTER the first coat of tru-oil. AAARRGH!!!!

[Weylin]

Dont' you hate that! It's never happened to me, no sir. 
I've learned to use the sunlight to look for small marks, not that you have that in Western Oregon this time of year.

[maitus]

On your next bow you will see them before oiling ....

[DC]

I read somewhere that mineral spirits will expose the tool marks and dry a lot quicker than the first coat of tung or tru oil. What, exactly, are mineral spirits?

PS I looked it up. Varsol is a mineral spirit. I've got a can of it from my car days. I'll try that on my next bow.

[Del the cat]

It think they put tool marks into the cans of tru oil just to annoy bowyers. 
Del

[Taxus brevifolia]

Thanks for the tips!
I'm a little smarter than I was last night...

[maitus]

What, exactly, are mineral spirits?

White Spirit

[Hawkdancer]

+1, Del!  That's to prevent interlopers from getting too complacent!  It actually hides any tool marks on gunstocks (Not!). Maybe, they have a special blend for Bowyer's sans tool marks! !
Hawkdancer

[stuckinthemud]

Wiping a damp cloth/hand/brush reveals most tool marks and dries very quickly

[DC]

I tried Varsol on a scrap of Maple. It seemed to show the marks and it dried enough to re-sand in 15 mins.

[George Tsoukalas]

Dampen a paper towel. Raises the grain and reveals tool marks. Sand with 220 grit.
Continue until grain is not raised.
Follow with 300, 600 and 700 grit.
Jawge

[Taxus brevifolia]

Thanks Jawge! I was sitting here reformulating my plan, and there you go doing my work for me.

I've refinished gun stocks with Tung oil, wet sanding with diluted Tung on walnut. I wonder if that's viable with yew...

[Jim Davis]

You can sand with the wet finish on the bow. When tool marks are gone, wipe down the bow and let dry. Then, proceed with as many reapplications as you want.

[leonwood]

Am I the only one who appreciates some tiny last toolmarks to show off you made that bow by hand? Well... I only use handtools so might as well show it in the finished product

[Badger]

   i use my card scraper all through the process to remove tool marks. By the time I get to sanding there really shouldn't be any tool marks to deal with. As a kid my first job was sanding boat masts made of spruce, after that I worked in several furniture factories and they always start you off in the sanding room. With an oil finish we never went beyond about 400 grit and with urethane type finishes 220 was about as fine as we went.