Limited space

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

Oké so im not sure is this is in the right section but the problem is; i recently moved to a  cabin wich is 13x13 feet, now i store my wood on the inside of the roof, but i dont have annything i can clamb my wood on to work it into  a bow.
Annyone have n idea to make a compact but also important a stable working platform? I ruined 2 of my b quality staves because i cant stay calm when i get  frustrated, and it frustrate me when i spend more time on turning the stave back with the good size up or re-clamp thw stave then making shavings and finaly finish  a bow again

[bjrogg]

I've often thought I'd really like a vice just mounted on a heavy duty pipe casing that would side into another in the center of my floor. So I could stand wherever I'd like when working. You probably could use a old truck rim for a base to.
Bjrogg

[aznboi3644]

You can always just keep a shave horse outside and work on bows outside.  Space should be almost unlimited there.

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

 (-have to look for a vice i think then.  I had a good shaving horse but it couldnt move with me because it was  made out of whole logs and ws too large to move.

Space outside is also limited because the cabin is on a camping

[PatM]

How much space do you need?   Just put a shavehorse outside and throw a tarp over it.

[stuckinthemud]

Make a leg vise, there's many 'how-to'  articles on the internet, even someone who made one using a scaffolding levelling screw and some scrap timber

[Pat B]

Also, when you get frustrated put down the tools and walk away.

[bjrogg]

Also, when you get frustrated put down the tools and walk away.

Yup. I don't do this to get frustrated.
Bjrogg

[bownarra]

Just make a small bench out of 4x4's with triangles for bracing the corners. Needn't take more than an hour or so and won't cost much. Then attach an engineers 4" vice to it. Simple.
If you want to be able to control your emotions google the wim hof method. Trust me you will be a different person in a month with no stress. Try it - it might change your life

[Eric Krewson]

I used to play tennis with a young guy who would pitch a fit when he missed a shot, he would slam his racket on the concrete and fence all the while shouting and cursing like an idiot.

I told him if he couldn't straighten up his behavior there was no need for him coming to the tennis courts while I was there. I guess he just needed a wakeup call from me, he changed and actually played a much better game after he learned to keep his emotions in check.

Do you see where I am going with this? There is no point in you trying to make bows if you get frustrated and destroy your work.

ALL of us have broken and ruined a bunch of bows and staves while we were learning the process. The key is to just say "dang", throw the failure in the burn pile and start another one.

I did run a hickory bow through my bandsaw once after I badly hinged a limb but I needed some hickory wood for the BBQ and the bow was toast already.

[aznboi3644]

Bow making for me puts me in the calmest of all moods.  It is a way to focus.

You shouldn’t need much room outside. Also if it is a campsite than working on a bow outside should
Be perfectly fine.  Unless it’s glamping in a RV and the sound of tools ruins someone’s big screen TV movie night outside the RV. 

Seriously I used to make bows in my apartment on a 6x6 rug I laid out in the living room.  After each session I would just vacuum and a sweep up.  You don’t need a 20x20 shop to work on a 72” bow.

[stuckinthemud]

Failure is a huge part of this game. When I started out, just getting a stick to bend, without a hinge or 4 inches of set was an achievement and I broke as many as I made, as I get better, my standards get higher, and although the number of bows that snap or fall way below target weight is smaller, my failure rate is still really high as I no longer accept things like 4 inches of set.  My work area is a small cleared space in the garage about 4 feet deep by 4 foot wide but I have arranged all the household junk so I can swing the end of a bow around to work on one end at a time when I work at the bench - a door strapped to the wall with legs made from 4x4 fence posts. Mostly I work using short fat log (about 14 inches high and 14 inches wide) as an anvil for all my hatchet work. I also use it to brace against for rasping and sanding. Its amazing what a hatchet and rasp can accomplish, I very rarely use a vise for bow building.  I'm pretty sure I could get away without a bench or a vice but they are nice things to have.

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

most of the times it also Works relaxijg for me but i had a nice place to Work but then i had to move.  And as i will restart a bow  i also have to restart my all dy life also, new house newjob low budget,  not that i say this to complain  orso. But i see making bows as n escape to   all the hussle,  but when my escape route isgettinf bkocked.  Than  i catnt sty ck.

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

Got a good found yesterday by the way, where i i live its ful off elm and i believe i found the good elm as i read about it here.  Its rock winged elm, or hybride.  Thick growth rings and nice and straight. Its about 5 inch at the bottom nd 4 at top.  I hope the foto will upload

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

Forgot the second pic