The winds slowed, the killer dust settled and I was able to get back to the bow. A few minutes with the power planer took the rough shape down to a nearly finished product. The calipers are useful and can save a lot of guesswork when making the same style bow over and over.
Above, the bow seen in its near-final form.
Despite the great labor savings that come from the power tools, wood is very organic and has character therefore need some finer, more controllable tools. These are the two draw knives I use the most.
I took the limbs down til there was some little flexibility. Probably in the 100 pound range but still too sketchy to put a string on. As the day was drawing late I decided to rough out the grip and central riser area. Surprisingly, this takes quite a bit of time as it needs to fit the hand well, and look pleasing. It is difficult to get it “just right” in all dimensions as a tiny variance takes away from the symmetry of the piece. This part is purely about looks.
Once the knife work is done, its time to move to the cabinet scraper. Here are the two I use. To keep a good sharp edge I switch between the two as one dulls. The larger one is a standard Stanley cabinet scraper and the smaller is a Garlick of England. The English one is much harder steel but more difficult to get a good edge when sharpening. With them are the bastard file and file brush used to touch up the edge.
I hope to find time for the finish tillering sometime this week.
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 