Drawknife safe on IPE?

[Redonefive]

I'm working on a bow,  my second, but my first bow with ipe and bamboo. Is it safe for me to use my drawknife and rasp to get the ipe shaped down to where i want it? by safe i mean is the grain in ipe likely to kick up and gouge badly or is it forgiving?  I don't have a  band saw to cut out my bow is why i ask,  Alot of sanding so far but i have the bamboo flat. how thin do i want the middle of the bamboo before glueing up?  my design im following is 66in NTN and 1/4thick by 3/8 wide at tips  with a 1 1/4 wide by 7/8 thick midsection before i glue on riser. what is a reason draw weight to expect out of this thin a design?

[Diamondback59]

ill tell ya bro  draw knif and ipe nope use ur rasp and a sharp scraper  ull probly resharpen it a bunch   7/8 thick ipe  geeze 120 lb maybe haha i use  1 /2 ipe with boo  get 55  -70 easey if was me id go get that ipe sawed to 1/2 thick thats plenty  brock

[Apex Predator]

It usually will gouge bad in my experience.  I would power sand and then scrape.  Wear a respirator!  Ipe will burn your eyes and skin, and can cause some pretty serious respiritory problems.

[Redonefive]

well i tried it a little las night. i can vouch for a few things.  i am one of the people that has an adverse reaction to ipe  it itches and and my lips were numb from dust. and it won't draw well, i tried  my knife as a scraper and it shaves decently but chatters some. i guess im gonna have to buy a tabletop belt sander. i was going off of a pattern i got with my bow kit, but i might thin it down some.  how thick does my bamboo need to be? it's about 1/8 to 3/16 now, maybe thinner? is it okay to glue it up then sand bamboo down to contour of my ipe?  sorry for a bunch of questions but afraid of screwing it up. i really want to get to hunt with with a trad bow this year.

[getstonedprimitivebowhunt]

check out my SHINTO saw rasp topic !

[chrisg]

rasp and cabinet scraper. The wood is very crossgrained and makes drawknife dig in. The cross grain is partl why its such a tough and strong bow wood! If you power sand use a mask, the dust makes nasty reactions. Just had a bad one myself.
chrisg.

[bigcountry]

I couldn't use a drawknife.  Cut in, get splinters.  All I can do is power sand, use a jointer, and then use a scraper.

[macbow]

As for the bamboo. I like to flatten the bamboo till the edges are very thin, maybe 1/32. Then after the bow is shaped trace the bow shape on the bamboo. I then cut with a bandsaw to shape. I then flatten, thin the bamboo to about 1/16 on the edges.

After you first flatten the whole piece putting it in a heat box at about 110 degrees will dry it out (heat treat) the bamboo then a final flattening is required.

By doing it this way the edges are thin and the bamboo won't overpower your belly.
Ron