table saw for bowyer's work?

[Justin Falon]

does anybody use a table saw for doing bowyer's work?  Bandsaws are terribly expensive and I am just wonding about using a tablesaw for trim work on osage and bamboo.  Thanks.

justin

[Eric Krewson]

On Dean's video " Hunting the Bamboo Backed Bow" he made a jig to cut slats out of a rough piece of osage on his table saw. You could also put a course sanding disc on your table saw and do some shaping. I use a 36 grit belt on my belt sander and it takes off wood pretty quickly.

[Shakes.602]

Dear Santa..... I Would Like A NICE BANDSAW for Christmas this Year!! Boo-Yaa!!  

[Justin Falon]

about all I can see myself doing for the next couple of years if osage and bamboo.  If I buy my bamboo already thinned and my osage already tapered, I can glue them up and cut them out on a table saw outside the lines.  Then use my block plane and scraper to get me close.  I will buy a table saw FIRST!!  Thanks!

justin

[Shakes.602]

I do have a Table Saw, but havent figured out how to Apply it to my Very Rookie Bowyer Talents. Hand Tools and Sweat and Elbow Grease for Me so Far!

[R.W.]

For cutting limbs to width, you can make up a simple jig to line up your limbs with your fence. This should make it more accurate a cut, AND keeps fingers away from spinning blade-which is a great bonus.
If you use glass with your lam's, you can buy a cheap 7 1/4"  construction carbide blade for your trimming. These blades are not prohibitively expensive, and are pretty tough, too.
I wouldn't recommend using your best Forrest, Freud, etc. woodworking blade, on glass laminations, but if you are building all wood bows, they will do a great job.

[Eric Krewson]

I have never seen bamboo for sale properly thinned and tapered, same with osage. A table saw would be my last choice for bow making. I use a band saw and belt sander the same amount and a jointer occasionally.

[Justin Falon]

My top choices wood be bandsaw, belt sander, jointer.  I understand HP is the main thing here.  Have a hard time saving money...I can probably get by with a bandsaw first then a belt sander.  I can borrow the jointer for as little as I need it.  

justin

[Teacher_of_the_Arcane]

Justin,

I have an eight inch jointer....you can come over and use it anytime you'd like, but shipping weight was 465 pounds....I doubt if there'd be much lending.   :D  

Lobo in West Virginia

[Crooked Stic]

I am with Eric if you are building all wood bows the bandsaw would be the better choice. Straight lines is about all a tablesaw will do. The bandsaw will save a lot of waste on resawing also.

[Jeremy]

I handplane my bamboo, glue everything up and then cut it to outline on the tablesaw, freehand.  I stay outside the bamboo and then just clean everything up with the blockplane.  Quick, easy and since I don't have the $$ to go buy a bandsaw...
It'll work fine.

[Justin Falon]

Jeremy,

That is what I was thinking.  How big is your table saw?

justin

[Jeremy]

I started out on an old 3/4hp, 7-1/4" Craftsman from the 60's.  I finally burned out the original motor and now I have a relatively new 10" Rigid.  I ended up finding another old motor for that Craftsman and use it now to cut steel and power some grinders.

[Justin Falon]

Tools!  So many choices, so many needs, so little money.  So many choices!!!
Bandsaw.
Beltsander.
Jointer.
Table saw.

I have built entire bows with Nicholson #49 wood rasp, scraper, and sandpaper.  It is possible but I would like my lines to be more crisp than that.

[Aeronut]

I used a 3" hand held Craftsman belt sander for a long time before I bought a bench model.  I mounted a block of wood across the handle, turned it upside down, and clamped it in a vise.  Worked pretty good but it was real noisy.

I never use my table saw for bow work.  I bought my 14" band saw at a farm auction for $60 about three years ago and have ran a lot of stock through it.

Dennis

[**DONOTDELETE**]

If you want to by a portable table saw, find a Makita 8.5" you can pick them up second hand for about a hundred bucks or less sometimes..run 7 1/4" carbide blades on it and it will cut anything you put through it...I've been running oak through mine for 15 years and it's still going...i bought a second one for 65 bucks a couple months ago for a back up....They are great! But i can't imagine building bows without a band saw....i still got all my fingers, and want to keep it that way....free handing material through a table saw is not user friendly....Kirk

[Mark Baker]

Kirk....I have a makita 8.5, and love it.  I build furniture with it.   I also rough out - hog off -lots of bow wood by freehanding it.  You can also use it as a power rasp by drawing the stave back across the blade at an angle.   These are not techniques I'd recommend, however, to the beginner or anyone that is not very familiar with these tools.   I use the table saw more  than I do my bandsaw.    

If I had one power tool to use for building bows, and only one, it would be a 4 1/2 inch grinder, with sanding discs (minus the guard and rubber back).  Once again, another dangerous tool, but extremely versatile for roughing out staves, working through twisted grain, and even fine tillering.   Again, one should fully understand the bow building process using hand tools before ever going to power tools, I believe.  

Also, before you all chastise me for being "dangerous" with my tools...I have been making a living with them for 30 years now, and I know what I'm doing.  I'm also a musician and still have a full set of digits, something that keeps me honest while using this stuff.

[eagle24]

You can do a lot with a table saw, but be carefull!  Probably not the best saw choice for building bows, but it will do a lot, and there are safe ways to accomplish almost anything.  Think before you act and don't take any chances or become careless.  They aren't very forgiving tools.

[eagle24]

oops wrong button!