So, seriously want to get into bow making. What's first?

[Twangy]

Hey guys! Again, thanks for having me and for the warm welcomes! So, I have some familiarity with wood working, not to much, but enough to know that it takes a lot of patience and such. i will admit, though, that most of my experience is with power tools. In any case, as stated in the subject line, I want to get into bow making. I am a bit on a budget, and will probably have to collect stuff piece by piece before I can truly get started. but I am in no hurry, and this will give me plenty of time to read some threads on the subject and better prepare myself for what's going to happen.

I've watched a few you tube videos and I figure that a self bow is a good place to start.

In any case, and onto the purpose of the thread, I figured a great place to start my line of questioning is, what do I need tool-wise? I know that I'm probably going to need a draw blade and some calipers, but what else? Is something like a jig saw, router, or a scroll saw ever truly useful in bow making? (not figuring power tools are really useful for this except in possibly buffing a lacquer finish if you even do that to a bow...)

Thanks for any and all replies!

[Roy from Pa]

A band saw and a drum sander of some type or a belt sander.

[Bowjunkie]

No, those kinds of handheld power tools won't do you much good at all. I have em all and never use them.

Chainsaw.

Bandsaw.

Drawknife.

GOOD rasps. I like the Nicholson #49.... with the #50 a second favorite.

Cabinet scrapers.

Sandpaper.

Bandsaw is optional if you have a good handaxe/hatchet and know how to use it.

Those are the tools I use for the vast majority of my bowmaking... though I have to admit... I've aquired and made a bunch of tools since I started :^)

[Echatham]

Tool number 1..... Traditional bowyers bible vol 1 (through 4 if ya can swing it)  after that... Drawknife, cabinet scraper, rasp.  All ya need.  If youre cutting your own staves a chainsaw, axe, wedgea, hatchet.  Bandsaw is great.  Belt/disc/spindle sander gets alot of use if ya got it.

[Echatham]

Wedges... Not wedgea

[Twangy]

I've considered books, but time is an issue in my life and I'm a slow reader at that. Its not that I don't want to read them, but just to build the bows I'm going to have to schedule every hour or so a week or two in advance, just for the wife never mind work. I will buy the book and try to read it, but like in my limited luthier experience, I mainly rely on forums and you tube for quick answers and trial and error. BTW, will I need some kind of calibrated scale to measure the pounds on the bow's draw?

[Roy from Pa]

Scale would not hurt.

[Twangy]

OK, and I've noticed that Nicholson was a brand of rasps mentioned. What specific rasps should I buy, and which brands are well worthy of the task? Just the 49 and 50, or should I get others? I'd rather buy the right ones once than the wrong ones many times, lol. been there done that. Are there any other brands I should be looking into?

And what about chisels? Useful or not? again, brand?

[Twangy]

And as far as draw blades / draw knives, is it better to go with straight, curved, or one of each for this application?

[mwosborn]

If you don't have time to read books I would suggest a DVD.  For getting started with the basics "Rattlestick" by Gary Davis is well worth the 20-25 bucks.

[KenH]

Depends on whether you're going to tackle board bows or stave bows.  For stave bows that chainsaw, hatchet, draw knife, rasps and belt sander top the list.

For board bows a bandsaw, belt sander, rasps and sanding blocks are my go to tools.  

The single best place for beginner information, IMHO is   www.poorfolkbows.com   He show you how to build several kinds of simple, realtively easy bows and get experience.   TraGang is a *great* place, but sometimes sorting through conflicting opinions of contributors can be hard.

[Echatham]

There's alot to learn about making wood bows.  You can learn alot on this forum.  But im telling you... That book is the best 20 bucks youll ever spend.  I WISH i had took the time to read it BEFORE i started whittling.  I might would have less bows ill never shoot.

[Twangy]

I'm not really sure of the difference in stave bows and board bows...I'll take a look at that link. As far as belt sanders go, are the hand held ones ok for this or does it have to be the stationary ones?

[Echatham]

Nicholson 49 is all ya need.  50 wouldnt hurt to have but can definitely live without it.  I do use a small chisel from time to time working around knots... But i use it in a scraping manner.  i like a stationary sander better than handheld... Find its more precise to bring the wood to the sander than vice versa.  I just got a rigid edge belt/spindle combo sander that i can already tell will pretty much make my belt/disc combo collect more dust than it makes.  Farriers rasp is great to have but it cant replace the #49.

[Echatham]

A stave bow is made from a tree not milled lumber, and you use a single growth ring for the back... Where a board bow is usually quarter or rift sawn

[red hill]

I like the Nicholson rasp as well, but I suggest a farrier's rasp, too.

The drawknife can be whatever you prefer or can get.

[takefive]

A belt/disc sander is nice to have, but IMHO you don't really need one to get started making stave or board bows unless you want to make laminated wood bows right off the bat.  You can get by with the hand tools the others have mentioned until you decide if you're really into it.  The only part of the process that I refuse to do by hand is cutting the bow's profile.  I use a table saw for that now and before that just used a Skil (circular) saw.  I have a heavy duty hand held jigsaw that I use for cutting the shape of the handle.  A bandsaw would be nice to have I s'pose, but I've been able to get by without one.  I use a $20 Shinto saw rasp.  I'd buy a Nicholson, but I've heard that their quality has suffered since they're no longer made in the USA.   You'll need a nock file, and a digital calipers and Gizmo (do a search on here if you're not familiar with it) really help with tillering.  The very first thing I would do is read up on here or wherever on choosing good bow wood and what to look for as far as the grain of the wood goes.

[LittleBen]

pencil
straight edge
Draw knife
Rasp
half round file
round file <1/4"
scraper
sandpaper
beer

[John Scifres]

My first 20 or so bows were made with a hatchet, a Surform rasp, and a butcher knife.  I have mad e a lot of bows with just the hatchet.  Point being, you don't need a whole lot to get going.

That said, a good 8-10" drawknife, a good farrier's rasp or Nicholson pattern makers rasp, a Bahco cabinet scraper, and a small diameter round file for nocks will help you a lot.

As you have found, there are dozen's of buildalongs here and other places to help you get started.

The prime directive is get good wood.  Trying to make selfbows with marginal wood is an exercise in frustration and heartbreak.

Here's my website:   http://sticknstring.webs.com/

Start with "Ferret's Board Bow".  If you want to make osage bows or other stave bows, start with "Roughout".

Here's my tillering tute:   http://hedgerowselfbows.webs.com/fromblanktobow.htm

[Twangy]

The stave bow seems simpler to me from what I can tell. Is one way really better then the other?