For years I have been insistent that the three essential tools in bow making were the hatchet, rasp, and scraper. I would now like to add spokeshave to the list. During a workshop in the fall one fellow brought his spokeshave with him to the workshop. I was a bit hesitant at first because in the past I have found the bladed tools (spokeshave and drawknife) to be overly sensitive to changing grain direction and knots. Of which yew wood has lots of both. The advantage to the spokeshave is that it is so easy on the body to work with. Using both hands with the bow clamped securely there is very little fatigue to the bowyer. Which is great after spending many hours rasping. I still find there to be many situations where it isn't the right fit, but when the wood is fairly straight and you are working down to the line, it is now the go to tool. I purchased a Veritas brand from Lee Valley tools and haven't looked back. The feedback from others using them at workshops has been great, especially when the forearms are sore and weak from hatcheting and rasping. We will be picking up a couple more to have on hand for the upcoming year. They should be kept very sharp and with the guide set very low, so they only take off thin thin shavings, and use many light strokes to make progress. On the downside it can be easy to not realize how much wood is being removed and go beyond what is desired. It can also be challenging to keep perspective and ratio on the wood when it is clamped to the bench. So, it is a very effective tool for the bowyer, but it also needs to be treated with respect as it can remove too much without due care.
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Our latest custom yew bow has left the shop, headed for LA. Berkilak - 43# @ 26" Couple neat things about this bow:
well, where to start.
On Friday I called one of the forestry companies on the North Island and asked about good spots for yew wood. Talked with a really nice fellow who told me about a spot that the loggers had hauled some big yew onto the road and were cutting up for firewood. Well.. I went there with a buddy today, worked for a couple hours and here is about half the wood. The other half is in the trailer. Planning on getting it milled up in to 2" thick planks. wow. Going out again tomorrow to the other spot the forester mentioned. Jamie MacDonald of Ravenbeak has been accepted by the jury into the Sidney Fine Art Show. Sidney B.C, on Oct. 12-14 2012.
The show accepted 1020 entries for adjudication and selected 340 works to be accepted into the show. Jamie entered Crotalish, Creek and Rosie to be juried. We do not yet know which have been accepted and there fore are hoping perhaps all three will be there. I have a couple days in the shop to build myself a new bow. Crotalus sold a week ago to a nice man from Finland and I have been left without a bow. This was my chance to build something that I really wanted. To incorporate what I have learned to re create my old bow, but with some touches I had been thinking about. It is nearly finished, just cycling through coats of oil right now. She is a beauty. Like Crotalus, it is heavily recurved and dyed british tan. The tip overlays are buffalo horn and the arrow rest is the antler base of a small spike buck I shot with a bow. Tillered out to 45 lbs at 28 inches and backed with silk and diamond back rattler skins. I am proud to say this is my new bow. It will be one of my entries into the Sidney fine art show in sept. We were invited onto the traditional land of the Klahoose to Au' puk' wum (Forbes Bay) in Desolation Sound. We brought 13 staves, thinking folks could have their pick - but we ended up using them all! A couple people left early, but we managed to get 8 bows done in 2 days. These folks worked harder on their bows then any other group we've had. They made a good range of bows, from a 20lb. paddle bow to a 65lb. flatbow. We were fed, invited to morning dips in a beautiful river, and our little one made a friend (thanks Darien). We've never taught a workshop in such a beautiful setting and we've marked the calendar for next year, in the hopes that we are invited back. Here's a link to the write up from Johnny Hanuse: http://www.klahoose.com/go381a/The_Forbes Just finished a week full of making bows and arrows and friends. Thanks Paul for coming to hang out here with us for a week. We had a blast. Paul spent built a beautiful 53lb. recurved flatbow, with bison horn tip overlays and an ingenious arrow shelf & strike plate. He also built a dozen bamboo shaft arrows matched to his bow. We got to shoot a bunch in a tucked in little alley beside the house - through the chronograph his bow was shooting 148 feet per second. We offered to take it to the Filberg Festival and sell it for him this weekend, but he was definitely not interested in the offer. Happy shooting Paul. Look forward to our paths crossing again. Right now the take down is available. Three others are spoken for and we're just awaiting deposits. And then there's two that we're doing in collaboration with Jeremy Humpherville at Coastal Carvings on Vancouver Island. They'll be available for sale, but still some work to be done on those...they're going to be beauties.
We're also working on a dozen arrows: all natural (oceanspray shafting - harvested by us locally, goose feathers - we found and then cut and ground, sinew wrap - from deer we processed, obsidian points - these we had custom done for us). These are all ready sold - heading to NY in a couple days.
We had an amazing time. Thanks to all the workshop folks for being there, welcoming our family as we shared some old time knowledge. Lots of laughs, hard work, support, and fun. It was a treat and privilege to take this journey with you all and get to watch you shoot your first arrows from bows you had built with your own two hands - right from the tree.
All the best in your journey forth. |
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