FullContactGEEK Adventures in Nylon Braiding and Assorted Craziness

Bowmaking 2

Tillering - bending the arms of the bow and checking for weak spots and overall symmetry.

Use a string with small pouches on the ends to tension the bow before nocks have been cut. Use a tillering stick clamped to a bench to gradually pull the limbs.

The stick has a channel/platform on one end for the grip of the bow to rest upon and screws or pegs marked out to 28" to catch the string. Start short and gradually add tension to compress the fibers evenly. Use a 12" stick ruler to observe variations in curve. Shave material from flat areas but avoid removing material from spots with already a lot of bend.

Making the nocks - use 1/8" round file (chainsaw file), do not cut across the back surface of the bow to avoid weakening the fibers, cut the nocks deep enough to create a ledge for the string and run the channel down and towards the mid line of the face of the bow to follow the natural placement of the string.

Making the string - 12 strands of dacron, various instructions already online, pair twist at one end to form the loop section, fold over for the loop itself then recombine the strands and pair twist for 3-4 inches, whip or knot the loose ends tightly, evenly twist the remaining length of strands just enough to keep them together, bow string knot on the far end (bend, around the back, over and through like a basic square knot but bend the working end over the top and through the loop again)

Serving the string - (known as whipping everywhere else) string the bow to at least 4" from handle to string, mark 1.5" above center of string with tape, use 12' dental floss doubled over twice and tie securely around string at marked point, take remaining strands and whip tightly and evenly down the string creating an even and smooth covering with no gaps, finish the end by drawing the remaining strands under the whipping and secure both ends with a drop of glue

Final tillering - with the bow strung mark 12", 18" and 24" up each limb from the center, measure from each point to the string and compare both sides for symmetry, place in tillering stick and progressively draw, measuring and comparing the distances from each point to the string as well as using 12" and 8" rulers to check for weak or flat spots in the arc (use the short ruler with the greater curves)

Quick and Dirty Shaving Horse – Details

So I promised to give some of the other participants in the bow making class the measurement details of my shaving horse. Here goes...

Tools Required

• drill with 1/2" bit plus other bits as needed
• jigsaw
• sander
• miter saw (optional as all the cuts are straight and can be done at Home Depot when you buy the lumber)

Materials Required

• one 8' 2x4
• one 8' 2x10 (2x6 or 2x8 optional)
• one hinge (whatever will work for you, I bought a pack of two and used them both)
• one bolt that will go through your wide stock (I used a 1/2"x12" eye bolt) plus nut (and a washer if you like)
• one pack of plastic saw horse brackets
• two 1/4"x4" lag bolts with washers
• four 2.5"-3" screws

Method

There will be some leeway with the following cutting measurements so you can make some adjustments without needing extra materials.

From your wide stock cut 10" for the headboard, 20" for the ramp, 52" for the base and the remainder is used for the foot board, about 13.5".

From the 2x4 cut 22.5" for the swing arm and from the rest cut 4 legs. I originally cut my swing arm longer so I had enough left to cut my legs at 16.25" which seems to work well for me.

Decide which ends of the base and ramp will be attached together by the hinges. The hinge will be attached to the top surface of your base and the bottom surface of your ramp. Measuring from the hinge side on the ramp, mark 5.5". Likewise, measuring from the hinge side of the base mark 5.5". These are where the slots will start and once the pieces are attached they should match with each other. Both slots are 9.5" long. I made them 2" wide on mine but this leaves me with some lateral play. If I were to do it again, I would make them only slightly wider than 1.5". Enough for the swing arm to move freely but minimizing side to side motion. Both slots are cut  centered to the width of your material. Mark out the cut lines, drill a starter hole  or two then use the jig saw. Also on the ramp, on both edges, measuring from the hinge side, mark 10.5". Mark the middle and drill through on both sides. Check the fit of your long bolt and widen the holes as necessary to make sure you can pass the bolt through easily.

For the foot board, measure 1.5" from the end and mark out cut lines for a hole just a big enough to slide the swing arm in to (1.5"x3.5"). This will also be centered to the width of your material. Cut the hole and check your fit. Friction should be enough to hold the foot board in place during use but I added a hole at the bottom of the arm for a stopping peg. I cut the corners on the back of the foot board so they would not hit the legs during use.

With the swing arm, I corner cut the bottom end to make it easier to insert into the foot board. The pivot hole is 5" from the top end of the arm and off set towards the back half of the arm (the other two holes were experimental but you can add holes to accommodate different material thicknesses and ramp angles).

The top of the arm is then secured in the center of the head board 2.75" from the front. I used two wood screws to hold the pieces together before pre drilling then driving the lag bolts and washers. I used a belt sander to to chamfer the bottom edge of the front of the head board to give it more clamping surface. I had a scrap piece of tire inner tube from another project that fits perfectly over one half of the head piece to add a little extra friction and cushioning while clamping.

Lay out the positions for the saw horse brackets on the bottom surface of your base. Drill a hole for the bracket bolts. For the bolt that will be under the ramp, I counter sunk the hole a bit. If you are using stock that is wider than the brackets can accommodate you can explore some ways to stabilize things a bit, but for quick and dirty, it should all work as is.

Finally, attach the ramp to the base with the hinge. Once this is done all you have to do is assemble the legs, thread the bolt through the ramp and swing arm and attach the foot board.

Wait, I lied. There actually is one more thing. Find two scraps of 2x4 and use two screws to attach them together in an L shape. This will be used as a wedge to adjust the angle of the ramp.

That's it! Sand down the corners and edges, cut away some of the middle of the base to accommodate your knees and reduce the weight if you like, plan sturdier legs as a future upgrade even. But for now, you should find this thing very helpful.

One modification I intend to make soon is actually to add one or two removable wooden dowel pins sticking up  near the edges towards the back end of the ramp. When shaving down my bow stave I found that lateral pressure would cause the stave to pivot in the jaws of the horse. The pins would act as a stop to keep that from happening. I could just put a clamp at the edge of the ramp as I need it but I think the wooden pin eliminates the risk of damaging my materials.

Bow Making

Started the course this week. Holy cats, that was fun. Nothing like making a big mess with sharp tools. My shaving horse got some attention. I think there might be a couple others inspired to make one. We'll see. Saved my back in a big way I think. As far as the bow making itself, there weren't a lot of details. Let's see if I can summarize what I learned while it's all still fresh:

• We can make bows out of standard 1x3 lumber, we used red oak.
• Need to look for a really straight  and continuous grain.
• The objective is to have an even distribution of flex force along both arms of the bow and the ends have to be thin enough to move fast but strong enough not to break.
• The back of the bow is more or less flat, just some rounding of the edges.
• The face of the bow is well rounded with a D shaped profile.
• The staves came to us pre-tapered....thinned out from the middle handle section to the ends (going in from the face side towards the back) and corner cut on each end. No specific measurements.
• The handle section was marked out from the center point...again no measurements yet.
• Cut inwards slightly near the ends (lateral to medial) to thin out the ends and smooth out the rough corner cut angles.
• In the middle of the handle, another inward cut (lateral to medial).
• Oh, if the blade on your tool bites into the wood  you are going against the grain so work in the other direction. In red oak, you can tell the grain direction by the direction of the coloured bands....see if they travel towards an edge and that's the direction you go.

Anyhow, I think that's all I got out of today. No photos because my batteries died. I wanted to take a picture of all the wood shavings I made. Anyhow, more on this next week.