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Medieval / Ancient Bowyer tools?

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Dane:
Hi, gang. I have wondered for a while if bow builders from, say, the 14th century, used specialized tools no longer in common use, and if so, are any really different from what we use today, such as draw knives, rasps, scrapers, etc. As well, how about benches and such? My understanding, possible false, is that the shaving horse is a bit of a more modern innovation. Probably bow makers used sturdy work tables, much as we do?

Thanks in advance,

Dane

D. Tiller:
Actually, I believe many of the tools we use today were available then. Planes were known at least near the end of the medieval period. Draw knifes, toothing planes, scrapers, axes and many others were also available. But one thing that was not available was a measuring tape or ruler! Think about it! Common standard of measurment were only being used, back then, by a select group of artisans such as masons and others that did simmilar work. The best thing I think they used to draw straight lines and take measurments with was the....The Lowly STRING! Think about it.  You take the size of the person building the bow to, measure with a peice of string, add a bit more for length. Now you have the bows length. Lay it out on the stave and mark along the string for the centerline. Next fold sting in half and you half and lay out on stave center line from on tip. You've found the middle of your bow. Do again to find midlimb. 

Any of you guys know anymore about it I would also like to know more for re-enacting purposes!

David T

Heiner:
Hiya!

14th century is not exactly my forte, so I have no source exaclty for thatz time at right now. For late 15th and early 16th century though, I know there's a book manufactured in Nürnberg at that time, which depicts numerous handwork done in that area and period. The book's named "Das Hausbuch der Mendelschen Zwölfbrüderstiftung in Nürnberg" which roughly translates to "Housebook of the Mendel Twelvebrotherfoundation in Nürnberg". I attach a few pictures here, which might be interesting in the context of bowbuilding.

I find it noteable that, while there's alot of tools like planes, various axes and chisels (just as David wrote already), there's no drawknife pictured - nowhere in the whole of pictures in fact. There's no shaving horse anywhere either. It seems they worked a little different back then. There's obviously no bowyer pictured (which tells us that bowbuilding was not very common in Nürnberg then), so special tools they used might be now come to our knowledge relying only on this book. Other sources suerly must be checked to be more certain.
However, I do not think we can postulate a drawknife or shaving horse "out of the blue" Not for practical reasons, because the managed similar task wihtout it, and surely not as "we'd like them do have had it".

If there's any evidence for those tools however, I'd be glad to know of it - I'd love to use those tool reenactmentwise as well.

For earlier ages (10th/11th cerntury) read the next post...

[attachment deleted by admin]

Heiner:
- more pictures from the above book

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Heiner:
As for earlier times (about 1000 ad) , there's the Mästermyr toolbox. The wooden box was found in Gotland, Sweden. It conatains a whole lot of tools and is by many considered the premiere source for the early ages.

I do not want to rewrite what other have written properly already, so I just link you guys to the original articles:

- The Mästermyr Project - An effort by the members of TheForge
- Woodworking in the Viking Age
- Authentic Tools in the early middleages (german site with some nice pics)

Still no shaving horse, but we at least have draw knifes and moulding knifes here! Nice, isn't it :D?

My conclusion:

- Shaving horse: not adequate for any period of time, unless we work with enormous speculation rather than with historical fact. Again, I'd love to use it myself, so any proof is welcome.
- Drawknife: Correct for early m.a. for sure. And I would say, tolerable for later ages as well. It's kind of a stretch, but it can be justified, due to two main reasons. 1.) It is likely that the Twelvebrothers' Book does not depict every single tool used at that time. 2.) A tool that handy and valuable won't likely be abandoned for any reason at all. We see many tools not having changed much when we compare the two sources. The tasks to be done haven't changed alot either and technical revolution was still to come in later ages for tools as such.

We might always remember what we know, can conclude and have to speculate though.

Hope this did help,
Heiner
(reenacting 11th century alright ;)

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