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80" White Elm Warbow Build-along
Cameroo:
Thanks guys.
Del, I spent a good while perusing your blog tonight. Some really good info there. I think you have inspired me to try horn knocks, providing the horns I have will work. Your method cleared up a lot of the questions I had about getting a proper fit. I was wondering though, approximately how wide is that custom-shaped spade bit at the base of the cone? Would 1/2" be enough for a heavy weight bow, or do you think I should make the cone a little wider?
WillS:
Half inch is plenty. The MR tips are just under half an inch at the cone base. My recent 120# yew has a cone base width of 10mm.
Del the cat:
--- Quote from: Cameroo on February 20, 2014, 11:33:36 pm ---Thanks guys.
Del, I spent a good while perusing your blog tonight. Some really good info there. I think you have inspired me to try horn knocks, providing the horns I have will work. Your method cleared up a lot of the questions I had about getting a proper fit. I was wondering though, approximately how wide is that custom-shaped spade bit at the base of the cone? Would 1/2" be enough for a heavy weight bow, or do you think I should make the cone a little wider?
--- End quote ---
First one I ever did was a 1" bit :o... but that was daft.
I bought a couple of 16mm bits they are cheap enough, I have about 3 different sizes, one tiny one for miniatures. One for regular and one for Warbows, Oddly the last 100# I did I used the 'regular' on the top tip and the 'warbow' on the bottom.
So the bottom line is 16mm is plenty, as the hole in the horn will always end up a tad oversize anyway, 'cos you can't gring it perfectly symmetrical and it will prob' chatter. (It's a pig to try and clamp a tapered bit of horn tight in a vice)
If you make the taper nice and long you can just go in deeper if you want it a tad wider. I don't like the ones where they have a perfect straight sided cone IMO it should be a slightly curved point... don't s'pose it makes any real difference really.
Glad you find the blog useful. I started it as a reference for myself really and it just grew from there. It's so easy to forget how you did something the last time.
I used to hate doing horn nocks, now I'm quicker n slicker I love 'em :laugh:
Del
WillS:
As a bit of side info, there was a thread on the EWBS forum a couple weeks back about the shape of the Mary Rose horn nocks, and the cones on the bows. They're all slightly curved like the wing of a spitfire rather than a straight taper, and Mark Stretton's theory behind it is that on certain cow horn (I think on the younger cows or fresher horn) there is already a cone shaped hollow through the natural horn that is that curved taper shape. So the bowyers just shaped the tips to fit the natural hole rather than drilling into the horn itself.
That's probably where the theory that all the horn nocks were removable and not glued to the bow came from, as the cones would all be very similar.
mikekeswick:
I have a good little tool for making the fit perfect.
Get a chunk of something hard and drill a hole in with your bit a deep deeper than your finished intended depth of cone. Then get a tenon saw or similar and cut a slot into one side of the cone hole (the full length of it).
Then get a bit of sandpaper, insert it into the slot, pull a bit throught so it touches the other side of the hole.
Push onto your rough shaped cone and rotate. It then sands off the high spots until you have a perfect fit.
Easy peasy!
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