Main Discussion Area > HowTo's and Build-a-longs
Building the Vine Maple Bow - Finished
Gordon:
Now I am going to rough out the limb width tapers. First I measure about 14 inches from each end of the stave and make a mark. This is where the limbs will taper into the nocks. The limb width above this line will be more or less parallel.
Next I make a mark at the end and at the highest point of the crown and then another mark 1/2 inch to each side of the first mark. This will be the roughed out tip. At this point in the build I keep the tips quite wide.
I draw a tapered line from the tip to the point at which the taper begins. You don't want to use a straight edge for this unless the stave is relatively straight. Instead I use my hand and fingers as a guide so that the tapered line follows the contour of the wood.
Gordon:
I rough out the taper using a hatchet and then follow-up with a draw knife.
Where there are grain swirls that cause the draw knife to catch, I use a micro-plane instead.
Gordon:
To locate the handle I mark the center of the bow. I pick which limb will be the upper and lower and make a mark 1 inch above the center for the upper limb and 3 inches below center for the lower limb. That will make the upper limb 2" longer than the lower limb. Even though they are a little more trouble to make, I generally make my bows asymmetrical for a couple of reasons: 1) an asymmetrical bow will balance better when you are carrying it around loosely in your hand and 2) it balances out the stress on the limbs a bit better because your draw point is actually a few inches above center. That said, there is nothing wrong with making the limbs symmetrical - this is just the way I'm used to doing it.
Next up - roughing out the limb thickness taper and the handle.
Cameroo:
Awesome pics Gordon. Thanks for sharing your process with us!
vtbow:
Thank you very much for this, Gordon. I wish I had seen it a week ago and so didn't make some mistakes roughing out a similar looking piece of wood (though not vine maple) but it's great to understand the process better with these photos, and my next bow will I'm sure, be better because of it. Can't wait to see the next steps!
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