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How do you shape the fades?

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WhistlingBadger:
I do most of my bow shaping with a draw knife and farrier's rasp for the rough stuff, and a scraper for the final detail work.  But every time I shape the fades, I end up gouging the limb at the end of the fade, and then either have to do a lot of extra work to correct it or throw out the bow. 

What kind of tools and methods do you use to shape your fades without going too far and gouging the limb?

T

Pat B:
I draw out the handle, fade and limbs then cut it out on the bandsaw. Handles are 4" long, centered on the bow. The fades are usually about 2" long(sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) and taper from the handle to about 3/4" to 5/8" at the limb and out the limb. From this point I use a farriers rasp to smooth the transition and begin the limb faceting for tillering. This faceting goes into the fades. From there I use the #40 Nicholson rasp, a half round rasp which helps with the sloped transition between the handle and fade. This gives you plenty of meat to take off before getting into the final limb thickness. I also keep pencil reference lines along the limbs and fades as guides and replace them as I progress so I can keep the present limb thickness visible as I work.

ssrhythm:
I know it’s not primitive, but I use a chisel and leave them a bit proud early then use my belt sander.  When I try to use all hand tools, I either leave way too much that requires arm-killing hand sanding or I take em down too much or gouge them causing me to have to remove too much wood to get them smooth for finishing.  Maybe I need better hand tools or sharper hand tools…IDK.  I’d love, just once, to be able to come remotely close to replicating Weylin’s fades; as far as I’m concerned, he is the freaking master of finishing touches and artistic expression. 

George Tsoukalas:
I tool with the grain and not against it, WB.
I use a hatchet, drawknife, Surform, belt sander, and my pushknife used as a scraper.

bradsmith2010:
use a light touch working on the fades

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