Author Topic: Bowyers Flote  (Read 50838 times)

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Offline Steve H

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Bowyers Flote
« on: March 02, 2010, 09:06:32 pm »
Hello

I am new to this forum so I thought I would start off with a question.

I am interested in the Bowyers Flote.  Does any one have pictures of one, know how they were made, how they are used or even made or used one them selves?  I would be most interested to hear what you have to say.

Happy shooting

Steve H


Offline CraigMBeckett

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2010, 05:09:54 am »
Hi Steve,

The Float or multi-bladed scraper plane is still made in China and is available from a well known German on-line tool seller and also from an Irish Archery supply store. Sorry I cannot give the name and e-addresses of them as that would violate PA rules as neither of them appear to be advertisers. Just do a search for multi-bladed scraper plane and you will find them.

Please note Float is the more usual for of the spelling than Flote.

The Arms of the Worshipful Company of Bowyers show on the left side a man holding a float while three floats are seen in the shield.

Craig.

Offline acker

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2010, 09:20:57 am »
Them rules are.....very something in my opinion...
Just search for " Flot Dick " and you will find it directly.

I made this one a couple of month ago, but the angel of the blades is not so good. something around 80° would probably better


Gruß acker
« Last Edit: March 03, 2010, 09:27:04 am by acker »

Offline Pat B

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2010, 01:55:33 pm »
Craig and acker, you can give the name of the company as long as you don't add a direct link to their site. Folks can PM or e-mail you for more info also. We aren't really as nasty as you make us out to be.  ;)
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline zenmonkeyman

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2010, 03:08:38 pm »
Acker, are those just cabinet scrapers?  Do they vary in thickness?  If so, is it best to have the thin one first, or last in the row?  I bought a set of 4 scrapers (varying thicknesses) and now seeing your picture, I may finally have a reason to own more than one!  Thanks for posting that!

Garett
If the ppl ever allow private banks to control their currency, 1st by inflation, then by deflation, the banks & corporations that will grow up around (these banks) will deprive the ppl of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. Thomas Jefferson

Offline CraigMBeckett

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2010, 05:55:34 pm »
Hi Pat,

Thanks for the info.

For those interested the Irish company is Flybow and the German tool supplier is Dick GmbH.

Craig.

Offline Jaro

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #6 on: March 05, 2010, 06:04:17 am »
What good exactly is sucha chunky and unwieldly tool?

J.

Offline mullet

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2010, 04:53:38 pm »
 Jaro, that's what I was thinking, I'll stick to my Draw knife and cabinet scraper.
Lakeland, Florida
 If you have to pull the trigger, is it really archery?

Offline bow-toxo

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2010, 06:21:51 pm »
Hello

I am new to this forum so I thought I would start off with a question.

I am interested in the Bowyers Flote.  Does any one have pictures of one, know how they were made, how they are used or even made or used one them selves?  I would be most interested to hear what you have to say.

Happy shooting

Steve H
 
 The bowyers float is a coarser version of the float files we have today. Same cut. The floats, apparently used only by bowyers, were best suited to smoothing the sides of a stave. The tool marks are still visible on Mary Rose bows that had not been subsequently scraped or sanded.

 



Offline acker

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2010, 08:18:37 pm »
What good exactly is sucha chunky and unwieldly tool?

J.
It's very usefull tool on hardwood, you get a nice and very clean surface without any toolmarks.
Its more for the finish work.
 easy to build , just try it.
You can use the steel from an old sawblade

Gruß acker
« Last Edit: March 06, 2010, 08:24:17 pm by acker »

Offline Jaro

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #10 on: March 08, 2010, 04:09:26 am »
Well I have my scrapers made from old sawblades and such, some of them profiled, but as I look at that thing good deal of versatility I get with any scraper is lost due to fact that it has such awfully big and chunky handle and the use on selfbows will be somehow limited as it wont reach into "bumps" and wont coppy the character - and should I want to make backed bow I can always use small scraper plane which will give me all the benefits (such as smooth surface) but good deal more of controll.
Besides, what this thema does in "warbow" escapes me.

J.

Offline Loki

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #11 on: March 08, 2010, 10:58:06 am »
Quote
Besides, what this thema does in "warbow" escapes me.

I think TS has posted in this section because these tools were used to make Warbows in England.The only one I have seen was in a museum,it was a hefty piece of kit! Nothing like a scraper,I think Floats were used as we would use a Rasp or surform.
Durham,England

Offline Jaro

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #12 on: March 09, 2010, 10:27:18 am »
Quote
Besides, what this thema does in "warbow" escapes me.

I think TS has posted in this section because these tools were used to make Warbows in England.The only one I have seen was in a museum,it was a hefty piece of kit! Nothing like a scraper,I think Floats were used as we would use a Rasp or surform.

Were they? Because as far as I know we dont have any tools positivelly identified as bowyers tools of trade.
We have descriptions of operations for which workers were paid such as "chipping" - which is most probably shaping the stave by small axe and some which cannot be tied to the specific tool like "bending and afterbending" - yet there is none which would be positivelly tied to such a tool as above, much less on the split stave bow, where versatility in copying the character and treatment of knots would be preferable quality. (Frankly I dont even think that facete-like belly of MR bows is result of scraping - since that produces much better surface than that - but its rather a sign of expert handling of spokeshave.)
That is from position of somebody who makes also musical instruments which requires good deal of scraping where modern sanding is more or less prohibited.

If you ask me the tool above looks like some more modern tools used by cabinet makers for finishing veener surfaces on large areas such as table tops - which is something medieval cabinet maker would probably use to smooth out the last handplaning marks on something like table or bench, but all my experience in making bows says it is not very good tool for it.

To comment further - we have evidence of both rasps and specialised files with woodworking "single" cut both in archeological record and record of use in various woodworking crafts - thus if the rasp was needed, mediveal woodworker would take a rasp.

J.

Offline Loki

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #13 on: March 09, 2010, 11:34:07 am »
The artifact I seen was in Bowes Museum North Yorkshire (2003) It didnt look like the one pictured above,more like a Block plane.
thebowesmuseum.org.uk/
« Last Edit: March 09, 2010, 11:40:23 am by Justin Snyder »
Durham,England

Offline Justin Snyder

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Re: Bowyers Flote
« Reply #14 on: March 09, 2010, 11:41:52 am »
The artifact I seen was in Bowes Museum North Yorkshire (2003) It didnt look like the one pictured above,more like a Block plane.
thebowesmuseum.org.uk/
How do you find anything on that site. That is one of the most confusing sites I have been on in a long time.  :-\
Everything happens for a reason, sometimes the reason is you made a bad decision.


SW Utah