Chasing a ring

[Muskyman]

I was trying to use a piece of a split I had left over from my staves to practice chasing a ring. The piece had really small rings and I kept going through to the next ring. On something like that do you use a scraper or something else to keep from doing that? As with most of the bow making process this isn’t exactly easy either.

Thoughts,
Mike

[Eric Krewson]

It is all about experience and learning to use your tools which takes time. I can chase any chasable ring with a big debarking drawknife because I have used it for 26 years. I don't use it exclusively on tight rings, I take off enough wood to start seeing patches of the early wood and do the rest with a scraper very carefully.

On the tightest ring I ever chased I only used a scraper; it took me 8 hours to chase the ring from one end of the stave to the other. On these types of staves, I use a round nose scraper quite a bit, particularly around pin knot clusters and in valleys on the back.

Learning to put a proper sharp hook on your scraper is imperative. I have used a variety of things to roll the hook and used a screwdriver shank for years. A while back I bought a real scraper burnisher rod, this was daylight and dark compared to my screwdriver shanks, I can get a good hook very easily now.

[Muskyman]

I have a burnishing rod but only bought a rectangular scraper and I know I’m going to have to get some others, a round one etc, etc.. I have watched a few videos of people showing how to chase a ring and was actually just trying to practice a little bit with this piece of wood. I can’t help but get better at it but found out after a few attempts that a draw knife is not going to be the only answer for me.. I feel confident that with time and some practice I’ll get better but after a few tries though I’d ask on here and maybe get some advice I haven’t thought of..  I’ve got some scrap pieces that I’ll keep practicing on and hopefully get tuned into it a little better.. trying to learn now before I start trying to work on a nice piece and destroy it. Going to try and find more videos that might help and keep practicing on my junk stuff. If I ever succeed with it I’ll be happy and very careful with my good staves.. I’d rather spend a week on one as to turning it into firewood

[George Tsoukalas]

My site may help.

http://traditionalarchery101.com/osage.html

Jawge

[Eric Krewson]

I only use the scrapers in the picture for ring chasing, I have never liked the gooseneckk ones for the task. The big heavy debarking drawknife is my ring chaser.

[Muskyman]

Do you use a rasp as well while chasing a ring Eric
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[Eric Krewson]

No rasping, the picture is one I made years ago and kept on file for the ever-present question that the newbie people ask, "what tools do I need to make a bow".

[Muskyman]

Okay thanks, I had never seen anyone in the videos I’ve watched

[Muskyman]

Well this last attempt I made it over half way maybe 5/8 to 3/4 of the way down the stave before I actually violated the ring I was chasing.. the rings on this piece are paper thin so I’m not going to beat myself up to bad.
Eric, I can see 8 hours happening on this piece of wood. And I doubt I can make a bow out of it. Now that I’ve screwed up I’m going to start over.

And I had already read your tutorial Jawge good info on there.

[bjrogg]

Any time you spend on practice piece is time we’ll spent. Much better than ruining your good stave. And you can even practice tilling on scrape pieces to.

I do like Eric. I Toto the crunchy early wood. I can usually feel it and hear it with my draw knife. I leave most of the early wood and then switch to scrapers. I always clean up the early wood with scraper to be able to see where I’m at. It can be really easy to get lost and on the wrong ring if you don’t keep cleaning it up as you go. The early wood will scrape off easily but the late wood will take more abuse with scraper and not be violated as easily as it would with draw knife.

Go lighting is a most for my old eyes.

Bjrogg

[Muskyman]

Bjrogg, I’ve got the old eyes thing too. I’ve got about 4 or 5 pairs of glasses hanging right on a wire by my workbench and use the thicker ones for my close up work..
What’s the opinions about maybe a elb with thi Osage limb it’s probably a little less than 70 inches in length. Or could I make a flat bow with it

[Muskyman]

Well I made some more firewood, I guess I did anyway.  Started out chasing a ring on this Osage limb and got about half way through it and it was going great.. then when I just got past the handle area there was a little funny spot and when I got past it I noticed I had gotten into the ring below my target ring.. thought okay I read something that said I could change to a different ring at the handle if the handle doesn’t bend.. so I kept going and next thing I’m into the lower ring. At that point I just quit out of frustration.  If I can get back onto a solid ring and take it back to the handle area will that fly if I put a piece on the belly side so it doesn’t bend there or it it indeed firewood. This is the limb

[bjrogg]

Yes chase the lowest ring you are on back to the handle. You can switch rings there if you have to.

I think you should be able to get almost any kind of bow you want out of that limb. It’s always surprising how little Osage is needed to make a bow

Having said that I don’t really have a lot to go on. But the rings look good to me and seems wide enough although a little hard to tell for sure from picture.

Bjrogg

[Badger]

 I like to keep the bevel down on my draw knife when chasing rings, it keeps it from digging in.

[Muskyman]

Bjrogg that limb is about 1&1/2 inches wide and about the same for the thickness, maybe a little less at the handle area, and right at the handle it kind of has what I’ll call a gull wing shape. That’s where I lost the original ring I was chasing. I’m going to try to get back onto another ring and go from there and see what happens. My original thought was to practice on this piece and take it to about floor tiller and then put it away to dry.

And Badger I do keep the bevel down down. I’m not sure what I did but as I came up over the bottom of the gull wing shape on the second half out of the handle area I just blew it I guess. All I know from sure is I had went  down into the ring below the one I was chasing.. I think that the growth ring got thinner in that area, not really sure. My lighting is not the best where my vise is at and I’m thinking I’ll get better lighting for that area and hope that that helps..

Thanks,
Mike