Red Oak Pyramid Bow

Step 4: Cut and thin the limbs

Cut out the limbs, i made a simple jig and used my table saw, took two seconds. Now thin the board down from the stock size to 7/16ths inch. I used a surface planer, you could use a hand plane (yuck) or a table saw to split the plank to thickness. 

Don't cut out the handle area yet.

Comments

[mishfish.awesome]

so is this for how thick its going to be, or the thinning of the tips?

[李天予]

Just thinking, wouldn't thinning the bow from 1'' to 7/16'' be able to give you two bows because 7/16 is less than half?

[Tool Using Animal]

1" thick lumber is actually 3/4"

[pdxnative1964]

You want to taper the wood from the handle to the ends. the 7/16 is just at the tips.

[Wi11]

Why is a hand plane yuck? lol, I love my planes, their infinitely more precise than any power tool. A finely set plane can remove thousandths of an inch at a time but can also be used for rapid material removal whenever necessary, something that could never be done by any woodworking power tool.

[Eruvador]

planes are for lazy people

[Wi11]

And a table saw or surface planer isn't? lol!

[flamekiller]

No, he means that real men use their teeth.

Agreed, though. A properly sharpened plane is an absolute joy to use (too much of a joy, I found, when I built my kayak ...).

[demydewaard]

so actually i can also go to the wood shop and ask them to make it thinner right? no extras for that?

[jcicolani]

As a general rule, when cutting a bow, hand tools beat power tools. You can rough in the shape with a bandsaw, but be sure to let is sit for a while afterwards to see if you get any warping or bowing that is contrary to what you want. Dried planks are notorious for twisting after being cut with a bandsaw. As you remove material, you are removing support structures which were giving the board its shape. Using hand tools, such as a draw knife, spoke shave, and cabinet scraper, allows the tension to be reduced slower and allows you to adjust to any changes as you go. I've gone so far as to using an axe to do my rough shaping as much as possible.

[steadfast1984]

What side should I decide to make the belly? you know how boards have a natural bow in them,(not warped but a bow, enough to slide a piece of paper underneath, for those who don't know what I'm talking about) should the belly go with the curve or against the curve?

[Tool Using Animal]

Ignore the curve, pick the side with the straightest grain for the BACK of the bow. That side is under considerable tension and grain integrity is the priority.

[koga95]

how thick are limbs at tips

[Tool Using Animal]

The bow is of constant thickness, 7/16ths inch

[yutzwagon]

Oh... so the whole bow is thinned down, I though it was thicker toward the handle and thinnest at the tips of the arms. That's incorrect, yes?

[Tool Using Animal]

Right, the bow is a constant thickness, with the exception of the glued on handle piece. During tillering, any spot thinning is done to the belly to make the limbs curve nicely.

[badideasrus]

i don't disagree, however there are bows that are as yutzwagon described, that taper towards the ends. just depends on the kind ur makin (which is obviously not that kind in this instance.....)

[Zupkle]

hej I have a question, i would be realy glad if you could send me the PDF file to my e mail on [e-mail] greetings from Slovenia

[thirtyfivefox]

PDF's are a pro option. If you want to get a PDF of this instructable I would suggest you help support the site and go pro, I have no regrets doing it myself!

[kmccollin]

I can't tell, are you thinning the wood on both sides or just one of them, and if so which one?

[Tool Using Animal]

Just from the belly, the back should essentially remain inviolate.

[MrLoathsome]

What did your jig look like?  How did you make it?

[Tool Using Animal]

Here's a quick sketch, The jig uses blocks to index the handle edge and end. You then just cut, flip, cut, swap end for end, cut, flip, cut.

i'd take a pic, but the saw is covered in the guts of a dremel scroll saw right now ;-).
If it's not clear I'll explain it better.

[MrLoathsome]

Perfect!  Thank you.

One question:  do you set the bow cut line along the edge and then place the blocks, or did you place the blocks first?

In other words, what is the EASIEST way to dermine the block location for the jig?  This is probably common woodworking knowledge, but I've never made a jig for something this big before....

Great project, BTW.

[Tool Using Animal]

Thanks, I set the bow in place and then the blocks, doing blocks first would require a lot of trigonometry ;-)

[Tool Using Animal]

Derp, should add you line up the edge of the bow limb plus a sixteenth with the edge of the jig board before attaching the blocks.