Beginner Carving Tips for Bow Making

[@Gauchooriental]

You truly touched some issues that are not obvious and avoided a lot of time loss in beginners of this craft. It is amazing how people believe are talking about the same method but, indeed they mean different things. Making the bowyers language more universal is the best way to expand this ancient graft!!!

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Omar, I agree!

[@chrismackay8314]

You have a good voice for narration

[@YeshuaIsTheTruth]

Seriously a great video. No hype, no nonsense, just loads of helpful tips.

[@beesmongeese2978]

Beautiful scenery shots

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Mongeese!

[@beesmongeese2978]

@@DanSantanaBows I challenge you to make a bow with tamarack/ eastern larch. I read some native tribes used it.

[@DanSantanaBows]

Doesn’t grow around here, but i’m always happy to try out sub par woods. If you want to see some use of sub par wood, I used a fence post of douglass fir for the videos in the board bow series

[@thedamnguy2896]

you have an incredible voice for this type of crafting videos

[@Rowanbows]

thats an exactly description of bowing and carving. I learned carver in 2002 for 3 years but began bowing only in 2012 and would make bows in a completely other way if I didnt go for this education years ago.

[@DanSantanaBows]

Very true. learning some basic carving from other crafts goes a long way for bow making. Making axe handles is another one that has many parallel lessons

[@ekimovGELANN]

The best KZbin channel I've ever seen

[@danielbuhler2067]

Really enjoyed the tip about tear out. If it can become a controlled split then it is fine otherwise back out and try another area. This is a bow saver! Thank you for helping to progress the art of bow making!

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Daniel, that’s probably the most important one. I’ve wasted so many bows from not following that advice early on

[@valterXIII]

Thank You. Keep’em coming! Regards, Denis

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Denis, I will!

[@olgamiranda5112]

Wow 🤩 I love it!!! Beautiful Wood spoons👌

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Olga! Abraços

[@eroot1302]

awesome video as always but i think i need the last tip the most, its so relaxing watching these types of videos

[@DanSantanaBows]

I’m glad, thanks E Root. I have many friends on that list and the more of them do well, the better it is for everyone.

[@Gronicle1]

Nice video and informative. I like the calm audio. Remember to tell people they can make good scrapers from pieces of old saw blades. Learned that from John Gardener in boat building class at Mystic Seaport about fifty years ago.

[@DanSantanaBows]

I’ve mentioned it a few times. Trouble is it only works with old blades. Many of the new ones aren’t hardenable and have teeth of a different material

[@Gronicle1]

@@DanSantanaBows You are correct. I should have mentioned that the place to find useable and cheap saw blades is at garage sales and junk stores.

[@DreamcraftBows]

Great vid man!!! Interesting topic and useful advice!

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks my friend, hope so!

[@steveloggins3402]

Thanks for your reddit comments on my first post. You are an encouragement to an old dog trying to learn a new trick. Been an archer for 45 years but never a bowyer. Great video!

[@DanSantanaBows]

Good luck with your bow Steve. Let us know if you have any more questions and feel free to post as many tiller checks as you need

[@secondhandlyon2603]

You're like the Bob Ross of bow making.

[@robs9574]

You should send a demo tape to Hollywood. You would be marvelous at audio book recording. I’ve been working a Yew stave last couple weeks with a rasp and card scraper, floor tillering nearly ready for rack. Thanks for the inspirational vids.👍

[@riggelvonkarma2589]

Posdata: amazing video, is very useful

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Riggel. Good luck with your Laurel bow. If you post some pictures of it on r/bowyer I can give you some advice about the design.

[@MrArthoz]

I use short machete. It works both as hatchet and draw knife.

[@DanSantanaBows]

Great way to do it. If you can only use one tool, I’d choose some kind of big knife like that.

[@cantorii6385]

Dear Dan Santana! I'm your big fan , you inspire me to make bows. Thanks so much! I ask you very much, include in your videos warnings about the dangers of wood dust for the respiratory tract and for the voice. For example, my voice often wheezes and even there is inflammation in the larynx if I do not use a respirator. ....and it's not only about grinding, but also about working with rasps.

[@RobertMoonWalker]

Thank you so much for this video! I learned a lot of valuable tips and tricks :)

[@phaizonosborne3287]

I just subscribed and I'm impressed with your content.

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks Phaizon, much appreciated

[@denzeltion2284]

Hello there! I am attempting to make a bamboo reflex bow and i am afraid that i might mess it up somehow, so please help me Great video btw, this is the best one ive watched so far.

[@DanSantanaBows]

If you need a tiller check anytime head over to r/bowyer on reddit and post the front profile, side profile, and drawn picture. I can help you from there much better with pictures

[@denzeltion2284]

@@DanSantanaBows Thank you very much for the early reply! the bow worked well at first but then i crack i ignored while making it grew larger and the bow is too light, im planning to make a pvc/board bow soon just gathering materials

[@richardhoule4389]

Another awsome video dan! Funny when unwere talking about bulk removal rasps I guess it also depends on kinds you get.. because my cheap Shinto blows my(also cheap) ferriers outta the water imo. Def enjoyed this one! And love that bow. I'm hoping to make sum similar lighter weight ones soon! Tho I can only hope they'll turn out half as nice as yours lol.

[@DanSantanaBows]

I forgot to mention that the shinto rasp I use most of the time is actually the replacement blade for the shinto planer, which is much sturdier. I just epoxied into a big rasp handle and it’s like an upgraded shinto rasp. Much less flimsy at the neck, that way you can put some weight on it

[@cretudavid8622]

I have a question? What do you do with all the leftover wood? Perhaps you are not just throwing it away

[@DanSantanaBows]

I save all the end cuts for spoons, bow or tool handles, overlays and general carving. Shavings either become mulch for the garden or are used to start fires

[@mikesniedze9122]

Thank you for this , and all of , your amazing videos . Quick , clear and concise. I dabble in bowl and spoon carving, and have been into archery for a number of years .. I have a takedown recurve , and have been shooting everyday . I have always wanted to make a bow ( or 100 haha) and am on the hunt for some suitable wood . Your videos are excellent . Thanks again

[@BrianTimmonsTX]

Bro, is that a mike on a spokeshave? 😆

[@DanSantanaBows]

aye!

[@bifbofbadoo8971]

lol that had me cracking up. pro bowyer move!

[@riggelvonkarma2589]

Hi. I need to ask you something. You can made a bow with Laurel wood? I'm interesting for know if this is possible.

[@DanSantanaBows]

I have heard you can. There are many types of laurel, so it may depend what you have. In general you can make some kind of bow from any wood but you have to adjust the design to the wood. Here’s one I found www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=53708.0

[@KxngFto]

You deserve more subs brotha

[@p7outdoors297]

Have you ever thought about making an English Warbow?

[@DanSantanaBows]

Absolutely, I have a nice yew stave set aside just for that

[@John-gj1jr]

Excellent video. I do have a question. I'm making a 52" hickory flatbow with a natural back. I'm stuck at a draw of 23" and 50 lbs. (+-). I've taken off the belly until I'm down to 1/2" - 5/8" thickness. It tillers really well, good equal bend all through the limbs, but I would really like to get it down to about 40 lbs. Should I start reducing the width? It is about 2" at the widest and tapers to 5/8" or so. And what is the maximum draw I could expect from this?

[@DanSantanaBows]

Just keep removing wood from the belly to lower the weight, and only pull to the new desired weight of 40 as you tiller. Does it have a stiff or bending handle? Even with a bending handle you’ll probably max out a little over 26” of draw, maybe around 22” with a stiff handle.

[@John-gj1jr]

@@DanSantanaBows It has a stiff handle. I intended it to be about 68-70", but a knot changed that. It will be of little use to me since my draw is 29-30". But I would still like it to be a usable bow. I passed the target weight quite by accident (my scale was set on kilograms rather than pounds). Thank you for your reply. I'll look for you on reddit. I enjoy your videos immensely. I don't know what "neck of the woods" you're from, but it's beautiful country. Take care, my friend

[@armaperfeita]

Perfeito

[@DanSantanaBows]

Muito obrigado amigo!

[@jeffersonanzora3138]

What is the name of the wood with which you made that beautiful bow?

[@DanSantanaBows]

hickory

[@TheBearGrylz]

I follow you on Reddit. Love your work. Jpurdie1984 on Reddit. I agree w carving skills transferring to bow making.

[@DanSantanaBows]

They definitely do. I just installed some takedown sleeves which was much easier having had some practice fitting axe handles

[@TheBearGrylz]

@@DanSantanaBows that’s cool. I recently made an axe handle. Love your bows. I’m in to woodworking. Carving. Pipe making. Tool making. Getting in to bow making. Have some staves harvested. Learned a lot from you guys on Reddit. You, being a primary source for sure.

[@DanSantanaBows]

let me know when you have any questions and feel free to post as many stave checks as you need

[@dannyb1828]

where did you get the theranos voice app?

[@andykotov-dev]

Should the spokeshave be round or flat?

[@DanSantanaBows]

Flat tends to be more useful for bowyers but there are some niche uses for the curved ones. I prefer a curved drawknife though

[@liltreetoucher342]

Why shouldn’t I crave the back of the bow when making one. There was a chip that cracked in a bigger split when it dried out and honestly was hoping to salvage it by evening it out but I can’t find a source on exactly why I shouldn’t crave the back of the bow

[@DanSantanaBows]

See this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaDGZ619fNZ7js0si=_MqsnGTIUnF26Q8r

[@thorburnjschwegler]

What kind a workbench is that?

[@DanSantanaBows]

I designed it for the way I make bows. I haven’t seen one quite like it. Basically it’s a workbench minus the work surface. I already had a good work surface, but it wasn’t much of a bench

[@xiii2048]

Ur voice is ,, beautiful

[@DanSantanaBows]

Thanks x 🙏

[@phillipmerritt1428]

Bones

[@harrisoncarlos7774]

Oh yeah. Do you love me? 😍💋 💝💖❤️

[@DanSantanaBows]

Doubly so if you check out all the bow making channels on the list and send them some support too

[@KrustyQuad]

we dont believe you mr sir. you didnt show how you finished.

[@DanSantanaBows]

See my other videos for a full tutorial. These were just carving tips

[@CloudfeatherRusticWorks]

A note on "grain". Regardless of how people misuse the term, it absolutely specifically means the individual wood fibers. Though, grain can also be "figured" due to burls, crotch sections, random growth patterns, etc. I think the biggest misconception is when a board is cut across growth rings and the pattern created by the various rings showing are referred to as "Pretty grain..." or something similar to that.