Bowyers flote

[stuckinthemud]

Assuming nothing like this is currently available on the market and I will have to make one, how would you mount a set of scraper blades to make something like this?

 

[Cabinetman]

Don’t buy Milescraft "safety" kit, it’s dangerous in my opinion.

I think I would use an old bandsaw blade cut into pieces, the block of wood a little thicker than shown would need angled cuts cut into the surface then epoxy the blades in teeth first. Presumably sharpened first.
There are two bits of information on that photo that are odd, do you know what it’s about?
Ian

 

[Orraloon]

I have made a few bows and have read all the go to books on bow making like the Bowyers Bible vol 1 to 4, the Longbow plus many others. None show that tool so suspect it was not widely used. Simple card scrapers get plenty mention and are almost essential. Someone back then must have liked it a lot if he used it in his crest. That said heraldic art is more a representation than a plan to work from so if someone said its a series of scraping blades then that may be what you get from the artist. A modern woodworking float is a solid steel bar with the teeth cut in. A bit like a rasp. By the way rasps are also a common bow making tool.

woodworking float - Google Search
Regards
John

 

[TRITON]

This was bugging me. I'd seen something like that that the blades were replaceable but couldn't remember what it was called exactly. Googled and found it is called a plasterers french plane.


https://industrialplasters.com/products/french-planes
Not sure how good they are but if making something,gives you a better idea of how to go about it.

 

[ChaiLatte]

As above, they are used in plastering. Prise out the blades and replace with your own if not suitable. Links more so you can see how they are made than as a suggestion for purchase:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/COMENSAL®-Rasp-Plane-Aerated-Concrete/dp/B0BQ3P7MJ5https://italianbuildingcentre.com/products/plaster-plane-steel-blades0-8-mm-vaporize-609-r-325x110mm
If you had to make one, I would use either standard hacksaw blades or machine hacksaw blades for the cutting edges.

Grind the set off the teeth of a blade offcut and thin it down a little bit so the kerf is slightly smaller than an untouched blade. Use that to cut the slot and then drive the cutting blade into the slot.

I suspect it will be quite a challenge to get all blades the same height unless you sharpen them after mounting.

 

[stuckinthemud]

Thanks all for the replies. The image is from the coat of arms for the Guild of Bowyers, according to the site. If that is accurate then we can speculate it was a tool that was either unique to bow making, or, an essential bit of kit. Who knows. Either way, scrapers and rasps are essential bits of kit in bow making, so I suspect the latter. Looks fiendishly tricky to keep the blades lined up though. To me they look to be ground like knife blades with a triangular cross section

 

[--Tom--]

Some discussion of it by Richard Head in this vid

 

[Orraloon]

Some discussion of it by Richard Head in this vid

Thanks for putting that up Tom. Used to be floats were the tool used by plane makers and us lesser woodworkers got by with a rasp. I have never owned a float but a rasp and card scraper I have used in bow making. That said a lot of old woodworking tools faded out of use with the arrival of sawn timber and the need to keep things square. Those into green woodworking have kept some of the older tools going so perhaps some of ye olde wisdom to be gleaned in those circles.
Regards
John
PS just noticed on similar threads below this was discussed about a year ago and you can buy one on line.
CHENGYIDA 30mm Hand Planer woodworking planer wood planer planing wood plane hand plane Carpenter Woodworking Planing Tool : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

[stuckinthemud]

A bit of digging revealed a sometimes heated discussion on primitive archer which ended up referring to the video by richard head posted by Tom (above), so thanks to all.

John, that Chinese “plane” looks exactly like it, might have to order one just to see what it does. Thankyou

 

[dannyr]

something v similar was used by French stonemasons - obv bigger and more robust - some include teeth, some just a flat scraper blade ---- 'chemin de fer' or similar - used by masons to give a final smoothing to limestone blocks etc as well plaster as descr above - common tool once

I tried one of the cheapo Chinese ones a few years back - definitely a technique to it - broke out a blade before I got the touch, but did work shaping/smoothing wood - I guess best for some woods not others

also obv need to choose the right wood to make one - need strength in both directions, not a splitting-type wood (try elm?)

 

[Orraloon]

something v similar was used by French stonemasons - obv bigger and more robust - some include teeth, some just a flat scraper blade ---- 'chemin de fer' or similar - used by masons to give a final smoothing to limestone blocks etc as well plaster as descr above - common tool once

I tried one of the cheapo Chinese ones a few years back - definitely a technique to it - broke out a blade before I got the touch, but did work shaping/smoothing wood - I guess best for some woods not others

also obv need to choose the right wood to make one - need strength in both directions, not a splitting-type wood (try elm?)

As you look like the only person thats used one I have to ask are the blades like a card scraper with a burr and is it possible to sharpen them?
Regards
John

 

[dannyr]

As you look like the only person thats used one I have to ask are the blades like a card scraper with a burr and is it possible to sharpen them?
Regards
John

the one I had was just 'straight across' - ie no burr

they'd all have to be at an angle for a burr to work

quite thin steel - I did no sharpening, which would be a real pain

 

[stuckinthemud]

I use my knife as a scraper, although that can produce chatter marks, and it is my speculation that originally the scraper blades were a set of knife blades, with a triangular cross-section. If that were the case they could be sharpened with a stone in the same way as a draw knife.

 

[--Tom--]

Here’s something similar on eBay that might help as an example

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125512193184?

 

[Orraloon]

Looks way better made than the Chinese one and you can see it gets sharpened.
Regards
John