Chek-Mate Traditional Bows

From here in it was some rough sanding with 36 grit on the belt sander to rough shape the grip, then making it smaller and more defined with the #49 and 50 rasps. Now that it started to look like a bow I filed in the nocks and began to check the tiller. A few quick passes over the belt sander and the limbs were pulling even. I only took material from the sides and took care to make sure the limbs remained even and centered.

Because I was making this bow for an 8-year-old girl I made the limbs thinner and the tips narrower than Marc had cut them. I like small limb tips for their looks, and these turned out great looking, and very stable.

At this point I had a shooting bow, it is very quiet, and seems to have good speed. It was also very rough looking, and now the time consuming part takes place. Sanding out the rasp marks and making the overlays flow into the limbs and riser takes time and patience. It is not difficult, just tedious if you want a professional looking bow.

To make it as shooter friendly and clean looking it takes time to file in a shelf and side plate radius, then to get rid of all those small saw marks and rasp marks. When you think it looks great, and feels great, wet it down and see all the scratches you missed. This also raises the grain and lets you remove the fuzzy stuff.

I did this several times, and each time it became better, smoother, and fewer scratches remained. You see a lot of defects as your sanding becomes finer. At this stage I was using #220 sandpaper, then I used the Scotch bright pads to polish the wood and remove the final scratches. A final #600 sanding and I was ready to put the finish on the riser.

This just left some prep work on the limbs to have them ready for the finish. With #220 I lightly sanded both faces, and rounded the edges.

I wanted to do a true oil finish but I could not find any, so I used Krylon acrylic enamel.

This dries very fast and could be handled in a couple minutes. Because it dries fast it is resistant to runs also. Edges are the hardest to get coverage on, so it is best to stripe the edges, and tight spots like the shelf/ side plate corner with a first coat. Let this flash off and then spray with long even strokes the rest of the bow. If it looks like you missed a spot, wait a few minutes and apply a second coat. Don’t get over anxious, and put on too much, even Krylon can run.

In the end I spent about 10 hours total to take the blank from rough and square to a finished bow that I am delighted with. A band saw for the shelf/ sight window was a time saver as was the belt grinder. Hand tools can produce the same results, but it will take much longer.

Marc will be doing some more of the work on these blanks in the future for you before you receive them. He will be cutting in the sight window, and tillering the limbs for you as well as cutting in the nocks. For those that want to do as much as possible Blanks will be available like the one I used. These will be better suited for those with some bowering experience, or the more adventurous. I thought that I bit off more than I could chew at first, and soon realized all I had to do was take my time, think about what the goal was and do it.

Placing a bow nearby that you want to use as a reference while shaping is a good idea. At least a good photo or two would be a help. I promise to have a photo tutorial for the next one I do.

If you have wanted to take the next step in building a bow, a blank is a great place to start before laying out a lot of money and time building one from scratch, only to discover you don’t like it. I learned a lot doing this project, and had fun too. The hardest part was making a left hand grip. I shoot right hand, and it was a constant struggle remembering to test feel it and shape it left handed.

I also now have a greater appreciation for the bowyers and the fine bows they produce.

Perhaps I was being too picky, but Emily my granddaughter deserves the best I can do.

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