The bow maker's tools

Bow making involves various manual disciplines: working with exotic woods of course, but also with leather and precious metals. Here are some of the main tools used in the manufacture of bows, which are almost enough on their own to make a stick.

Planes , of various sizes, are used at several stages of bow making. From the largest for roughing out to the smallest for the fine work of adjusting the stick.

The penknife is the bow maker's main tool. Always on the workbench, it is used, among other things, to sculpt the shapes and volume of the bow.

The file is a very versatile tool in bow making. It is used from the beginning to the end of the manufacturing process, both for working exotic woods and for working silver.

Every bow maker has a bench drill to make various holes. The advantage of a hand drill like this is its precision and the perfect control of the drilling speed that it allows.

The tools needed for working with money .

The caliper , which is used for measuring, is essential for the precision that the bow maker must demonstrate; just a tenth of a millimeter can make a huge difference to the final result.

The tools needed for working with leather .

Photos Jean Fitzgerald