Reddit mentions of Crown Hand Tools Sheffield UK Steel 2 Piece Rectangular 2 1/2" x 5" Cabinet Scraper Set 375

>How do you find wood to use?

If you're just starting out, I highly recommend visiting a lumberyard or Home Depot/Lowes, and getting your hands on some pre-cut lumber. I made my first dozen or so bows from 1x2x6 red oak boards from Home Depot. Hickory is another great option. The stuff is tough as nails, and extremely forgiving of mistakes. I'd also recommend a backing on your first couple bows, just to be safe. Titebond III and good linen cloth is bulletproof.

What's great about stuff from stores/lumberyards is that it's cheap and easy to come by. So when you break one* it's not like you're out a $60 Osage stave, or one that you spent months drying, shaping, and then tillering only for it to snap.

Plus they just make damn fine bows. I made one for a friend, 48# @ 28", that he used to take a mule deer a couple years back. Also, red oak looks absolutely gorgeous with a good stain.

If you really want to go down the rabbit hole and find some actual timber, do some searching to find out what good bow-woods are in your area, then find some you can take LEGALLY. Where I used to live in western WA, Vine Maple grew like a weed. One of my neighbors had a ton growing in their backyard, and agreed to let me take all I wanted in exchange for getting rid of the roots as well. Six bowstaves for an hour or two of work.

>However, I was wondering if I might receive some insight from the r/Bowyer community on what brands of tools stand the test of time/give the best results for the money in your toolkits?

If you're first starting out, and using pre-cut lumber, I can't recommend the Stanley Surform rasp enough. That, along with some sandpaper and rat-tail files for cutting string grooves, was all I used for my first six or seven bows.

Good scrapers are a life-saver, especially when you're tillering. Here's a set that I got some years ago: https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Hand-Tools-Rectangular-375/dp/B012M9H8UG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1483215420&sr=8-2&keywords=wood+scraper

They still work just as well as when they were brand new. I would recommend learning how to sharpen them properly first, though. One of the edges on mine is ruined because I didn't learn how to properly sharpen/turn the edge at the beginning.

Here's the only other things I can really think of:

• Sandpaper, ranging from very coarse to very fine. The rougher stuff can be used for tillering in a pinch.
  
  
• Tillering tree: Super easy to make and absolutely essential. Tons of guides online on how to put one together.
  
  
• As mentioned above, a combination of files for stuff like shaping the handle, rounding corners, cutting string grooves, etc etc.
  
  
• A pencil! Useful for marking areas that you need to adjust in the tillering process and doing dimensions.
  
  
• Stain and finish. The former to really make that bow shine, and the latter to seal it from the elements.
  
  *There's a saying in the bowyer community: If you aren't breaking bows, you aren't making bows. I messed up 4 staves before getting one that shot consistently and survived. So don't beat yourself up or get too frustrated when it happens. You'll learn from the mistakes and make even better bows that way!
  
  Hope that helps! I'm by no means an experienced bowyer but if you have any questions I'll do my best to answer :)

not a solution to your problem but buy a cabinet scraper. you can take down high spots cleanly and easily and without screwing up the parts like sandpaper can.

https://youtu.be/UPaurVTtTfk?t=3m28s


https://www.amazon.com/Crown-Hand-Tools-Rectangular-375/dp/B012M9H8UG/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1480706339&sr=1-2&keywords=cabinet+scraper