Horn Nock Fitting Tool

Note:- I've added two posts showing full detail of how I do a horn nock.
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/horn-nock-instructional-part-1.html?showComment=1360010744583

The old question of horn nocks on longbows came up on one of the archery sites (Archery Interchange).
I happened to mention a handy tool to aid the fitting of horn nocks.
One of those flat wood boring bits is usually ground to a curved point to drill the hole into the horn. If the same tool is then used to drill into a block of Oak (or similar) it can have a slit cut into it to hold a strip of sandpaper, this can be used like a giant pencil sharpener to help shape the nock ends of the bow giving a very close fit. Of course it still requires rough shaping first and a bit of fiddling and fettling, but it is a great tool.

The cut away section lets you see what's going on while you are using it and lets the end of the sandpaper stip come out of the block so you can grip it.

Here's the drill bit and little grind wheel used to shape it...It started life as a 1" bit but has been reground to various odd sizes before this final incarnation.

The guys on the site thought it was a great tip so I've posted it here.
I havn't had time to work on the experimental bow this week as I've been busy doing some repair work on a wooden sculpture...I'll post a pic of it when it's finished. Hopefully this weekend I'll press on with the Ash/Cherry bow.