arrow@olypen.com Hours (PT) 9-5pm Mon Through Sat Orders : 1-866-586-0232 Technical Advice : 360-417-0232

Neil Hildebrand

Taken at the Hildebrand sawmill, Quilieute airport WA.,1 mile from the coastal village of LaPush WA. in 1990. Sitka spruce specialist since 1976.

My machines are relatively fast. I have a power fed gang rip that cuts 100 linear feet a minute or the equivalent of 30 blanks. I have a router based dowler that cuts with the grain, (a necessity with spruce) and runs 60 feet a minute or about 1 shaft every 3 seconds. Our sander is a custom built machine that rolls the shafts across a sanding belt, it was built by Rich Dyckhoff of Anderson Machine in Seattle WA.

And we have a laser line rip saw to get the edge of the board absolutely parallel to the grain before the board is cut, leaving all the shafts with the grain running as true to the shaft as possible.

	ROBERT This is our grandson Robert, now 20, who has been a helper in our shop since age 4. He is a full fledged journeyman and a good machine operator with a lot of wood knowledge for his years.
JIM With 50 years woodsman, woodworker, and 15 years yew wood bowyer, he brings us a lot of traditional archery history and expertise along with a lifetime of wood knowledge.
	ROXANE This is Roxane, 27 years in spruce grade and tallies, 4 years arrow grade and spine. Attention to detail is her strong trait.