Many moons ago I built quite a few selfwood bows.
Lots of first-time bowyers would bring their bows by to see what I thought about their workmanship.
The first thing I would see, are all of the sanding/filing/rasping marks left in the wood, under the finish.
When you make anything from wood(gun/furniture/bow), always take the time to look your project over for defects, before you apply the finish.
I found that most budding bowyers were in such a hurry to make and finish a bow, that they would just put up with the poor craftsmanship.
What happens is the guy shoots it a bit, then throws it in the corner, and starts a new bow.
I admit they sure learned something on the first one, but why not make your first attempt the best you can on that day.
Hopefully we get better as we age, just up your standards on every project you build.
I only want to build something once, (doesn't always happen, lol) but in general I take the time to really examine a project before I apply a finish.
Take your project out in the sun and look it over then you'll really see the defects!
Lately, I've seen a few high-priced guns on the forum that have what I consider a poor-quality finish.
The first thing that I notice are the pores of the wood.
If you can see the dents from the pores, you did not fill the pores properly before applying the final finish.
Maybe some guys think, or use the excuse that it's more traditional, I don't.
I usually apply 3-4 coats of finish, sanding between coats, using a bit of an angle across the grain in the sandpaper.
I have found that sanding with the grain, will "pull" the finish out of the pores, leaving the dents more pronounced.
If you cut across the grain a bit with 320 sandpaper you will leave a nice smooth surface to apply your finish coats too.
The slight marks left from sanding, will be filled in by the added finish.
I will vary my sandpaper direction so I'm not leaving the sanding marks going all the same way.
Some guy's use sealer at this point, I like to use the same finish all the way through, I think sealers leave a lighter color in the pore.
When I'm happy with the smoothness of the finish, I'll start in on the final finish.
Here, I use 4 ought steelwool till the finish is done.
I like about 8-10 coats of an oil finish, steel-wooling between each coat, letting them dry completely befpre applying the next coat, don't freak out unless you are sanding back to bare wood the finish will eventually build up.
Steelwool enough to dull the finish, no more.
We are not runnin a race at this point, so take your time!
Since I like a somewhat flat finish, I always hit ever so slightly the final coat with 4 ought, and then polish with beeswax, or a high-quality beeswax compound.
This will give you a dull-shine. lol
Poor wood finishing is the first thing I notice on a gun, and one of my biggest gripes, when lookin at anything made from wood.
If you want to sell me a gun, make sure the finish is mint. LOL
Do the job right the first time.
Please add your own tips/tricks.
I did not mention scraping, because that opens up another can of worms. LOL
Jim
