sturmey archer shifter

Is it possible to use a normal braze on shifter for a sturmey archer hub? Or am i going to be force to get their shifter?

You can, but there's not much feel to get the friction shifting right.
its better to get the Sturmey shifter with indexing in the right places
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sturmey-Archer-Thumb-Bar-End-Downtube-Shifters-SLS30-SLS50-/400258365309

ok. but in theory if i can bare the hit n miss annoyance of guessing the shift position then its doable with out the Sturmey.
good news thanks!

If you're talking 3 speed then it's only 2nd you'll have trouble with. 1st is full tension and 3rd is no tension. You can probably work something out.

will it be just trouble in terms of finding the right spot or will i be getting any gear slipping do you think?

If you get the shift eeeeever so slightly wrong the gear will slip, which will cause you to shart yourself as well as potentially damaging the pawls/dog clutch in the hub. Tried, shart, bought the right shifter.

If you are using an AW3 (the old type that most bikes had) then yes you will need to be bang on or it will go into neutral when you try and give it some welly. If you go for the newer and much improved SRF 3 then it's more likely to go into the gear to either side.
Cable tension is all important. What you could do as a proof of concept is get an old 3 speed trigger for peanuts/free and use that.