Review of 2023

 Been a funny year, it feels like I've not done much in the way of making bows, but I've still been busy.
The year started with a 120# Yew warbow from a fairly challenging stave, I did a 100# one too. I also tried for another 120, but the Austrian Yew was full of shakes and it split in two! I managed to repair it and turn it into a respectable 60# roving bow.

The mkii H Bow flight bow (pic left) performed fairly well, with some nice additions like the counterbalance/stabiliser weight, before exploding!
My mate Rob had given me some Rowan last year and I made a primitive with that, always nice to use a new timber. It preformed like most 'white woods' and felt like a cross between Ash and Hazel.

The scoop back Yew primitive was something a bit different and a delight to shoot.
The big project of the year was the mkii Archer Automaton which was hard work, educational, frustrating and great fun in equal measure.
I'm currently reworking a shoot through Hickory Flight bow, which like all my stuff is now mostly on my youtube channel.(Del Cat@delcat8168)
This blog has reverted to its original purpose which is as an aide memoire for me, this post providing a useful summary of the year.
My last little project of the year was making some little box wood clamps (with M6 threaded rod for the screws) to assist the glue up of the Hickory flight bow levers. (2shown, but I made 3)

Of course it's also an opportunity to wish one and all a happy new year. May all your projects bear fruition, or at least provide some enjoyment and may all your arrows find their mark.

Del

Old Flight Bow Progress

 

Seasons greetings to one and all. I've been doing some post Christmas tinkering in the garage/workshop.
I've taken off about 4mm of chrysalled belly wood and glued on slats of heat treated Yew heart wood. I've used a slat of Yew (~5mm thick) to construct the levers, making them a T section.

It's been up on the tiller for a quick shufti and I can see the levers are flexing.(mostly at the inner end) They are bound to flex a bit but I was expecting them to be stiffer. I can experiment by gluing on an additional strip to make them I section, which should help.
I used hide glue which can be released with gentle heat, so if necessary I can rebuild the levers a tad thicker and deeper maybe even V section.

Reworking a Flight Bow

 I've got an old Hickory shoot-through flight bow with a chrysalled belly. It was a bit lethal, as I was trying to shoot it, finger loosing it, this set the arrows flexing and they tended to smash. Since then I've made a release aid, and that is probably the key to getting the shoot-through to work.
I'm going to rasp/machine off the belly (the chrysals go about 4mm deep) and add a new belly of heat treated Yew heart wood.
I'm aiming for 50# at 24" draw with a very light arrow.
Most of my stuff is on my Youtube channel now, but this post is really a log of what I'm aiming for with this bow.The bow is a Mollegabet style and I think the levers are a bit long and heavy, so they may get reduced during test/development.One dilemma is how do I terminate the new belly at each end where the thickness of the original bow increases at the grip and the levers? I'm favouring a simple butt joint, which, being in compression should hold. I'm concerned that if I try and fade it out at each end it may lift or splinter.