Back to the Bows

Whew, I've tidied the garage, put the legs back on the shave horse and saddled her up ;-)
I couldn't resist working on a Yew primitive for a guy who wants one and a Hazel primitive for his wife.
The Yew maybe isn't the best bit, but he wanted some character, it's also a tad short, so I'm thinking maybe a bend through the handle or a V short handle, any how it's a case of let the wood dictate the bow... ye cannae use wha' ya have nae got!
I often think it's the constraints that help one produce the best work, be it a piece of sculpture, a bow or even a meal! Remember as a kid being confronted with a big piece of paper and being told you can paint or draw what you want.... much better to have a constraint whereby you have to use say just 2 colours or it's got to be a picture of a pile of school chairs or flowerpots.
It was good to feel the wood under the drawknife, and have the challenge of using what I've got. If it doesn't work out, I'll have to do a major review of my staves, mind, I need to do that anyway.
It's sometimes easy to get sucked into stuff and end up worrying about can I do it, will it work, will in be finished in time, then I tell myself, hang on, I'm retired, I merely promise to endeavour to make a suitable bow, if someone doesn't like it, they have no obligation to take it... there are no time constraints, I'm doing it for the fun of it. It's a delicate balance between being driven to do stuff on the one hand and pressing on too hard with it on the other, I think the trick is to make sure you are enjoying the work in hand at the time rather than forever wishing you were on the next job.
In danger of getting philosophical there!
The Acrylic for the summer house windows is coming tomorrow and I'm looking forward to fitting them.

Gotta replace some of the blade guide bearings on the bandsaw too, they started making a funny noise the other day, it will be worthwhile to give it a good once over, as it's been a real work horse over the last week or so. I ordered some off the interweb... (from Bearingboys) oooh I do like clicking the "add to basket" and "buy now buttons"