Some You Win...

The good news is we got the Suzuki van wheel bearing done and he's running much smoother...
The bad news is the Laburnum character bow exploded in my hand as I was flexing it.
Ironically it didn't break at any of the big character knots. It broke mid limb on the upper, which probably was taking extra strain due to being effectively shorter because of the huge knot at the base of the limb. The actual break was near a tiny knot, the wood looked rather dry and the break didn't propagate along the limb hardly at all.
It's a real shame as I had high hopes that it was going to be a bit of a masterpiece, but that's simply what happens when you try to push things to the extreme and that's why character bows are so prized.
I'd cleaned up the top end too, opened up the manky holes and buffed it u[p on the buffing wheel. It was beginning to look good.
hey ho, I'll pick up something else when I feel like it... maybe something simple this time!