If it's not one thing its another!

 I decided to steam out some of the sideways bend from the wonky stave (not the end with the knot). I got it all set up to steam and went in for a cuppa.... hmmm I go to get milk for my tea and the light in the fridge is off???
...a circuit breaker had tripped, it was labelled "Garage/Microwave" . (Some circuits share a breaker).
You guessed it, the steamer had given up the ghost and tripped the breaker.
I reset the breaker... hmmm still no power in the garage?? Check the RDC fused spur in the garage... can't get the fuse out... it's melted in!
Groan... so now I need to buy and fit a new RCD fused spur box and buy a new steamer...
Of course the steamers I can just go out and buy have a smaller reservoir and lower power than my old one (grrr).
E-bay has some 5L and 2200w (same as the old one) at a better price (~£31) so I've ordered one of them.
And relax... now where's that cuppa?
Having been frustrated in my attempt to do some steaming, I set to and did a bit with the draw knife, having first sawn a couple of inches off one end to give a 79" stave with the fattest bit nearer the centre.

Wonky Yew Stave

 I've been busy with random stuff like flushing out the central heating system and having a cold and dental work. The urge to work on a bow have returned, it's very therapeutic too, a bit of peace and quiet making shavings. I'd been pondering what specifically to do and at the request of my mate JT I'd had a look at a heavy Yew flight bow that I'd made some time back. It looked like it had hardly been shot, so that may be one for him to use this year... whilst looking my eye was drawn to the wonky stave that I'd roughed out some time back (I've rather lost track of time this year! Haven't we all?)
Anyhow here are some pics of the wonky stave... I'm thinking of utilising the natural deflex/reflex shape and going for a long draw 31"@ 70# as a target (terms and conditions apply etc ;-) )

A Couple of Repairs

 I've been busy with gardening and stuff, but I've done a couple of repairs on heavy bows for my mate JT.
One was the boo backed Yew heavy flat bow, which had a couple of previous repairs, the riser/grip cracking and the boo lifting a splinter. One might wonder why I continue to repair a bow like that, the answer in one word is "Learning!" . Any bow will flex slightly in the grip and this had stared to split off the grip (Ash) again. I basically cleaned it up and re glued it, but I had to add a thin slat of Ash to make up where some of the wood had torn out (it hadn't cleanly popped off at the glue line). To strengthen it this time I did a linen binding round the grip, wiped with low viscosity super glue. I've had one respected bowyer opine that a binding achieves nothing... I can only assume he's never had a bone broken and supported with a plaster cast!

The other repair was an old work horse of a Warbow which has a double belly patch, one long patch on to of a shorter one. the long one had started to lift and split at one end. The wood splitting more than the glue line. I cut out the patch, rasped it out a little longer where parent wood had split out and glued in a new patch. I also added a little linen binding over each end of the patch for added security.

Both repairs were posed as video on my Youtube chanel (Del Cat) (the first 2 links are the heavy flat bow)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcMdBDljGNk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh2Rkbnr-e4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQqKFYqs0u8

Both bows were checked on the tiller to 28", although they are for 32" draw. The flat bow has been shot since and performs nicely, it's lost a bit of it's original poundage over the years. Both were about 80# @ 28"