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"

Hinged Bow

The tired old warbow (80# @ 28# max 32") is now about 45# @27" . It needs a string making for it, the nocks polishing and to be shot... maybe it will shake itself to pieces!?
It's looking good for now considering it was just an experiment.
Update:- I made a string (I haven't done the centre serving yet) and took a test shot. It was unremarkable, no vibration, rattle or shock. Very smooth and shot like any other of my ELBs, it was about an inch above and left of the scrap of masking tape on the boss  that I was aiming at.

Folding Bow

 I haven't started re-tillering the hickory, purpleheart, lemonwood bow, but perhaps I'll start on it this afternoon. I have been re-working the stainless steel strap hinge as it had a lot of slop in it and was rather chunky, I've filled off the corners and clenched it up in the vice to close up the two ears, which have then been filed to be a nice tight fit over the single eared half of the hinge.
Pic shows one half with radiused corners and one without for comparison.
The pivot holes have been drilled out to a more consistent (and round size), the closest drill being some random old imperial size (13/64" !) A new pivot pin has been turned and the whole thing is much better. Of course even a tiny bit of play is amplified over the 3' length of a limb to be quite significant.
I've not done much work as I've been told to take it easy after some dental implant surgery, which was remarably painless and quite interesting as I asked the surgeon to show me the tools and give a running commentary!

Set in the Belly or the Back

 I ran the Hickory, Purpleheart, Lemonwood bow through the bandsaw and could see that the belly had taken most of the set. Not sure what to do with it, but I might just clean it up, (I made a bit of a mess sawing it, so I'll loose some of the Purplheart) glue it back together straight and then play at making it into a hinged take down.
Maybe chisel a groove for some sort of alignment pin or bar down the belly before sawing it in half, maybe saw it at an angle to give a larger mating face? I'll reduce the belly and re-tiller too of course.

Messing About With a Tired Bow

 I've not done much with bows lately as I've been tidying up the bick walls in the garden, most of the top course were loose and some had been laid frog uppermost! I've also improved the drainage chanel, adding a bit of width to the path or improved wheelchair access past the tap and hose reel.
I've not been particularly inspired to make a bow, but then I remembered a tired old bow that one of the guys from the club was going to throw out! He gave it to me to have a play with and see if I could do anything useful with it.
It's about 72.5" nock to nock Hickory, Purple heart and Lemonwood. It was marked as 80# @28" 32" max.
It had obviously been shot a lot at 32" and has taken a nasty 2 1/4" of set.
I plan to saw along the purple heart and see how the back and belly recover when separated. Then I'll decide where to go from there... Maybe a 60# @ 28"?

Before and After of the Sallet

 I'm very pleased with the result. The welding was much easier and better once I bought an auto darkening welding mask. It really is a game changer allowing you to see what you are doing and to get both hands on the torch. I'v got to re-fit the leather liner and I may have to make some replacement rivets, as the ones I bought online didn't have big enough heads to match those in the sallet.
The sallet can now be worn with the back a bit lower, whilst coming down nicely at the brow.

Archer's Sallet

I've been modifying a repro' archer's sallet that I was given as a present years ago. It's too big and the brow isn't low enough, it's more of a shallow dish than a deep bowl. (see first pic with eye line marked in black). Anyway it's an excuse to use my new welder.
The game plan is to remove the nice leather liner, cut a slot across above the brow, bend the brow down and welding in a plate. I'll also cut up vertically above the nose and take out a wedge of material and close up the gap. I made a block shaped like my head to support it while panel beating it, I've also bought a small panel beating dolly of E-bay.
The work is progressing and I cut out the wedge and squeezed the sides in with a big sash clamp (and some heat and thumps with a mallet), I then tack welded it to keep it in place.
The 2nd pic shows the tack weld and how much I've lowered the brow.