I feel kind of out of place here sometimes, but there are common threads that connect us all.
There are a thousand stories from the naked city...
I grew up in LA, did some camping and fishing with my dad, but that was the extent of the outdoor life for me growing up. I actually hated camping back then, and so opted out of joining the Boy Scouts, etc. (I was a heck of a great Cub Scout, however, and made some of the best sandcast candles and plaster of paris neckerchief slides you could ask for). Then and now, hunting is not in me, and I doubt I can ever actually go out and attempt to kill a deer or even a rabbit. Not that I dont love eating meat (and venison is my very favorite), and find nothing wrong with ethical, compassionate hunting, but I know my limitations, and that is a big one.
Years late, I got involved in living history, US Civil War, and loved then as now old weapons, the more ancient the better. I joined the US Army as an infantryman so I could play with some really neat toys, and sometimes still regret not staying in for 20. I had damaged my leg too badly to remain in the combat arms, and so I got out and went to college.
Years later, having moved to Western Massachusetts, I saw the first volumen of the TBB in a favorite bookstore. After picking it up and promptly breaking my first attempt (a Holmgaard), I went to a Ren fair with my wife. This guy was selling badly made red oak "long bows," but they were cheap fun, and I shot that for a while. I decided I wanted a real longbow, but no way could I afford the prices I was seeing, and knew too that I didn't really have the knowledge to understand how to tell the junk from the good stuff.
Thus, I picked up the other 2 (at the time) TBBs and got to work. This was about 2 or 3 years ago. I found out that the ELB was not the only kind of bow out there, and began gravitating toward the ancient European flat bows and other designs.
And that led me in other directions. The atlatl is one, and so is the hand and staff sling (yeah, not archery, but I never would have discovered these things any other way). Primitive painting and pigments is another interest, as is Asiatic composite bows. Paelo skills are yet another area to explore and discover.
And for the last year and a half, I've been captivated by Greek and Roman torsion and tension artillary. This has caused me to learn traditional jointry and other woodworking skills, expanded my range of hand and power tools, gotten into bronze casting and limited metal working such as hand riveting, and it has been an amazing trip. Right now, I have a new hand held catapult I am working on, and definately my best work to date. This little machine is based on Vitruvian's principles (dont worry, I wont go into it now!), and is an oversprung machine that will shoot an 7.5" arrow with far more force than can be produced by a hand bow. "Sharp Little Teeth" / "Denticula Acres" will have curved arms and will be plated entirely in steel and brass around the spring frame. Once it is done, I will start a new thread and show anyone interested the entire process from design through testing. The frame you see has 16 mortise and tenon joints, and challenged my chiseling skills to the max.
And that is where I am now in this strange and wonderful journy. I have a number of bow projects in different states of completion, and will get to them eventually. Why rush? The building process is the best part of making bows and all the rest.
Dane
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