Del's Cherry Ash Little Joke... Truth revealed

[Dane]

Well, well...this is just too funny.

Beautiful bow, Del. Are the mice in England that dangerous?

Dane

[Postman]

"Here I am checking the tiller   " you said....

Awesome little bow, Del...but that cat's a GIRL! Right? 

She needs 2 X chromosomes to have that color coat, (so could be an XXY male)

[OldBow]

Most excellent cat .  Bow is still a great candidate for Feb Laminate BOM

[Jude]

i d k where the term American Flatbow comes from...i think what it really is, is a differentiation from the d-shaped yew longbow ... but god knows the indians in north america weren't americans...

[El Destructo]

i d k where the term American Flatbow comes from...i think what it really is, is a differentiation from the d-shaped yew longbow ... but god knows the indians in north america weren't americans...

Look at the Sourse...........

[Del the cat]

I think the AFB (as it's called in the UK) has nothing to do with the native bows (No the natives aren't 'Indian' either!) as it post dates the native bows.
The AFB owes more to the American interpretation and development of the Victorian style of English long bow, or to the influence of people like Hickman who moved away from the D profile to a rectangular one. The cross section and the arrow shelf are the main diffences between the American and English longbows (that and the timber used).
Just my understanding of course, I'm happy to be wrong on any of this...
I remember as a kid being confused by an article in a magazine 'how to build a longbow'... it was an american mag' (popular mechanics or some such), and was thus an American longbow.

For the record here is the NFAS (National field Archery Society) definition of AFB
American Flatbow (AFB)
"A one-piece bow, of any draw-weight, may be used where the braced limbs curve in one
direction only from the handle riser to the string nock. When braced the string must not come
into contact with the face of either limb except at the nock grooves. The limb cross-section
may vary from oval to rectangular.
The handle may incorporate a cut-away of less than centre-cut to provide an arrow-shelf and
the shelf may have a protective cover".

Del

[zenmonkeyman]

What did you use for tools, Del?  How on earth did you serve that string?

[Del the cat]

What did you use for tools, Del?  How on earth did you serve that string?

I used files mostly once I'd glued up the two laminates which I planed/spokeshaved to about 1/2" x 1/4" I then split this in two on the band saw (giving me a spare).
The nocks and suchlike were done with needle files, and finished with fine wet & dry paper. The string was a real pig...I untwisted a length of Dacron and made a continuous loop string, the serving took a fair bit of patience, and a strong pair of glasses! The hard thing was keeping tension on the string as I did the end loops...I don't enjoy making strings at the best of time.
It's good for me as I'm an impatient git, and it is character building to do something like that. When I'd done the first loop I realised I'd made the darned string too short and too fat (one whole strand of Dacron), so I had to re-do it.
The funny thing with miniatures is people think what a huge amount of work there is...No, it's much less work tha a full size, it's just finer. If you don't believe me try sawing out a 1/4" steel crossbow prod, and then try the scale model version, much quicker and easier.....
Tillering is a bit nervy as you feel it's bound to snap....hmmm, same as a full sized bow I guess .
Del

[Lombard]

Nice miniature.