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Del Has a Bit of a Moan ... Update!

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Del the cat:
My mate JT has gone off to the Mary Rose shoot with 3 bows for the flight, two self Yew for the real heavy war arrows and an Ash backed Yew for the flight arrows which I've made specially.

The guy running the show insisted that all draw weights are measured at 28" draw  :o ::) >:( ... dunno why 'cos there are no poundage or draw length limits. ::)
The Ash back had only been to 26" (just checked my blog... it had been to 90# @27") on the tiller and prob about 28" drawn live.
Anyhow... they winched it back slowly on some awful makeshift rig and it exploded... :o >:(
I'm not best pleased as IMO it's ok if I blow it up, or my brave and trusty (foolhardy ;) )test pilot JT blows it up.... but for some bloke to winch it back slowly and blow it up is just out of order.

Now the thing that really galls me is that this bloke who runs the show and his wife had asked me to make them bows, which I have done free of charge, as they contribute a lot to longbow and warbow archery.
They are lucky that I'm a man of my word, else I'd be keeping their bows.

Anyhow... sorry to sound off about this, but I knew you guys would understand and maybe even have some wise words of wisdom.
or at least you'd have a laugh!

BUT! In the true spirit of a bowyer, I will try and learn and I'm thinking, maybe make the Ash backing thicker on the next.... 'cos we all know there is always a next  ;D
Del

PS... Fingers crossed he may still win with the other bows  :)

sleek:
I would have told them that their lack of discretion is not worth the price of a broken bow. Sorry that happened, just reading that for my own blood pressure up. I hate it when arrogant folks can't think past their own ability to be wrong.

Hawkdancer:
Sounds like the chap is writing his own rules!  I would be rather highly upset myself!  Unfortunately, arrogance and stupidity are not grounds for committing capital actions.  Some folks are "blessed" with an abundance of both.  Best of shooting to JT in the rest of the meet!
Hawkdancer

Aaron H:
Maybe if he was shooting 28" long arrows, then they should require it to be weighed at a 28" draw.  If he was shooting 26" long arrows, then there should be no reason that they would be required to draw to 28".
Do you think it was because they pulled it back too far, or the fact that they pulled it very slowly and held too long?
Sorry to hear this Del.  I hope he shoots well with the other two.

avcase:
That is awful. Regardless, I am glad you shared it so some good can come from it.  I will remember to review these procedures when we set up the weigh-machine at our upcoming flight event.  We will make sure to do some dry-runs before weighing any wood bows that cannot tolerate being held at full draw for extended periods.

There are a lot of details to consider when officiating at a shoot, and it can be easy to overlook something with disastrous consequences.

Alan

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