What can you make in an hour?

I am green with envy at your skill and productivity!! Nice going. (now where did I put that hour..?)

Nice job. Talents such as yours are rapidly disappearing.

LL

oooph, I so envy your catly skills. .Another masterly piece, Del. Is it just my vision or optical illussion, but does pic 3 look unbalanced ? If so, how do you 'train' the thing into being symetric - is it some fine-tuning on how it's carved, or is it all about how you stretch the thing ?

If your still undecided about where to go with your retirement project/fun, I'd kill for one of those. Ain't got much to trade (bar a few fossils), but people would pay a fortune for a Del original. One day some lucky bugger will handle that thing - I hope to heck you are showing local chums how you do it. Hats off to your creative brilliance and keeping skills alive

"... how do you 'train' the thing into being symmetric ...?"

Depends how you hang it on the radiator. Mrs Cat's dampish jumper draped in the (only-Del-knows-where) exact spot for 18 mins 25 sec will probably sort it all out (jumper included)¹.

Here's a star for Del:

¹ Hope everyone realizes that I don't know wtf I'm talking about.

Yup pic3, the left limb is slightly kinked (hinged) near the grip, and the centre section of the limb isn't bending enough (too stiff).
This is sorted by removing wood from the stiff section, so that it will bend more and thus bend less at that 'hinged' point (the bend being more evenly shared along the whole limb).

So, yes it's fine tuning on how it's carved, you remove wood from where it doesn't bend enough.
There are many tools for removing the wood but none for putting it back.
The even curve of the bow is called it's tiller (dunnowhy) and can only really be adjsuted by removing wood from the bits that don't bend enough..this generally results in beginers ending up making very weak bows as they take off more and more timber trying to get it even.
A bow can be made stronger by shortening it...so the beginer then eventually ends up with a short weak bow.
Del

but none for putting it back

I can only but imagine the agony learning that one must have cost ! More than a few swear words technical terms must have been uttered in the garage/shed as you honed your skills.

One of the big mistakes is picking up any power tool. They really speed up the wrecking process

So it's TLC with some skilled hands ? A fair amount of 'feel' in the job I imagine.

Tiller: From Old English telgor "small branch"

One hour ehh, not bad at all. You seem to know what you are doing.

Here is what I plan to do in one hour.

There is a beautiful stand of black bamboo growing just around the corner from here and every time I walk pass I think of creating a cross bow from that material. If I had one hour I would chose just the right stem. They are about 10 to 15 cm in diameter at the bottom. At about 15m high I would then chose the sections that I need and bring them back home and sandwich the parts as required using epoxy and clamps to get it nicely looking. Only studs to be used to pretension and they would be made from the smaller branches. I will do it one day and let you know how it vented. With curing and all the other failures in a first attempt it will take me only a year or two.

Gordie (yes, a nice old bloke with a heavy accent from the Motherland) is the proud owner of this stand and to convince him, over a bottle of red, to depart with one of his stems would take about an hour. That's what I could do in one hour, if the wine is good that is and if I tell him that I am doing it as a project combining his materials with German engineering. Yeah, I know , he'll kick me out if I can't do better than that.

Great stuff Del, see Ya's, Ky.

Monster House, Unpainted.

Hey, fun monster house.
Hey shrek, watch out for the guy on the top...I wanna come play.
I was talking with the kids about Christmas toys they had when they were little. Daught' loved her toy castle which I'd made, just a simple open backed box structure, with castelations so you could tell it was a castle...their imaginations do the rest.
Del

Not much comparison to your skilled bow making, more like something I made in about an hour out of scraps.

I was influenced to make the first one for the young boy next door when the girls got a Doll house.

I was also influenced as regards these things discovering that Robin Williams the comic actor, and John Irving the author both credit some of the development of their imaginations to having "Doll Houses".

Also as you know I am lately attempting to get better at being able to post a picture, so for that the question was used as an excuse to do that. - Thanks

In an hour.... walk and stalk (with bow and arrow) to collect an Impala ram for the larder.

Come on Del, pack a bow and come out here to put it to good use.

Oooooh, one day maybe...

Was that strung with cat gut?

(My bad!)

Exactly, I am a just a hugely selfish egomaniac, not the slightest bit bit concerned about the entertainment, enjoyment or enlightenment of others.

So just stoke my fur and scratch behind my ears...
Del
PS. I think there is a clue in the squiggly thing at the end of the title line.
Oh, and if you want to verify my bow making ability, check out the various blogs I've written, juct click on my username too see all the stuff I've made and contibuted...I'm not some blowhard.

What can you make in an hour? - how about make your missus purr . Bye the way learn to spell for f**k sake.

"Bye the way ..."

Pots & kettles come to mind, here.