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Hi! This is my latest (fourth I think) bow. It's made out of Goat Willow as a practice bow for an Ash bow I'm planning to make, but it came out quite good. Mid forties at 26inches, man high, good shooter. Just beeswaxed and oiled.

Hi! Sorry guys, it's me again cadging another (possible) ID. this is the cheekiest yet. I took lots of pics of these leaves and even a pick of the tree, buuut, I can't get the pics to download, except this dismal effort. On the offhand that anyone can pull off an ID, the tree was about...

Hello, would anyone be kind enough to have a stab at identifying the trees that these leafs belong to? The one with the berry (might be an immature berry) has attractive bark with lots of horizontal slashes (lenticels?). Thanks if you can help.

Hello! I'm pondering making an earth oven. The kind of wee beehive type ones. I wonder if I can ask a few questions? I've heard of people using budget cat litter for clay to make forges. Do you think you could use this to make an earth oven. Is there anything you can use instead of bricks...

I've got a pipe my mum got from a friend whose husband passed away. He was an avid pipe smoker and collector and I don't think this one has seen much smoking action. I took it because I thought it was cool in a Jack Hawkins kind of way, but I'm a touch asthmatic so it's a no,no really. Says made...

Made a new sheath for an old knife. I'm getting not bad at these now, but I still can't make a "normal" sheath, LOL! These sheaths are entirely made from scrap which is what I'm most pleased with. I might even make my next one with "real" wood. Ta for looking.

I don't like the feeling of a bunch of keys bulging in the depths of my pocket, so I've been using an old bow string looped around my belt with my keys attatched. Got fed up with untying it, so i made one of these with some twisted linen thread cordage and a slice of backgarden yew...

I cut a bow stave in winter from a tree that I thought was Ash. I cycled past it today, and it doesn't look like Ash now it's in leaf. I took some leaves and after looking at a tree ID site I think it might be Bird Cherry. Can anyone tell from this photo? Sorry to be so vague, but I'd...

Just knocked this up from an old tomato tin. Just an old school hobo, big hole at the front and little hole at the top back. I was well surprised by how well it burned, lit easy and burned hot without much smoke at all. I'll be taking it to the beach and on walks for a quick brew. Has anyone...

Had a Just Wiliam moment and made a slingshot from a Yew fork. Good fun!

I swagged a few 100% beeswax candles much cheaply in TKMax. I wanted them to wax a bowstring. I was wondering if you can melt the wax and add oil to soften it for use as a wood polish. Would walnut oil be usable? I think turpentine is added to commercial polish but I'm allergic to that.

Hi! I'm looking for a bit of advice on buying some steel. I've been hammering some arrowheads out of 4 inch nails. I'm fairly happy with way they came out (need a bit more practice though, obviously). I'd like to have a go at making some from carbon steel that I could harden and...

At last! A working pop can stove. I know that this is old news, but I've made three of these before and all of them looked the part, and all of them ignited and jetted and generally looked the bizz, but none of them actually managed anything more than a low simmer. I made this one a wee bit...

I made this sapling bow from a very thin ash sapling and as an experiment reinforced witha cane lashed onto the back. The cane lashing makes a significant difference in poundage and makes the bow faster. The bow came out in the high twenties, it wouldn't take a deer but it's definately got a...

Hi! I was reading the other thread about sleeping bags and I was wondering if anyone either made their own sleeping bag or uses something other than a conventional bag? I've got a couple of thick wool blankets and was wondering how much a wool blanket liner would improve a cheap end of season...

Hi! don't know if this is appropriate, but I've really missed BCUK. It's great to have the forums back. I'm sure a lot of hard work went into getting them active again, so I'd just like to say thanks a lot to the people who did it. Thanks guys! Hey! Sorry, didn't see the other thread. Oops!

Hi! This is a bit specific, but I'm looking to swap this horsebow for a self bow. I'm hoping that maybe some hobby bowyer has a spare bow knocking about. The bow draws 30lb, light but fast, it's in generally good nick, as in photo, but is scuffed about the handle a wee bit from shooting an...

I've actually fired this on a low brace at close to full draw. It's got plenty of wallop and is quite accurate, however, as you can see, the tiller is way off. Looking at the photograph I can see the left limb is stiff and the right limb is flat close to the tip. I can afford to lose a bit of...

Just an obscure article on subsistance bow hunting in the Ozarks that I though some of you might enjoy. Nice to hear about applications for the bow other than spiking Frenchmen, shooting baited deer from trees and hunting yellow dots.. Funny how wading along a crystal clear river hunting fish...

Hi! I'm looking for advice on making a bow. I've got an ash stave which I've planed down on the belly side to about half it's width. The center has a couple of "runs" of crumbly wood. Is this normal? Should I just plane it down past these sections or is it no good? Seems like a nice...