Pierre ZFP

Is it not so that the postal votes don't even get opened unless it's a close run race?

All I know is that the water in my region is incredibly hard. As the late great Terry Prachett said 'Too thick to drink, too thin to plough'

Another great website, thanks. The section of that piece of yew illustrates perfectly why it is such a good material for a bow. The off-set growth rings means you can split and select the best piece. The heartwood is good in compression for the belly of the bow (the side facing the archer) and the sapwood is good in tension for the back of the bow (the side facing away).  The website also mentions cypress as a related wood and I have some nice seasoned staves of that....if I can just remember where I put them [:'(]

That is a super website J-J, I have bookmarked it, thank you. I have no end of holly, hawthorn and elder but had never considered them before. I wonder if I can get out and cut something next weekend of will the sap already have risen? I also have a quantity of cherry but I have no idea how that would behave. I'm aiming (pardon the pun) for a bow of approx 70 inches, pulling around 55 lbs.  That's what my English Longbow is and I'm comfortable  with that.   I've also had requests for American flatbows but one thing at a time!  I once pulled a warbow of 220 lbs (after proper instruction) but the effort nearly killed me ! As an aside, I suppose that ash will be available in great quantities soon due to the regrettable ash die-back disease .

It is a piece of beech because it was straight and available. I can't find any Yew, and I wouldn't waste it until I was more confident about my abilities.  I'm told that holly makes a good bow and I have some of that so I'll try that next

Just to balance all the wonderful stuff that J-J has been showing us, I thought I would show 'n tell a failure [IMG]http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb233/Pierrezfp/Bow-1st-try_zpskhedmz9q.jpeg[/IMG][/URL] My plan was to make a 'Primitive' bow  ie one carved from one piece of wood. I selected and cut a sapling then set about it with nothing more than a sheath knife.  To give an idea of size, it's about 60 inches long. So, after much carving and tillering (that is getting the limbs to bend and hold a bend), I made a string and tried it. First I used bow scales which told me that it's 30 lb at 28 inch.  A bit less than I would like but hey-ho Then it was time to use it.  It was at my club so everyone was watching.  I nocked an arrow and pulled it to my draw length of 29.5 inch There was a resounding CRACK and I now have what looks like a very large coathanger. Ah well, try again

Ha ha, me too! You probably ruined the tempering when you welded it

I've never done this with fires tongs with a spring (mine are more the 'scissor' type) but I've tempered other things with springs. To temper your spring, you need to clean back to the bare metal with emery cloth so that it's shiny and you will be able to see the colour changes then heat as evenly as you can until it turns blue.  Then quench immediately. I would quench in oil but you can use water if you like.

After having a pop at Monsanto, Ségolène Royal is trying to stop the French eating Nuttella Building a time machine or going faster than light would seem to be an easier proposition

There's no easy way of getting rid of bindweed or similar things like ground elder short of getting a pig and letting it root around for a year or so when it will get every last piece of vegetation.  I read about someone who did this - then ate the pig! More practically, a way to do this is to use a glycol phosphate systemic weedkiller, and before I get shouted down, no I am no a fan but sometimes life is too short to battle weeds. make some weedkiller up in a jam jar, place on the ground and bend some of the bindweed into the liquid leave for a week or more, topping up as necessary.  It will look like nothing is happening but stick with it and the roots will die back.  If you have a big area then use several jam jars. Bindweed is tenacious stuff so be prepared for repeat applications

Evianers,  have sent you a PM

I used an ordinary garden pump up sprayer very sucessfully. It held 3 litres and sprayed a fine mist very well.  Cost about €8 from a Brico shed (Leroy Merlin?) If all else fails you could brush it on. Not wishing to be 'nanny' but you do have gloves/goggles/mask etc don't you?  

[:D][:D][:D] Clarkson wasn't the only one to dislike it  http://fwd.five.tv/cars/medium-mpv/chevrolet-tacuma   Was this the one of which JC said 'This is the world's most pointless car'  or was it some other?  

For once I have to say I'm on the side of the insurance company. It's quite clear that the car was overloaded, there seems to be some contention if this person was wearing a belt (pretty easy to proove I would think, seatbelt sized bruises across torso) and it was probably a case of a jolly day out gone horribly wrong.  While I feel compassion for those involved they were clearly outside the terms of the insurance.

Do check your next statement carefully. I had something similar to you doing a quick hop along the A16 a while back.  It should have been €2.30 but I got charged nearly €30 as if I had come from Paris [:-))] I wrote to SANEF people explaining what had happened and they quickly refunded the difference.   Incidently, a few weeks ago I was down near Biarritz (lovely down there innit?).  My Doofah had worked perfectly all the way from Luxembourg until I hame to a silly little stretch of autoroute between Bayonne and Ondres and the Doofah would not register for all my waving about like a mad thing.  I thought the battery had given up and paid the 90 cents cash. On the way back, and ever since, it has been fine so I can only assume there was a fault at the barrier.