Ozbow

G/Day Folk's, I have just absent mindlessly deleted an award winning Story and Photo's I have been working on since yesterday Arvo, Oh happy Day here's what I can remember.

The second Traditional Archery Australia Workshop was held at Lakeside Bowmen over the Weekend of the 6th and 7th of May 2017. Perry , Glenn Newell and Gary Penshorn volunteered a collective 50 plus Years of experience making Selfbow's to Instruct 6 very keen prospective Bowyer's.

Some of the People that attended the 1st Workshop came back for the 2nd Workshop to finish their Selfbows. Saturday was a very productive Day with a couple of People able to Tiller their Staves to Brace height. We had one Stave break late in the Day when one of the People without consulting any of the Instructor's took their Stave into the Clubhouse and put it on the Clubs Scale to measure the Draw Weight - Mmmmm - lesson learned ! I gave them another Stave and they had it roughed out in Short order and ready for the long Tillering String by the close of Play.
Sunday dawned and by Lunchtime most of the Folks had their Staves on the Tillering Stick with a long String. A couple of People had successfully Tillered their Staves to Brace height and began Tillering beyond 15 Inches on the Tillering Stick. By the time the budding Bowyer's had had enough and we finished up we still did not have a finished Selfbow. On the surface of things I am concerned that Folk's are not finishing their Bows as it should not take more than 16 hours for a beginner to finish a Selfbow over the coarse of a Weekend Workshop but when you take into account that a large % of these Folks have little experience using Hand Tool's , need to learn how to wield them effectively and get into a mindset compatible with making a Selfbow it is no surprise.
Making a Selfbow, infact any pre 1900 Traditional Archery Equipment above all else requires Patience and discipline that the new Person does not necessarily understand initially. It is not something that comes easily to the beginner. Quite rightly they need to work inside their comfort zone and come to an understanding in their own time. I am very happy to assist People to finish their Selfbow's outside the Workshop Environment just as they are welcome to come back at later Selfbow Workshop's to finish their Selfbow's.

I need to make a special mention of the Ladies that run Lakeside Bowmen's Canteen, Sarge, AKA Jane Bell, Adreanna Speight and the other Ladies who looked after us and Catered for us over the Weekend, you did a fantastic Job. There was plenty of Food - Saturday Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, Afternoon Tea, and a Roast Lamb Dinner. Sunday was Breakfast, Morning Tea, Lunch, and Afternoon Tea all for $35.00. Thanks again Ladies.
Traditional Archery Australia are presently geared up to hold Workshop's for up to 8 People. I am also happy to Travel reasonable distances to your Club in order to hold a Selfbow Workshop. Any Clubs that would like to Host a Selfbow Workshop or individuals who would like to attend please Contact me via the details on the Form here - http://www.traditionalarcheryaustralia. ... hops-6.pdf and I'll be in touch.

regards Perry

I'd be remiss not to thank Lakeside Bowmen for the use of their Facilities and Amenities. They have contributed greatly to the success of the first 2 Selfbow Workshop's.

regards Perry

People beavering away learning the old arts, it is a great thing.

Having attended this second TAA Self Bow Course I would like pass on my thanks to Perry, Glen and Gary as instructors - knowledgeable, patient, helpful and all round great guys. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience so freely.

To the Team at Lakeside Bowmen... thank you for providing the facilities and the really excellent food. Your hospitality is very much appreciated.

For Traditional Archery Australia, a big vote of thanks for providing the opportunity to learn these skills at a very reasonable cost. The course covered making the self bow, a tillering string as well as the final bow string and an arrow.

As Perry said I have not finished my bow yet - it seemed safer to take off wood slowly rather than rush it and end up with kindling. For me the whole experience was somewhat zen like and it made being patient relatively easy. I hope to finish the bow at the next course that Perry runs.

Thanks also to the other attendees at the course... it's amazing what great folk you meet in trad archery!!

I'll second all that you said Temudjin! I was another of the budding bowyers at the second workshop and owe Perry and Glen a huge thank you for their time and patience over the weekend. It was a great experience and a lot was learned in a short time that will hopefully be remembered and used for years to come.

Also, thanks to Lakeside Bowmen for having us there and spoiling us rotten with cooked brekkie/morning-afternoon tea/lunch and roast dinner. As Temudjin said also, big thanks to TAA for making it all possible - this course really gives everyone who has a yen to try bowmaking the best chance of successfully making it happen at an extremely reasonable cost.

Good luck to all the participants on getting our bows shooting!

G/Day Folk's, thankyou for the kind words. I get a real kick out of sharing my passing on what I have learned through my near 40 Years as an Archery, thinking back all but 5 or 6 Years shooting a Traditional Bow. I know Gary and Glenn enjoyed sharing their experience also.

I just spent an enjoyable weekend up at Chevallan Archery Park and spoke to many People up there who expressed an interest in and where very supportive of the Workshop's. The 3rd Workshop will be held at Lakeside Bowmen again over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of June. If your looking to book a spot or too come back to finish your Selfbows, please contact me asap http://www.traditionalarcheryaustralia. ... hops-6.pdf as there is only 8 spaces.

regards Perry