Steaming girt arm bows

After several weeks in the making, I've finally got together my new rig for steam-bending arm bows. It's based on the method developed by James Mursell, and does away with the need for several guys and girls huffing, puffing and sweating away to bend the bow blank around the jig. Instead, all the bending force is provided by a winch that pulls the bending strap and blank around the jig.

Worked a treat first time, and produced me four very nice arm bows that now await use in future projects. Essentially it's like a very large crossbow, and it's very scary how much tension the whole rig develops when you crank that handle. I was just waiting for something to go 'ping' and for a large piece of something hard or possibly jagged to go hurtling across the workshop. Luckily it didn't.

Something for the purists to gnash their teeth at: I used a bandsaw to cut the blanks... Cue sharp intake of breath... Well, it takes a lot less time than shaving them, and you never quite know when a bow's going to work or not work, so the less time spent pre-bending the better I'd say, especially when you're doing a batch.