About Me
Why "Second String"?
In the past I worked as a contract software engineer. Although reasonably well paid, the work was on the whole uninspiring. Between contracts I refreshed my creativity by attending various craft courses. Once such course, longbow making, inspired an interest in archery.
In 2008 a banking crisis had a serious impact on the world economy, and overnight contract work dried up. I took the opportunity to develop bow-making as a craft business, with a certain amount of success.
Unfortunately, I still had a mortgage to pay, and so I want back to the more lucrative if less rewarding Software Engineering. Bow making was relegated to being a hobby which I had less time for than I would have liked.
A few years ago I was introduced to the wonderful world of Japanese embroidery by a colleague of my wife when I was asked if I could do anything to straighten a badly warped frame that had been imported from Japan.
Although I could straighten the frame, bending wood being a prime aspect of archery bow making, I wasn’t impressed with the general standard to which the frame was made. If you are going to devote months or years to producing a highly detailed embroidery, then you deserve tools and equipment that are a joy to look at as well as use.
I spent some time experimenting with various techniques and building suitable jigs to make a frame. I was pleased to find that these frames were well received, and I was quickly asked if I could produce frames in a range of exotic hardwoods. My experience of finding wood for bow making means that I have generally been able to find the woods asked for.
In 2018, almost a decade after trying my hand at becoming a longbow maker, I once again found myself in a position to change career. As my wife put it; it’s either that or go back to software testing.
When trying to find a name for the enterprise it was my wife who jokingly suggested that “Every archer should have a second string to his bow”.
