06-25-2007, 09:02 PM
Hello, everyone. My first post, and perhaps a bit late for this topic? I hope not.
Briefly about myself. My name is Dane, and I'm a reenactor from way, way back (US Civil War), and recently discovered Roman living history / reenacting (Legio III Cyrenaica from across New England). Clearly, this is a vast subject it would take lifetimes to fully explore, so, having just one (that I know of), I am concentrating on archery and larger missile throwers.
On bows: I have just about finished the wooden core of a composite bow, my first of this kind after building all wood self bows, and the project is quite exciting and challenging. I'm using the dimension of a bone stiffener from Bar Hill for the dimesions of the ears, and kind of winging it regarding dimensions (width of bow, length of handle, etc), since (unless I am way off), no Mary Rose finds of existing Roman military bows exist. A solid, relatively stable composite pulling moderately at 50 to 70 / 80 pounds is what I am shooting for for this first one, with sinewed back, water buffalo belly, and hide glue only for the construction. A full powered war bow will be for later.
But aside from that, I fell in love with this little Scorpio Minor (what I think is an apt name for her). So, I gotta build me one! I have a full sized small scorpio (scorpio major?) under construction, so a concurrent hand held model would be lots of fun. One of the biggest challenges would be, for me, npot the wooden parts, but the bronze washers and plates this reconstruction features.
So, I have to learn to cast in bronze, I say to myself, for both of these machines. To that end, I'm about to build my first furnace, which will allow me also the ability as well to cast bronze bilobate and trilobate arrow heads (and other Roman toys), something you simply can not find for ancient archery. The medieval guys have a devil of a time finding a smith who can make historically correct bodkins and such, and anyone trying to do a Roman archery impression finds even less to go with, or crafts people who can produce these esoteric items.
I'll be sure and post some photos of my work (down the road near and far as the case may be), of course.
So, all that being said (I can be as vorbose as the next guy, be careful), does anyone have any of the basic dimensions of this little machine? Most important is the inner dimensions of the washers, so I can work out the basic proportions. the bronze hardware I will be able to cast fairly easily, and the woodwork will, while not easy, certainly a bit easier than the large scorpio. Any other thoughts about my little pending project, don't hesitate, even if it is a "run away, run away." A big dream, probably not to be realized, is to have sinew or horsehair springs for the scorpio major, but with this little baby, sinew ropes are much more in the realm of the possible. Cordage making, while tedious, is very gratifying as well.
Briefly about myself. My name is Dane, and I'm a reenactor from way, way back (US Civil War), and recently discovered Roman living history / reenacting (Legio III Cyrenaica from across New England). Clearly, this is a vast subject it would take lifetimes to fully explore, so, having just one (that I know of), I am concentrating on archery and larger missile throwers.
On bows: I have just about finished the wooden core of a composite bow, my first of this kind after building all wood self bows, and the project is quite exciting and challenging. I'm using the dimension of a bone stiffener from Bar Hill for the dimesions of the ears, and kind of winging it regarding dimensions (width of bow, length of handle, etc), since (unless I am way off), no Mary Rose finds of existing Roman military bows exist. A solid, relatively stable composite pulling moderately at 50 to 70 / 80 pounds is what I am shooting for for this first one, with sinewed back, water buffalo belly, and hide glue only for the construction. A full powered war bow will be for later.
But aside from that, I fell in love with this little Scorpio Minor (what I think is an apt name for her). So, I gotta build me one! I have a full sized small scorpio (scorpio major?) under construction, so a concurrent hand held model would be lots of fun. One of the biggest challenges would be, for me, npot the wooden parts, but the bronze washers and plates this reconstruction features.
So, I have to learn to cast in bronze, I say to myself, for both of these machines. To that end, I'm about to build my first furnace, which will allow me also the ability as well to cast bronze bilobate and trilobate arrow heads (and other Roman toys), something you simply can not find for ancient archery. The medieval guys have a devil of a time finding a smith who can make historically correct bodkins and such, and anyone trying to do a Roman archery impression finds even less to go with, or crafts people who can produce these esoteric items.
I'll be sure and post some photos of my work (down the road near and far as the case may be), of course.
So, all that being said (I can be as vorbose as the next guy, be careful), does anyone have any of the basic dimensions of this little machine? Most important is the inner dimensions of the washers, so I can work out the basic proportions. the bronze hardware I will be able to cast fairly easily, and the woodwork will, while not easy, certainly a bit easier than the large scorpio. Any other thoughts about my little pending project, don't hesitate, even if it is a "run away, run away." A big dream, probably not to be realized, is to have sinew or horsehair springs for the scorpio major, but with this little baby, sinew ropes are much more in the realm of the possible. Cordage making, while tedious, is very gratifying as well.
Dane Donato
Legio III Cyrenaica
Legio III Cyrenaica
