In article <[email protected]>,
DamnYankee <[email protected]> wrote:
>I thought the "arrows" were called "bolts" when used in a crossbow.
>Plans call them "quarrels"? Never heard that term before.
When you get down to the nuts-and-bolts of it, a quarrel is a particular
kind of an arrow -- one having a squared-off head.
A bolt is also a particular kind of an arrow -- one that is characterized
by having a short and heavy shaft., as is typically used in a cross-bow.
In article <[email protected]>,
John <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 15:41:53 -0000, [email protected]
>(Robert Bonomi) wrote:
>
>>In article <[email protected]>,
>>DamnYankee <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>I thought the "arrows" were called "bolts" when used in a crossbow.
>>>Plans call them "quarrels"? Never heard that term before.
>>
>>When you get down to the nuts-and-bolts of it, a quarrel is a particular
>>kind of an arrow -- one having a squared-off head.
>>
>>A bolt is also a particular kind of an arrow -- one that is characterized
>>by having a short and heavy shaft., as is typically used in a cross-bow.
>
>There used to be a kind of mason's chisel called a quarrel too -
>possibly for the same reason, or perhaps because of a similarity.
Yup. It's so-named _because_ that mason's chisel has a squared-off head.
Brings back memories. When I was young (a LONG time ago) my parents gave me
a copy of "The Boy Mechanic" which was published by Popular Mechanics. The
hardback book was vintage 1950's or early 60's but many of the projects
obviously dated into the 30's and 40's. It included many projects and
experiments that blanketed the spectrum from flight, sidewalk coaster cars,
photography, sail boats/iceboats, electrical projects and some archery
related projects such as shown on the link.
I also recall some projects that were well out of the "Boy" category. Not
the least of which was a fully enclosed and streamlined engine/propellor
driven iceboat that was capable of speeds over 70mph. I wonder how many
mothers found their boys building one of these?
It was probably books like these that developed a need to tinker and make
sawdust.
RonB
Tue, Aug 2, 2005, 7:56am (EDT-1) [email protected] (RonB) proclaims:
Brings back memories. When I was young (a LONG time ago) my parents gave
me a copy of "The Boy Mechanic" <snip>
Damn, you must be OLD. LOL I'm 64 and haven't gotten to middle
age yet.
I've got one or two copies of those floating around somewhere,
along with at least one along the same lines published by someone else.
I've got a handful of old boatbuilding boats from thast era, and
earlier, too. Some very neat stuff in there (along with some very ugly
stuff), and some very handy tips. Have one or two woodworking books in
the 20s/30s, and a number printed in the 40s. I don't recall making
anything from any of them, but do ge some iteresting ideas. Besides, I
just like to thumb thru them occessionally.
Best place to find old books like that is old bookstores. Most of
mine are from there, and few, if any, were over $10 each. Only
occassionally have I found a decent deal for on on eBay, and by the time
you add in shipping, you'e usually looking at around $15, minimum. But,
every once in awhile you can get a deal.
JOAT
Yes, it's my truck. No, I won''t help you move.
- Seen on a bumper sticker
On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 15:41:53 -0000, [email protected]
(Robert Bonomi) wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
>DamnYankee <[email protected]> wrote:
>>I thought the "arrows" were called "bolts" when used in a crossbow.
>>Plans call them "quarrels"? Never heard that term before.
>
>When you get down to the nuts-and-bolts of it, a quarrel is a particular
>kind of an arrow -- one having a squared-off head.
>
>A bolt is also a particular kind of an arrow -- one that is characterized
>by having a short and heavy shaft., as is typically used in a cross-bow.
There used to be a kind of mason's chisel called a quarrel too -
possibly for the same reason, or perhaps because of a similarity.
Lots of interesting terms come from bows and crossbows. A spanner was
a device used to cock (or span) some of them - drawing the string back
to the nut or release mechanism. Later a tool to cock early firearms.
These days a general engineering tool used to tighten nuts of a
different sort.
To have "shot your bolt" comes from crossbow use. They weren't quick
to load, like the longbows. So if your bolt was shot, and some huge
fellow with a long pointy thing was riding towards you, your day was
about to be seriously spoiled.
A "cock-up" isn't half as rude as it sounds. The "cock feather" on an
arrow or bolt needed to be away from the bow or stock - otherwise the
arrow could go anywhere. Hence eventually a mistake of any kind.
Having "two strings to your bow" is fairly obvious. Less obvious is
the old English saying "keep it under your hat". Bowmen commonly wore
headgear of some kind - often of leather - and kept their strings dry
under them.
And of course the traditional and still much-used British
"two-fingers" gesture, used by longbowmen to show the enemy that they
could still draw a bow (those two fingers often being cut off by the
enemy if they were captured). The sexual connotations weren't
unintentional.
John
"DamnYankee" <[email protected]> writes:
> I thought the "arrows" were called "bolts" when used in a crossbow.
> Plans call them "quarrels"? Never heard that term before.
Well, maybe you should bolt when someone offers you a quarrel if he
disagrees with you..
--
Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
mailto:[email protected] Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23
Tue, Aug 2, 2005, 5:11pm (EDT+6) [email protected]
(Juergen=A0Hannappel) tortured us with:
Well, maybe you should bolt when someone offers you a quarrel if he
disagrees with you..
Groan.
LOL
JOAT
Yes, it's my truck. No, I won''t help you move.
- Seen on a bumper sticker