Hi Michael!
Thank you for the nice words and the welcome
, but I think I still have a lot more learning to do about my special interest, “Late Gothic horn bow Crossbows and Accouterments”!
I would like to have a collection like your friend has!!!
Do you think he is willing to testament it to me?
I guess that maple is a better choice than lime, I think that lime wood is probably a bit too soft for a crossbow tiller.
I probably know which crossbow you meant. The crossbow in the Osthofentor Museum in Soest has a tiller that has the striped look of maple, the same wood as used for violins and other instruments of that type. The tiller wood on this crossbow is stained to have a pear/cherry color and not the natural light color of maple, but I think that almost all crossbow tillers were stained during medieval times, (and maybe later also). This crossbow has some odd inlays and a unique type of dotted pattern on the bow, but I think it is authentic.
Micke Dahlström,
Stockholm Lockbow Society,
Sweden