I always have a habit of typing out a story, so forgive me in advance. And I’m putting this is Everything Else, just because I’m long-winded and it’s less about my glowforge project and more on why I made it.
My family and I rent a small (hidden) backhouse with the only access being the alley. I’ve had to keep our gate locked for the last few months due to random strangers thinking they can come in to my yard, use my hose, never turn it off, knock on my door at 1am, take off…I thought locking the gate solved the issue (the fence is wooden and tall enough that I need a step stool to see over it), and it did…until yesterday morning when I went out and saw that someone shot an arrow through the gap in my gate.
The neighborhood and alley are not set up in a way that this arrow accidentally made it into my yard; it was straight in, not angled, at about knee height on the other side of my very small yard. The only way it was making it through was if someone took aim right at my gate.
There have been multiple garage break-ins lately, and given the quality of this arrow (looked up the cost on ebay-15 just for the carbon fiber shaft), I doubt someone who legitimately purchased it would be shooting it into my yard. So, it wasn’t there in the afternoon the day before, but it was definitely there when I went out in the morning. Long story short, I’m pretty freaked out about it because I was squatting in the path of that arrow, testing the clear coats I bought based on this forum’s recommendations, that very night. Also, I have two children who play out there and don’t usually assume they aren’t safe in their own home. Already have had to have a chat about “Constant Vigilance!” (Kids requested a sign quoting Mad-Eye Moody on that)
After reporting the issue with the police and sending them pictures to go with my report, I got my landlord’s permission to put wood on my gate to cover the gap. So, here is the first panel I made to cover the gap (going to need at least three)…because I own a glowforge and don’t want to just tack any boring piece of wood up there.
Doubt it. The police here are quite busy nowadays. The Detective Conan in me thought they would come out and dust for prints, but when they never did, I decided to take the arrow out of the fence and consider hanging jewelry or wet socks from it
I will smile each time I see it, but only because I made my own inside joke on it (I do that a lot…I made so many dorky references in this post that I found myself cracking up).
I borrowed an Irish blessing for the last panel. I didn’t have enough width in my leftover wood to create a third flower panel and it’s low on the fence so I figured it wouldn’t be seen much from behind the plants anyways. I’m sad that I couldn’t even get enough width to perfectly match the sides, but it is what it is. I’m waiting for it to dry, then I get to put it up.
If I ever had to do this again (which I hope I won’t), here are a couple of things I would change.
First, I would make sure I had enough wood.
Second, I would make them interlocking, trying to hold them up with one hand and drill with the other, in the dark, was harder than I thought. I lined them up close enough, but I must avoid closer inspection or the perfectionist in me starts running in circles.
I would probably attempt to match paint, but in this case, I didn’t have any and I needed something quick.
I would also probably start holes in the wood for the drill to avoid splintering and to help the screws sit flush against the surface.
All in all, a good use for the home depot wood thatI haven’t touched in a year. Only problem now is that covering the big gap makes all the smaller gaps more noticeable, and I feel like fixing an entire mural to the back of that gate, like a giant puzzle. I also still want to cover the area above the lock, in case anyone else wants to add to my arrow collection, husband is hoping for a full set so we can sell them
The arrow isn’t worth anything. Sure, you can buy expensive ones, but even the most basic starter bows come with CF shafts. You can get a dozen for $25.
Used them for hand-launched glider tail structures, wing spars, and drone motor gantries back in the day…
Lol, it was a joke, trying to alleviate the stress I feel that someone purposely shot it into my yard. But it does look to be a fancy arrow. I found it on our local archery online store. My arrow says Victory RIP 300 V1 Elite though, not 204.
My entire yard is less than 30 feet across with a 6 foot fence fence all around it. Besides the danger to my kids, and my neighbors kids (we share that back fence), I think it would’ve been pretty painful to take this arrow to the neck at such a close range. My friends think someone peaking in thought I was a dog or something since I was squatting and it was dark. Which is still not cool.
I found out the next day that a town over, someone also had an arrow shot at their house. I’m assuming the arrows are probably from the recent garage break-ins, because my arrow looks way nicer than hers.
. Our homes are our sanctuaries. Hoping your family is always safe.
