Knobbly knotty Yew bow

[Retired Member southey]

Hello chaps, Looking for some advice, I was given a piece of yew left as it was the knottyest piece, I am treating as a learing experiance as to how to cope with knots when maing a bow rather than a straight learn to make a bow, its my first go at bow making, would like to ask how you think its going, its currently 78" long,

i have done all the work with a flint tool from the initial shaping to all the scraping,

the back of the bow has be carefully debarked to ensure the sapwood grain is not broken, I am trying to maintain a D cross section though allowing for the meat to be left foe the knots,

there is a decent sized knot 4" from the handle on one of the limbs, i am starting to really thin out the limbs now having got a nice curve from near the handle, also is it possible to get a few strings made to length, if so could you chuck up a link, many thanks

the flint tool was lent to me by an acquaintance, the differing edges can be used for shaping, chopping, slicing and scraping in various shapes and depths, V cool!

As it stands today, any pointers as to where to go, or just carry on thinning the limbs gradually?

the tool used,

Many thanks in advance,

Southey,

 

[Man of Tanith]

Gradual thinning all along the limbs as and where it needs it dude,
plenty of time spent gazing at the tree of woe (tillering stick)
and lucky you for getting yew to play with mate

 

[Ogri the trog]

If you were going for a user bow, I might advise leaving the handle area a little thicker, as your photo shows a good bend in that area - making a "Lug" bow - that bends through the handle and can lead to a disturbing "kick" when shot.
However, as it is a learning exercise, it might be worth carrying on as you are to get the feel for how the limbs are tillered.

'S up to you - but looking good!

Ogri the trog

 

[Retired Member southey]

Cheers chaps, the handle has been left thick, hang on will find a pic

 

[Man of Tanith]

Hanging
you say this is first one you're making?
we did a more basic one on the bowyer course i went on flat bow i believe it was

 

[Retired Member southey]

Would having a greater difference between the limb and hand are take the cure out of the handle, if that makes sense, ummm I will draw a pic in a sec to show what I mean,

as it stands,

 

[Man of Tanith]

What are you planning to use for bow string mate?
lovely bit o wood there if a bit knottier than i would of dared use

 

[Retired Member southey]

Like this, the black being used to show what would be removed,

 

[Retired Member southey]

What are you planning to use for bow string mate?
lovely bit o wood there if a bit knottier than i would of dared use

Will be giving naturals ago like nettle, but will want a modern one two

 

[Wayne]

i would leave the handle as thick as possible. Cut a fade near to the handle in the black zone and weaken the limbs slowly keeping the tiller even. Reducing the weight in the limbs will reduce the bend in the handle. A handle can be very subtle.

For the bow string I normally use dacron as it is allowed in the NFAuS Primitive class. You could use linen or hemp but then you could not guarantee the breaking strain.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Many thanks Wayne, though im not up on the terms, a fade?

 

[Man of Tanith]

i'm sure more experieinced folk will either confirm or deny what i am about to say
i thought the merit of Yew is the combination of heart wood and sap wood as the combination acts as a naturally occouring lamination
that pic seems to imply you might loose some of the natural lamination and put too much stress on the handle area
not a problem if its just for experimentation but might be a bit scary if it snapped at full draw

 

[mountainm]

Put a silk back on it, then if it does snap it won't be so lethal.

 

[Retired Member southey]

No silk but thank you for the concern dudes, my pics arent great but there is a fair amount of heart there

 

[lannyman8]

looking good southey dude.....

 

[Man of Tanith]

Will be giving naturals ago like nettle, but will want a modern one two

have you thought of using red deer sinew?
and/or artificial sinew

 

[Retired Member southey]

Cheers Christo!

No I hadnt Sam, but that sounds cool, will have a read up

 

[Man of Tanith]

artificial sinew like the stuff used for leather sewing
get a massive roll and then make bow string from that
really good

 

[Wayne]

Many thanks Wayne, though im not up on the terms, a fade?

Fade is the slope from the handle to the limb.

I have never heard of anyone using artificial sinew for a bow string. Should work.

I have made strings using nettles but it takes a huge amount of preparation. Make 3 sets of the best two ply you can and then twist them into a single string. Still a high chance of breaking,

If the string fails at full draw kiss good bye to the bow too.

 

[Retired Member southey]

Ah got you, cheers! no worries re breaking this is all a learning curve for me I am expecting it to fail at some point, weather its my work on the bow or the string its all learning, after all, I can always make another