New yew bow finally finished

[Hobbit on a String]

dwardo, if your looking for yew, give me a shout if your ever in the windsor area, the placdes i camp up are full of the stuff, same as rowan, if i could post it i would, but that would be too much, but anyway the offer is there, nice looking rig, have to try it out on some rabbits for lunch.

 

[dwardo]

dwardo, if your looking for yew, give me a shout if your ever in the windsor area, the placdes i camp up are full of the stuff, same as rowan, if i could post it i would, but that would be too much, but anyway the offer is there, nice looking rig, have to try it out on some rabbits for lunch.

Very kind of you, maybe we can work something out PM sent

 

[Grooveski]

Very nice indeed.

Some going to get a straight bow out of such a wonky branch. Well done!

You can get wallpaper steamers quite cheaply.

That's the heat source for my steamer too. The rest is just a length of thin-wall ally tube with some tinfoil to seal where the pipe goes in.
Will probably have it on the go tonight to straighten some hazel sticks I cut at the weekend.

 

[Snufkin]

Keep your eye on ebay. There are a couple of guys from the states that sometimes advertise yew. Billets will be cheaper and cost less to ship than a full length stave.

 

[jojo]

This bow is a little beauty. Look at it, full of personality and charm. you just can't get that for any money. You should be very proud of your work! :You_Rock_

 

[trail2]

Once out of the steamer support the tips and hang a weight from the centre of the stave. Just enough to give it a little"bow". That will give it some reflex before you get to carving.
I did this with a couple of Juniper staves and helped a lot in avoiding the bow taking too much set.
Billets are a good way to go if you are careful with your spices.
Jon R

 

[Hedgehog]

Fantastic & inspiring, I'd dearly love to attempt making a bow, sadly I don't really have the space atm.

 

[trail2]

Hedgehog
Go to your local DIY store and get an Ash,Oak or Maple (best) straight grained board. 4" wide 1" thick and start shaving. Keep it long(65") and taper from 2" to .75" on each limb and you have the start of a pretty decent bow.
Jon R.

 

[Stew]

Fella, you're crazy!

 

[trail2]

Stew
If you mean me, I'm quite serious a good bow can made from a board. I will post a couple of pics when I unearth my camera.
Stay warm in the woods.
Jon R.

 

[Singeblister]

you did a great job on that looking at what you started out with i wouldnt have tried it , I had a go at making one at the bushmoot couple of years back but it snapped at the tillering stage sadly

 

[Stew]

Stew
If you mean me, I'm quite serious a good bow can made from a board. I will post a couple of pics when I unearth my camera.
Stay warm in the woods.
Jon R.

Naah, I know board bows are fine.

I mean Dwardo for eve attempting to use that bit of wood! Total respect for getting it done right!!

 

[Robbo]

Hedgehog
Go to your local DIY store and get an Ash,Oak or Maple (best) straight grained board. 4" wide 1" thick and start shaving. Keep it long(65") and taper from 2" to .75" on each limb and you have the start of a pretty decent bow.
Jon R.

Problem is trail2 here in the UK our Hardware stores seem geared towards occasional DIY's who are redorcorating and need paint / wallpaper or perhaps want to put up some shelves (usually very cheaply mape pre cut pine jobbies) Or want to install a decking in their yard (pressure treated softwood decking) so very few of the big DIY chains carry any hardwood at all.

Some of the builders merchants etc who sell to non trade people do carry hardwoods but again few of them let you pick and choose, and saying you want straight grained to make a long bow has them backing away slowly from you, at least in my experience.

Andy

 

[dwardo]

Problem is trail2 here in the UK our Hardware stores seem geared towards occasional DIY's who are redorcorating and need paint / wallpaper or perhaps want to put up some shelves (usually very cheaply mape pre cut pine jobbies) Or want to install a decking in their yard (pressure treated softwood decking) so very few of the big DIY chains carry any hardwood at all.

Some of the builders merchants etc who sell to non trade people do carry hardwoods but again few of them let you pick and choose, and saying you want straight grained to make a long bow has them backing away slowly from you, at least in my experience.

Andy

Gotta admit i have found exactly the same, if you dont want pine or laminates they start making that sucking noise and vanish into thin air

 

[wozbo]

Wow great bow,one quistion do you start with freshly cut wood or dry seasond wood. i think im going to give this a try.

 

[brancho]

Gotta admit i have found exactly the same, if you dont want pine or laminates they start making that sucking noise and vanish into thin air

Well go to a timber merchant/yard or sawmill and you should get want. Or even a tree surgeon.

I was looking at some yew planks last year from a guy who ran a mobile saw mill at Gramsere Sports.

 

[trail2]

Robbo
I Can see that as a problem. Been a long time since I went into a UK shop to buy a board.
One thing you can use is the Bamboo slats they use for flooring.You can use them as backing for a piece of "ify" wood or glue them up as a laminate. That takes a little more time and messing around.
Jon R.

 

[dwardo]

Wow great bow,one quistion do you start with freshly cut wood or dry seasond wood. i think im going to give this a try.

Fresh cut mate, then debarked and rough worked over a few weeks, spending some days in the house and some days in the garage.

 

[lub0]

WOW I am astonished at how you managed to make such a lovely longbow from that twisted and knotted branch shown. THANK YOU for showing us these before and after pics.
I guess this yew branch I've just aquired is a hell of a lot better than the one you started with, but the question is can I make a bow out of it as good as your's!
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54753

So did you start work on the branch just after cutting it? I thought bow staves need seasoning for years before one can begin work.

 

[caliban]

Dwardo, I cannot believe that you made such a beautiful bow out of that "stave". That's just fantastic mate, what a cool bow. The tiller looks spot on to me and 50lbs is just great. I think you can call yourself a bowyer now mate. Well done.