Is this bit of yew suitable to make a small bow?

[tombear]

As mentioned in another thread at The Green Fayre over near Wigan on Saturday herself hauled a 6 foot 4 length of yew back to the car where i'd already flaked out. She thought it may cut up to make blanks for turning or carving. However before I chop it up some could any bowyers out there cast I eye over it and say if its worth cutting down and seasoning to eventually make a bow from, either a short bow ( between 4 foot 6 and five foot long ) or for a dark ages style hunting crossbow, ( say 2 to 2 and a half feet long )?

It is 4 inches thick.

Close up.

As always I've sealed the ends with paraffin wax..

No fuss if its not fit, I;ll make lots from it anyway.

ATB

Tom

 

[Wayne]

I’d make a couple of bows out of it.

I’d also get started on the them ASAP.

Keep the bows long less chance of snapping. Aim for around 45-55lb draw at 28.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Why would you want to take a 78" stave and turn it into a 54" to 60" bow? If you can keep it 68" to 74" you will have a smoother, faster and more accurate bow, for any given draw weight. What is not to prefer about a longer bow?

While the side view is important in judging wood, so is the back and belly view, especially the back.

No way I would plan on cutting it up into little bits without really looking at using it to make a couple of long bows. Yew isn't exactly easy to get hold of in lengths and qualities suitable for making bows. Getting yew in smaller bits suitable for knife handles or carving projects is relatively easy.

 

[dwardo]

Saw it down the length. You don't want more than 1 3/4 at the widest point so use that to avoid as many faults as you can. Will likely end up more 1.5 inch. Then narrow the outer third to the tips. I would use the thin end as the tips.

Then you need to thing that sapwood which is a nightmare on yew. Try your hardest to follow a growth ring and you want to be around 1/4 inch sapwood.

I would then buy a take-down sleeve which is easier than a splice if you don't have the kit. Take downs are also cool

Yew is very easy to pull swathes of wood ragnails so cab scrapers and rasps n files.Avoid the temptation to hog some off with the drawknife.

Still be plenty of timber left over for other stuff but only one bow in there.

 

[tombear]

Cheers folks, That helps a lot!

In my admitted ignorance I dont think I can use the full length due to the bends in the dividing line between the heart wood and the sapwood and flaws in the wood itself.

About 2 foot 9.

About 4 foot six inches.

The thick end is quite bendy, for want of a better word..

.

I would like to make a Colletière à Charavines.style early cross bow with the smaller piece see

and if I can with the larger piece something like a Anglo-Norman short bow like they excavated at Waterford. The complete one they found there was what? about 4 foot 1 inch? I'm six foot which is probably so I will scale it up and use whatever full length I can get out of it. I appreciate it wont be as good a bow as a full sized long bow and I'll have to use a chest draw style but I can live with that. Also I will be able to turn arrows for it on my lathe, if I rig centre support which isn't beyond me.

It looks like I'll finally get to use my scraper plane I got last year! Are surforms OK on yew?

Thanks again!

Tom

 

[C_Claycomb]

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/pal...?sid=259f21c4dafd4ab65f3f9ed37fd47917#p425498
A rather good example of a yew character bow. Some bends can be overcome.

Surform...can be used on belly side, if the grain does not dip. If the grain does dip and you use it in line with the grain, they do tend to cause tear-out. More so in that there are multiple cutters so hard to keep an eye on them all, and not easy to re-sharpen them as they get dull. I used a Surform on my first bow, which was from a small yew, and it sort of worked, but I much prefer single blade cutters and rasps now.

 

[dwardo]

Gordon is a bow god and a nice fella.

Not in Gordons league but here are a few with the lesser yew we have over here.

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/index.php?threads/yew-bow-with-bumps.120167/#post-1493871

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/i...acter-bow-big-pics-beware.97654/#post-1179128

https://bushcraftuk.com/community/i...ngbow-fresh-out-the-shop.101961/#post-1232707

Lumps and bumps are ok, faults need to be addressed. You could squeeze a few more inches out at the handle but i would be lopping off as much of the thick end as i could stand.

Maybe get as much as you can out of it and put it aside to cure and think on.

 

[tombear]

Yeah, i;; get as big bits as I can from it and the rest can go for turning. Been busy on the house but I'll get sawing tomorrow and get the ends sealed up. I'll find somewhere to store it and do a bit more research.

Thanks again!

Tom