my big mouth again......

[barbourdurham]

i was talking to a mate of mine who was trimming a yew tree. we got talking about yew long bows (see where this is going!?) i said id love to have a go at making one but i aint got a clue. That evening he tipped at my house with a 9ft yew branch. its green, about five inches thick. So now I have a yew branch, what the hell do i do with it???😧

 

[Disco1]

This is going to be interesting as im looking to do the same myself.

 

[Damascus]

Not a lot with that peice of wood, you need straight grained which due to our weather doesn't normally grow, that's why in tudor times merchants had to bring yew staves to England, mainly from Italy to make war bows as part of import duty!

Dry the wood and use it for a knife handle, incorporating the colours of the wood, which makes it quite effective. You could buy a stave to have a go but expensive, personally get a peice of hickory and make one with this wood, as it's very forgiving to a novice and get a bit of practice in first.

 

[boatman]

A branch could be straight grained enough to make a decent bow. Isn't it the trunk that tends to twist? There used to be a little book on making bows from branches possibly by Richard Head or another longbow maker.

 

[barbourdurham]

A branch could be straight grained enough to make a decent bow. Isn't it the trunk that tends to twist? There used to be a little book on making bows from branches possibly by Richard Head or another longbow maker.

I'll google it, thanks matey!

 

[wattsy]

they made bow staves from the trunks not the branches, branches are always curved

 

[Whittler Kev]

I'd PM Bardster of this forum. He showed me how to tiller a bow and others how to make them after they chose the wood from a hedgerow, etc. He de man
(Sorry Bardster....looks like I just filled your inbox )

 

[barbourdurham]

I'd PM Bardster of this forum. He showed me how to tiller a bow and others how to make them after they chose the wood from a hedgerow, etc. He de man
(Sorry Bardster....looks like I just filled your inbox )

thank you! i have sealed the ends with boiled linseed oil and left it in the garage......

 

[barbourdurham]

if anyone is interested, my yew branch has been seasoning all year. over xmas i intend to turn it into a bow......

 

[crosslandkelly]

Let us know how you get on, and put up lots of pics.

 

[Damascus]

I will be interested with the results, good luck and take your time especially when tillering the bow.

 

[bobnewboy]

You can make a reasonable bow out of a yew branch, but I wouldnt recommend it without a reasonable level of experience as working round knots etc is a difficult skill to master. Also the usual rule of thumb for drying wood would one year minimum for each inch of thickness while in a log form. I presume your branch is thicker than that? You can move things along by choosing the best side and reducing the branch down to a roughed out stave, and then leaving it to dry some more, aiming for around 10% moisture content. When you start to work it, the heartwood should be crisp under an edged tool.

I would strongly recommend joining the Primitive Archer web forum, and perhaps the Paleoplanet web forum for primitive archery. You will find a lot of good advice, suggestions and support there.

 

[Tony]

Talk to Wayne on here as well, he's very knowledgable about making bows and very helpful...

Good luck with it, i've had the same thing happen to me as well before

 

[Tjurved]

If its knotty, bent, twisted then the bow will have character. But if you never done like 20 bows before so give it a try, at least you get firewood and perhaps small blanks for knife handles . Bow making is an art like nothing else, I've done some bows but never a high pound one.

 

[dwardo]

Have a good search on here. Lots of factors involved but yew is a great bow wood.

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97654

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99734

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87278&page=5

 

[Angst]

good luck.....

along with bardster feel free to nag the hell out of wayne and in particular dwardo the plagiarist....

s

 

[dwardo]

good luck.....

along with bardster feel free to nag the hell out of wayne and in particular dwardo the plagiarist....

s

Dont be copying my bows! ill have none of it

 

[Robson Valley]

PaleoPlanet Forums have quite a number of message boards regarding bow-making.

 

[Chris the Fish]

Post a pic of the branch, it will help with those offering advice.

I've just made a couple of bushcraft bows from some recently coppiced hazel, a small prototype and a larger 5ft one.

I'd recommend doing a prototype first to allow you to get the hang of shaping, tillering etc. I made mistakes on the smaller bow that would have ruined the bigger feller.

The other thing I'd recommend is to make yourself a simple jig like this

My bow making is limited to these two bows, but I've had great enjoyment making both and trying to learn the skills involved.

Good luck and keep us posted


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bobnewboy]

Hi Barbourdurham, the following is a handy link in this thread's context. I know Del and he makes a good bow, so his video series may help you:

http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/yew-elb-build-videos-and-starting.html

Cheers, Bob