New yew bow finally finished

[dwardo]

Hey all,

I have been swearing and spitting sawdust for the past 3 months trying to finish this yew bow For starters the branch looked like a twiglet and there were more knots in it than my tarp guys..
The stave was from a branch around 3.5 inch diameter and with all the problems i was lucky to get one bow from it. In the past building a bow from better wood has not taken more than a few weeks but this one with its twists and turns had to be heat straightened 15+ times and all the knots worked down with files. I use only manual tools for two reasons, 1 i dont have any power tools and 2, they scare me to death so this was made using files, spoke shave, draw knife and hatchet. The branch had a lot of reflex which eased out over the roughing out process and it now has about 1.5 inch of set which i am happy with The brace height is about 5 3/4 inch, 67 3/4 ntn and pulling around 50lbs ish. The tiller isnt perfect but it seems to shoot well and the set has been taken evenly with no obviously chrysals

Yew is a lovely bow wood and one day i will save up for a straighter bit and try again. I have only put 30 or arrows through it but it hits like train and the draw is nice and smooth, it has a little hand shock due to bending through the handle but nothing to worry about. Who knows how long she will last but time will tell.

Branch debarked,

More roughing out with hatchet

Braced

Full draw

If anyone fancies giving bow making a go i am no expert but i can offer starter advice, tools are few and cheap..

Cheers for looking

 

[Shewie]

Great job dwardo, I can`t believe it`s the same piece of timber. You must have the patience of a saint.

 

[dwardo]

Great job dwardo, I can`t believe it`s the same piece of timber. You must have the patience of a saint.

Cheers Shewie I just didnt want to let it go, more terrier than saint lol. I will say though i aint gonna try another bit of timber like it any time soon

 

[Cobweb]

Wow, you've done well with what you had, that looked like an awful bit of wood, you did well to get a bow out of it

 

[Barney]

that's a cracking result, I have always wanted to make a bow.

 

[dwardo]

that's a cracking result, I have always wanted to make a bow.

Give it a go

Tools wise a hatchet/machette, spoke shave (about a fiver) and a sharp knife to use a scraper Then just try to source a bit of ash to start with or goat willow (salix caprea). Anything over 3inch in diameter and reasonably straight should do it. Any help i can give just ask..

 

[Nat]

Good job and nice work. Yet something else i've been meaning ot make for the past decade.

 

[SOAR]

Very nice bow looks like you have done a splendid job with what looked like an impossible piece of wood.

 

[Barney]

thanks Dwardo thats a kind offer , I might take you up on that one day

 

[Snufkin]

Really good job. Tiller looks pretty good. You might want to take a bit more wood off the tips, they look stiff enough and that might tame some of the handshock and give you a little more speed without sacrificing draw weight.

 

[dwardo]

Really good job. Tiller looks pretty good. You might want to take a bit more wood off the tips, they look stiff enough and that might tame some of the handshock and give you a little more speed without sacrificing draw weight.

Nice one ill give it a try. The string allignment was all over the place at first but now its settling in ill give it a go.

 

[Retired Member southey]

this is something iv'e wanted to do for a long time, great work, it looks great well done,

 

[Snufkin]

Nice one ill give it a try. The string allignment was all over the place at first but now its settling in ill give it a go.

Just remember to go steady. Take off little and then flex much. You don't want the last 6"s to bend much. You might be suprised how much wood you can remove.

 

[dwardo]

Just remember to go steady. Take off little and then flex much. You don't want the last 6"s to bend much. You might be suprised how much wood you can remove.

I have an old horrible looking 7 inch bowie knife thing which takes a good edge and it a perfect scraper so ill go slow with that..

 

[drliamski]

Got any advice about straightening. I have a few stave's of yes also and was planning staffs, but this is inspiring.

Liam

:You_Rock_

 

[trail2]

Truly great work with the stave you had. The next time try for a stave from the trunk if possible.
Have to agree with Snufkin, thin down the tips. Will give you a faster bow and lessen the hand shock.
On your next bow try tillering it so the limbs do all the work and its fairly rigid through the riser.
If you like bow building see if can get your hands on copies of "The Bowyers Bible" vols 1-3
What wieght arrows are you using? Going higher that 10grains per pound will help with hand shock.
Again,spot on work.
Jon R.

 

[dwardo]

Truly great work with the stave you had. The next time try for a stave from the trunk if possible.
Have to agree with Snufkin, thin down the tips. Will give you a faster bow and lessen the hand shock.
On your next bow try tillering it so the limbs do all the work and its fairly rigid through the riser.
If you like bow building see if can get your hands on copies of "The Bowyers Bible" vols 1-3
What wieght arrows are you using? Going higher that 10grains per pound will help with hand shock.
Again,spot on work.
Jon R.

Cheers trail2. I would love a proper stave of yew but its either shockingly expensive or near impossible to get hold of. I have TB1 and TB2 and they are a wonderful source of information. I had to leave the handle and other parts slightly stiff as there are some very scary knots in there so i thought best to give them a "break" lol
I will also give some heavier arrows a go.
cheers.

 

[dwardo]

Got any advice about straightening. I have a few stave's of yes also and was planning staffs, but this is inspiring.

Liam

:You_Rock_

I managed with a pan of boiling water over the stove. Place the bow on top then cover with tin foil to keep in the steam. Usually takes a good 15 mins to become soft enough at rough bow dimensions, once steamed use a flat bit of timber and clamp the bow to it. If the bend is very nasty then add a small block of wood and bend the bow over it.
Good luck.

 

[Gyro]

Not fair: I can't see any of the pictures !

 

[mick miller]

Inspirational post and very nice work from a frighteningly wobbly bit of wood. I had a copy of the bowyers bible vol 1. on the xmas list, alas it never made it into santa's sack.

My own attempts at a bow ended miserably early on. It's on the list to try again this year.

You can get wallpaper steamers quite cheaply. My mate uses one to bend all the planks for his boat, a simple steam box built from planks with the ends plugged seems to do the business, reasonably affordable too.