Yew bow.

[wolf_diver]

I have a 6'5" branch from a friend who looks after a church yard, which is 3" diameter at one end and 5" diameter at the other. I have coated the ends in wood glue and bags and left it for two week in the conservitory. Can i use it to make my first bow or do i have to cut down a trunk and split one to make a stave of three???

Jay

 

[dwardo]

Have a look here http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37020&highlight=dwardo+yew

Any problems gimme a PM

 

[wolf_diver]

Bloody hell dwardo thats real impressive, how long did you leave it to dry out and what height did you cut it down too start. Hope you dont regret giving me lots of advice.

Thanks

Jay

 

[dwardo]

I left it a week or so from cutting. Then debarked it and roughed it out over a few weeks to a month. Then it was a case of steam bending the living daylights out of it to get it roughly straight. (Dont use your missus`s favourite pan )

Some pictures and dimensions may help

 

[wolf_diver]

Heres the stave, its 77" long almost 3" at the skinny end, 31/2" middle and 41/2 at the fat end.

Whats my next step...

Regards

Jay

 

[dwardo]

What you want to do is to try to pick a side of the branch that has the least knots on it, this will be the back of the bow (the back being the side that faces away from you when holding it in an archery kind of stance)
Cleave/axe off the side that you dont want and debark it carefully. Once you have done this leave it somewhere not "too" dry like a garage or shed whilst working the early stages. The more wood you leave on in the early stages of drying the more chance you have of it checking and warping. You then need to start narrowing the half you have left but be sure to leave plenty of wood at the tips and around knot areas. Once down to a manageable size you can start to steam bend the bigger kinks out of it. The steam bending is basically rest the area you want to correct over a pan of boiling water and cover in tin foil (think tinfoil tent), wait 15 minutes or so then clamp using a few clamps to a straight bit of timber and leave till cool. Then repeat, lots of times, till roughly straigh (it will never be perfectly straight)

Give that lot a go and i know this sounds like a lot of hard work but you can only try, or pay a fortune for a nice straight bit. Its all learning and the supplies do grow on trees so give it a blast.

PS waiting for the wood to season as you have it now could take years to dry...

Remember i am no bowyer i am just playing my self but happy to help.

 

[wolf_diver]

Thanks for you advice, will get on to debarking it this weekend and read you post slowly to get it all right. will give you a shout when i get stuck. thanks again mate

Jay

 

[pothunter]

A suggestion for steam bending:

Take a length of drain pipe long enough to accommodate your stave and blank off one end, insert stave, set this on a slight incline open end down, take a wall paper stripper remove the 'thing' off the end and insert the hose into the drain pipe add a rag to ensure that the steam distributes equally along the whole length of the pipe and you have one very efficent steam box, leave for ten minutes and bend away.

Beware whole issue gets VERY hot
Do not seal both ends of pipe, ensure that steam pressue and air preasure can equalise
Cooking times vary quite a lot but ten minutes is a good starting point
This also alows you to bend the whole stave in one so you could also make a former to add some reflex to the ends

Pothunter.

 

[Colin.W]

When working yew make sure you wash your hands before eating or smoking as some people have a reaction to yew, I've never heard of it being too severe just a dicky tummy

 

[dwardo]

When working yew make sure you wash your hands before eating or smoking as some people have a reaction to yew, I've never heard of it being too severe just a dicky tummy

Yup, had that before Also makes your nose run when sanding so a cheap mask or sand outdoors is also advisable.

 

[wolf_diver]

lucky im getting the hints before ive started, thanks guys.

Jay