I will indeed, but it may take years for the branch to dry. It is sopping wet!
Does fire-drying work or would that cause the wood to split or something?
Does fire-drying work or would that cause the wood to split or something?
yew longbow making question
- Thread starter lub0
- Start date
You dont need to wait years for it to dry.
Work it down to rough bow dimensions and leave it in a cool dry place outside to start.
When fast drying a stave the more mass it has the more chance of warping and checking. In between working the stave down to rough dimensions leave it strapped to a straight bit of timber to help stop the warping. Make sure to coat the ends of the stave with white wood glue or varnish etc.
Try not to do any bending at all whilst the wood is drying. After a week or two which is probably about the time it will take you to work it down slowly you can think about moving it indoors, away from radiators and still strapped to your bit of straight timber. Get your self some scales and weigh the stave every day or two, once the stave has stopped loosing weight for roughly a third of the time you have been drying it its ready to start tillering. In the past this has taken anything between 4 and 12 weeks depending on the weather and relative humidity inside and out.
Steam bending can be dont over a pan of boiling water on the stove, use a tinfoil "tent" to trap the steam. Leave to steam for atleast half hour and when its done move it "STRAIGHT" to your clamping jig, you have less than a minute or two before it cools. When correcting a bend, bend it past where you want it to settle as it will move back a liltte when unclamped. Also remember that re-heating the area can allow the bend to fall out for want of a better word so carefull. There are lots of contraptions mentioned above for steaming a whole stave which is nice if you have the cash to spend on some toys and would save you multiple steaming sessions.
Looking at your stave it doesnt have a lot of heart wood but if you only after a low pundage bow dinee worry about it and start the shavings flying. Try to be carefull when working the yew as its very soft and its easy to lift a splinter so use rasps and scrapers sooner than you would think. When choosing the back of the bow you want to avoid any branches. Branches on the belly of the bow can be dealt with and will probably be filed off anyway whilst tillering.
More important than anything else is just to get on with it!
"If you aint breaking them you aint making them"
and
"a man who never made a mistake never made anything"
and lastly
"Lucky for you more staves actually do grow on trees"
Work it down to rough bow dimensions and leave it in a cool dry place outside to start.
When fast drying a stave the more mass it has the more chance of warping and checking. In between working the stave down to rough dimensions leave it strapped to a straight bit of timber to help stop the warping. Make sure to coat the ends of the stave with white wood glue or varnish etc.
Try not to do any bending at all whilst the wood is drying. After a week or two which is probably about the time it will take you to work it down slowly you can think about moving it indoors, away from radiators and still strapped to your bit of straight timber. Get your self some scales and weigh the stave every day or two, once the stave has stopped loosing weight for roughly a third of the time you have been drying it its ready to start tillering. In the past this has taken anything between 4 and 12 weeks depending on the weather and relative humidity inside and out.
Steam bending can be dont over a pan of boiling water on the stove, use a tinfoil "tent" to trap the steam. Leave to steam for atleast half hour and when its done move it "STRAIGHT" to your clamping jig, you have less than a minute or two before it cools. When correcting a bend, bend it past where you want it to settle as it will move back a liltte when unclamped. Also remember that re-heating the area can allow the bend to fall out for want of a better word so carefull. There are lots of contraptions mentioned above for steaming a whole stave which is nice if you have the cash to spend on some toys and would save you multiple steaming sessions.
Looking at your stave it doesnt have a lot of heart wood but if you only after a low pundage bow dinee worry about it and start the shavings flying. Try to be carefull when working the yew as its very soft and its easy to lift a splinter so use rasps and scrapers sooner than you would think. When choosing the back of the bow you want to avoid any branches. Branches on the belly of the bow can be dealt with and will probably be filed off anyway whilst tillering.
More important than anything else is just to get on with it!
"If you aint breaking them you aint making them"
and
"a man who never made a mistake never made anything"
and lastly
"Lucky for you more staves actually do grow on trees"
thanks for taking the time to give me all that information. upon reading your post I went and got a nice straight piece of timber and...
... as you can see, there's a stubborn bend in the thicker end of the branch that will definately need steaming god knows how many times! It took quite some strength to lash the branch to that timber, the thing is under great tension and while I was carrying it back from the allotmont to my garage I was weary of the string snapping and one of the bends flicking into my face!
... as you can see, there's a stubborn bend in the thicker end of the branch that will definately need steaming god knows how many times! It took quite some strength to lash the branch to that timber, the thing is under great tension and while I was carrying it back from the allotmont to my garage I was weary of the string snapping and one of the bends flicking into my face!
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Cool stuff 
Dont worry too much about bends, yew becomes like rubber with enough steam. However do be carefull with the sapwood just under the bark and inner bark. You dont want to ding it or cut any of the growth rings or you may have to chase a ring which is a lot of work, you may even want to protect it from the string. The sapwood need to stay in as good a condition as you can as it wil be the back of your bow.
To clean off the inner bark or cambium use a scraper (google cabinet scraper) or a knife acting as a scraper and go easy.
If you find that the wood is ripping up too much leave it to dry a little.
Have fun
Dont worry too much about bends, yew becomes like rubber with enough steam. However do be carefull with the sapwood just under the bark and inner bark. You dont want to ding it or cut any of the growth rings or you may have to chase a ring which is a lot of work, you may even want to protect it from the string. The sapwood need to stay in as good a condition as you can as it wil be the back of your bow.
To clean off the inner bark or cambium use a scraper (google cabinet scraper) or a knife acting as a scraper and go easy.
If you find that the wood is ripping up too much leave it to dry a little.
Have fun
Which will be much older than the Church. Yew don't die naturally as a general rule, they live for thousands of years, that tree was probably part of a sacred grove or something.
I wont ever cut into a yew, they are too old and slow growing to lop bits off to try make a bow.
Yew has a few folk tales about it, it is known as the death tree as every part of it bar the fruit on the seeds is deadly poisonous, yet it is also known as the tree of everlasting life and rebirth because they don't die, just keep on regenerating.
Best thing to do is ring tree surgeons in your area and ask them to save it for you, They will be cutting stuff down all the time, saves the other yews from getting hacked into too
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I found this website that has lots of Yew information and its link to churches, religions, protection from evil etc.
http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/yew.htm
Personally, Im not keen on cutting any part of any tree down unless its a life or death situation or if its for the trees best interest - broken limbs or natural damage.
I saw a programme about the yew tree many years back - the centre of thr tree rots out and it sends a sapling shoot down its centre to effectively re-plant itself.
Amazing stuff really.
Andy
the yew stave is still strapped to the timber. When shall I let it off and do the last shaping and then tillering?
Also what tools will I need? I have a draw knife on loan to me, but whenever I see bowyer videos on youtube they use a wood file and they look like very useful tools for a bowyer.
Can anyone recocmend a good wood file that will remove decent amounts of wood?
Also what tools will I need? I have a draw knife on loan to me, but whenever I see bowyer videos on youtube they use a wood file and they look like very useful tools for a bowyer.
Can anyone recocmend a good wood file that will remove decent amounts of wood?
shinto saw rasps Axminster sells them for about 8 quid. they are without a doubt the BEST rasps I've used!
good luck with the bow!
Axminster sells them for about 8 quid. they are without a doubt the BEST rasps I've used!good luck with the bow!
shinto saw rasps
good luck with the bow!
I find those a bit rough, but they do remove a lot of wood quickly. My personal tool of choice is a dreadnaught file
designed for car bodywork, they are fantastic on wood! like lots of little plane blades in a row. Can leave a very smooth finish but also removes wood quickly.
really Paul? I love them. They have a coarse side (very fast removal) and a fine side that removes far less wood and you can go straight to a scraper after that!
are we talking about the same thing?
looks like the price has gone up though
are we talking about the same thing?
looks like the price has gone up though
Thanks you pair
Now i am down £20 and when more packages turn up with the posite the misssus is gonna kill me
Now i am down £20 and when more packages turn up with the posite the misssus is gonna kill me
Thanks Dave Budd and Bardster for your suggestions. It's a shame Axeminster don't sell the dreadnaught aswell. I'll have to buy from two different places - two seperate delivery, dammit!
Just found some suitible strong to use with my bow. This is the only stuff that had zero stretch in it. I think it's thick light switch cord... the stuff used to switch, or should I say pull the light on in bathrooms.
The bow is seriously sweet. It feels utterly lethal when I draw it back.
From shooting 35lb bows in the past, I estimate mine to be atleast 90lbs poissibly even 100lb draw weight. A true war bow!
The bow is seriously sweet. It feels utterly lethal when I draw it back.
From shooting 35lb bows in the past, I estimate mine to be atleast 90lbs poissibly even 100lb draw weight. A true war bow!
Its getting there
You need to remove a lot of mass from the tips though or it will have a whole load of hand shock. You may also want to get her bending a little more midlimb. One thing to remember is to pick a draw weight you after and try not to pull it past that weight at any point during the tillering, this will help to reduce set.
If you need any pointers we would need a picture of the bow without the string on.
Damn good first attempt by the way
You need to remove a lot of mass from the tips though or it will have a whole load of hand shock. You may also want to get her bending a little more midlimb. One thing to remember is to pick a draw weight you after and try not to pull it past that weight at any point during the tillering, this will help to reduce set.
If you need any pointers we would need a picture of the bow without the string on.
Damn good first attempt by the way
Why thank you for the compliment!
You won't bloody believe it but the thing just snapped in half earlier today as I drew it back. DAMM DAMM DAMM! It snapped at the point where I lopped-off the thick branch that was originally there. Check the original photos on top of page 1 to see what I mean. Weakest point of the bow I suppose
Well I'm gonna scout around the local area for a nice ash tree and try my luck with yew in the future when I get a proper trunk log.
Any tips on selecting an ideal piece of ash? What should the minimum thickness be bearing in mind I'm after an 80+ lbs war bow. Is ash similar to yew bows making in the way of heartwood/sapwood, or is ash completely different?
Any advice please guys!
Cheers all.
You won't bloody believe it but the thing just snapped in half earlier today as I drew it back. DAMM DAMM DAMM! It snapped at the point where I lopped-off the thick branch that was originally there. Check the original photos on top of page 1 to see what I mean. Weakest point of the bow I suppose
Well I'm gonna scout around the local area for a nice ash tree and try my luck with yew in the future when I get a proper trunk log.
Any tips on selecting an ideal piece of ash? What should the minimum thickness be bearing in mind I'm after an 80+ lbs war bow. Is ash similar to yew bows making in the way of heartwood/sapwood, or is ash completely different?
Any advice please guys!
Cheers all.
Why thank you for the compliment!
You won't bloody believe it but the thing just snapped in half earlier today as I drew it back. DAMM DAMM DAMM! It snapped at the point where I lopped-off the thick branch that was originally there. Check the original photos on top of page 1 to see what I mean. Weakest point of the bow I suppose
Well I'm gonna scout around the local area for a nice ash tree and try my luck with yew in the future when I get a proper trunk log.
Any tips on selecting an ideal piece of ash? What should the minimum thickness be bearing in mind I'm after an 80+ lbs war bow. Is ash similar to yew bows making in the way of heartwood/sapwood, or is ash completely different?
Any advice please guys!
Cheers all.
You won't bloody believe it but the thing just snapped in half earlier today as I drew it back. DAMM DAMM DAMM! It snapped at the point where I lopped-off the thick branch that was originally there. Check the original photos on top of page 1 to see what I mean. Weakest point of the bow I suppose
Well I'm gonna scout around the local area for a nice ash tree and try my luck with yew in the future when I get a proper trunk log.
Any tips on selecting an ideal piece of ash? What should the minimum thickness be bearing in mind I'm after an 80+ lbs war bow. Is ash similar to yew bows making in the way of heartwood/sapwood, or is ash completely different?
Any advice please guys!
Cheers all.
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Hey guys I've just gotten myself two logs of Yew. Here are their specifications...
Yew Log 1
69" length
4" thick (thicker end)
3" thick (thinner end)
12.5" circumference (thicker end)
9.5" circumference (thinner end)
Yew Log 2
66" length
2.5" thick (thicker end)
1.7" thick (thinner end)
7.7" circumference (thicker end)
6" circumference (thinner end)
What do you reccomend I do with them? I REALLY want to get these 100% right this time. I can see a damm sweet Longbow in either of them. What do you guys think?
Yew Log 1
69" length
4" thick (thicker end)
3" thick (thinner end)
12.5" circumference (thicker end)
9.5" circumference (thinner end)
Yew Log 2
66" length
2.5" thick (thicker end)
1.7" thick (thinner end)
7.7" circumference (thicker end)
6" circumference (thinner end)
What do you reccomend I do with them? I REALLY want to get these 100% right this time. I can see a damm sweet Longbow in either of them. What do you guys think?
What draw length are you after?
The yew looks like it will be ok but its hard to tell from the photos, best to rought them out in a way that avoids any knots on the back of the bow and re-assess.
Have a look at some of the "bowyers bibles" books if you can. I made some pretty shocking bows when i first started but like anything with practice you get better
The yew looks like it will be ok but its hard to tell from the photos, best to rought them out in a way that avoids any knots on the back of the bow and re-assess.
Have a look at some of the "bowyers bibles" books if you can. I made some pretty shocking bows when i first started but like anything with practice you get better
