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Advice about steaming yew straight

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SimonUK:
Thanks guys. I'm wondering whether I should seal all the way round the bow (back sides and belly) before steaming. The idea being that it will heat up but not let moisure in?

I don't have a heat gun at the moment, so that's not an option. Beside, my yew seems to crack even when I bring it into a centrally heated house for 2 hours ....whats a heat gun going to do to it?

Pat B:
Shellac should seal your stave while steaming. I believe  Dean Torges seals the back of staves before steaming wet and dry wood. Pat

SimonUK:
OK thanks Pat, I'll go with what the experts do.

snedeker:
I had the darnedest experience with some yew lumber.  Got some 40" long 2x4 pacific yew, very clean, and it dried for a year before I touched it.  Was already pretty dry.  I had a buddy band saw out a couple of blanks to splice for an ELB and as soon as he cut them, they warped into S shapes.  I steamed them and set them back straight, but it wouldn't hold - went back to the s-shape after a few days.  So i used a wide backing strip, spliced them, and backed as-is for what will be a kind of wacky character backed bow.  Tips and handle line up.  That glue up has been sitting around since last summer and I haven't gotten to it.

Dave

mullet:
   Simon,I had the same problem steaming a limb straight on the yew bow I'm making.It cracked bad and almost ruined the limb.I believe this happened because I brought it into a room with central heat and air and it dried too fast.The next time I did it I left it in the shop with high humidity outside and I had know problem.I think it allowed it to dry slower.

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