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Del's MR Copy
ionicmuffin:
Del, i am really interested in what you've done here! can you tell me how you got the bow so darn smooth and glassy please? I really like your bows!
mullet:
Del;
First , congratulations on a fine looking bow from a challenging piece of wood. I now know I need to dig a little deeper in the knots.
mullet:
--- Quote from: tannhillman on October 30, 2012, 06:36:25 pm ---Hi,
I have only just seen this topic and wanted to jump back to the start and concur with what Dell said about English Yew re: "Those who say it isn't suitable have never tried it, or haven't the patience to find a good bit" This myth about English yew not being any good for making longbow/warbows really is a bugbear of mine. I have made a good number of selfbows out of English yew, including heavy warbows and I have worked some great yew with ring counts up to 100rpi, and with ring counts quite often in the region of 60 rpi. From my own experience I can say that this myth is simply just that, a myth that is repeated by people that have not experienced in working with English/British yew.
I used to work as a forester and a tree surgeon, and have always taken an interesting in tree growth rates and how they vary in relation to a number of factors including low ground water, shallow infertile soils, restricted daylight, impacts due to regular cutting - coppicing/pollarding for example. Theses are all factors that will restrict the growth of yew (and other tree species) whether that be here in blighty or somewhere outside of the UK!
Cheers >>>-------------->
Iain
--- End quote ---
Iain, that is why lower elevation Yew is so much cheaper than upper elevation, high ring count Yew here in North America. Personnelly, I haven't found a bad piece of Yew.
Del the cat:
--- Quote from: ionicmuffin on October 30, 2012, 08:37:33 pm ---Del, i am really interested in what you've done here! can you tell me how you got the bow so darn smooth and glassy please? I really like your bows!
--- End quote ---
Cheers,
I get the finish with scraping and sanding, Danish oil and then a beeswax polish, it's just down to patience (or is that stubborness?).
I use wet or dry paper as it is tougher and longer lasting than sandpaper. I go from 80-120 down to 240 and then 400grit.
On the back I sometimes use a bit of wire wool moistened with white spirit on little concave areas, and also needle files to get into the nook and crannies.
Most of it is just down to perseverance.
I get a coat of Danish oil on quite early as it shows up the tool marks, then I sand them out and give it another wipe. Then I sand the next lot of imperfections and give it another wipe. Then I think the finish is good and I take it outside in the daylight to take sopme photos and I notice some more tool marks so I sand it down again and start over.
You know it's done when you find yourself peering hard at a tiny mark trying to decide if it's a file mark or the grain! ;D
When I was a kid I couldn't understand why you put on a coat of varnish/ paint etc and then rub it down... but then as a kid you don't have the experience and patience.
It's also the thing whereby lots of light coats are better than one thick one. Some guys use thck gloss spray on stuff, fine if you are really going to shoot in the rain, I prefer a more subtle sheen. When I've done wiping over Danish oil every night for a week, I'll give it a go with a soft beeswax polish and buff it up with a rag.
Sometimes I don't spend as much effort. Recently finished a maple flat bow wehich I left with some rasp marks in the belly which was about 2" wide, I didn't want to risk scraping those out and spoiling the tiller.
Del
tannhillman:
Hi Eddie,
Part of my point was that the wood does not have to come from high elevations for it have a high ring count. The factors I mentioned can all apply at low altitudes and are not only restricted to mountain area's. I have found very dense yew growing at altitudes close to sea level.
Great bow by the way Dell :)
Iain
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