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Think I've found me a warbow stave...

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Lucasade:
Given the longbow design was produced to maximise bows per log, even with my splitting skills being vastly less than people back in the day it must be possible to split it in half. I'll practice on some other bits and see if I can get a good technique together, then by the time I've failed to find a local bandsaw I may be confident enough to go for it.

WillS:
I don't have a bandsaw either.  Every log I've worked has been split.  Sometimes you get really unlucky and it sucks but with care and attention it should be fine.  That log doesn't look at all bad.  Remember it's easier to correct bends that are front to back than side to side, so split with a thought to the half log you'll end up with.

Ideally you want any big knots smack in the middle of the split itself, so they end up being chopped away as you reduce.  Always put the axe in the middle of all knots and hammer them in so you end up with lots of small splits in the knots.  It will encourage the main split to go through them, rather than wander around the sides.

Oh, and keep rolling it over and checking the opposite side.  It's easy to think the split is running true from on top, but miss the fact that it's twisting within the log and splitting at an angle. 

Del the cat:

--- Quote from: Lucasade on October 24, 2014, 07:25:28 pm ---Given the longbow design was produced to maximise bows per log...

--- End quote ---
That sounds like some bloke sitting in front of a CAD station worked it out >:D.
I expect the longbow design was around long before maximum yield was a consideration.
Del

mullet:
Well, I don't build War Bows and never get a chance to cut Yew unless I sneak into the National Forest in North Florida and cut one of the only trees in Florida, but, if it was me, I'd cut that crappy end off so I could see what is going on. Then I'd beg, borrow, or suck up to someone that had a Bandsaw and cut it in half.

Kinda like trying to split a million dollar diamond after reading how to do it on the Internet with the hammer and screw driver in your garage. ::)

Is this your first bow?

Lucasade:
I've not actually built anything yet but I've got quite a long queue that this is now in. I'm the sort of person who likes to have the whole process mapped out in my head before I start hence why I'm asking lots of questions up front. I spend a lot of time splitting wood so I'm not just aiming in the dark - but decent yew is rather hard to come by when you have to cut it yourself so I want to be confident I'm doing the best thing before I accidentally wreck it. The other problem I have is that the only bandsaw I can think of locally is in a timber yard who will quite possibly either tell me their insurance won't cover it or charge me for the time. The crappy bit is definitely going at some stage!

Del - point taken but the D-section longbow is very efficient in terms of output per log and I'm fairly sure the medieval bowyers didn't have bandsaws! Of course they were getting their yew for free and in large quantities...

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