ERC and MR almost replica Yew bows

[peacefullymadewarbows]

ERC - 105 @ 31" 83" ntn
Yew - 109 @ 31" 72" ntn Both probably settle 2-4 lbs after a couple dozen arrows but that's what the scale said. I'll try to keep the storytelling short as there are already posts about these both. The yew is nearly a Replica of the shortest MR bow found on the ship with two exceptions. It is one inch longer than the original. I did this because I wanted it to make it to y 31" draw. And I didn't reduce the sapwood to 3-5mm thick like the MR bows had. This was because of the pictured second growth boundary. I was fearful this would pop. But it held and left a stunning visual result in the bow. Otherwise, the thickness and width dimensions are exactly to the original bow and the cross-section is a gallion/squashed rectangle. Bit surprised at how elliptical the tiller was from these dimensions. Has almost no hand shock. Probably my new fave to shoot and to look at except maybe the ERC.  ERC was the charm of three tries from the same tree. I arrived at needing a very cirular tiller and plenty of length as expected. The length plus less than 1" string follow lends it for a smooth draw and some zippy arrows. Ok I talked too much. Here's a bunch of pics.

[Del the cat]

Great looking bows... I'm glad you didn't take my advice and split/glue that second growth boundary.
Del
PS. On that last pics, the horn nocks look to be fitted with the curve in an unconventional direction. Any reason?

[mullet]

Very nice bows.

But don't you know that you can't make bows out of ERC?

[1442]

Yeah nice bows
Mullet, Erc works really good for lighter weight bows like uh 105 and short draws like 31" 😳
Just kidding of course
Great work you did on both of those bows but the Erc is extra fascinating to me

[peacefullymadewarbows]

Thanks a lot guys!

Del: Yew are the yew whisperer but I was willing to take a chance. Your advice is always very appreciated. The backwards curve was just something I thought looked kinda cool. Like a subtle twist on the traditional horn nock.

Mullet:  I was starting to think that after the second try went bang haha.

1442: Yeah ERC is in my rotating top favorite bow woods. It's so pretty and has fascinating properties. Depends on the day I will say its my favorite. I will hopefully be able to make more. Next goal is to get one a little reasonably shorter 80-76"ntn that holds up. 

Thanks again everyone.

[DC]

Very nice!

[WillS]

Lovely bows!  The ERC is a smasher.

I'm gonna be really annoying now, but there is something worth bearing in mind when making replicas of the MR bows (it's 90% of what my customers request so I've got a love/hate relationship with them!) which you've brought up, regarding the surprisingly elliptical tiller.

Many of the MR bows are awful - badly made, overly rushed and clearly considered back then as a tool made to satisfy an order list, not long-term personal weapons.  I have no idea if this short one is a good one or a bad one (they're pretty distinguishable in person, I'll do some digging and make sure I locate it next time I'm there for you) but if it's a dodgy one the chances are the tiller wasn't important at all.  I've got my own theories on how they were made, but essentially there's a good chance the original bow was never even on a tiller.  Also, loads of the bows have deep, deliberate heat treating marks in consistent areas of the belly - lots in the handle/fade areas, and also about 8" from the tips.  This to me suggests that they were tempered over charcoal to stiffen up the weak areas that would otherwise result in overly elliptical tillers, if not hinges. 

Unless you've got the bow in front of you, there's no way of knowing whether the one you're copying has these or not.  I'd be willing to bet it does, which would mean the original bow wasn't as elliptical as yours.  The nice thing about being able to study the ones you're copying in person is that you can see those heat marks and copy them, or leave slightly more wood there to give a similar strength to the belly.  I've not got WoW to hand, but is the original a galleon section, or more D shaped?  Thats another deciding factor, as the latter would give more compressive resistance midlimb to tips, and you wouldn't know just by the measurements as you only get width and depth from the book (and they're usually slightly out, too!)

That then begs the question - do you go into bowyer mode, and take what is perhaps an overly-elliptical tiller and tweak it slightly to bring it round more (especially on such a short bow) or do you stick with an "exact" replica regardless your instincts as a bowyer, possibly to the detriment of the bow's longevity? 

[ohma2]

Two beautifull bows  and finish .

[DC]

Great post Will. I've worked with a lot of great craftsmen in my life and also quite a few that couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time. There's no reason to believe that things were any different a thousand years ago.

[Hawkdancer]

The operative term is"almost replicas"!  Very nice bows - out of my draw range, though !  I think we can function quite well making a sort of bow to specs that meet our individual needs and retain enough of the original design to consider it a replica.  Very good observations and information from all replies!  None of my work will make it to museum/replica grade, they'll be "sort of", or "almost replicas", but I hope, shooters!
Hawkdancer

[peacefullymadewarbows]

DC: Thank you very much!

WillS: Thank you! Never annoying haha. I love this kind of discussion. I am simply limited by my inability to handle the original bows. I'd love to of course. So I just tried to sum up the common characteristics of the bows found on the ship. That is of course difficult since they varied widely in shape and construction, which is saying something since they were just one piece of wood!  All of your points are exactly what I am missing. It's interesting and kind of dampening to the spirit of the "Great Warbow" that they probably were just very quickly carved pieces that were braced once and sent out the door but depending on the mastery and passion of the bowyer this probably was the case for a good deal of them. While it's not exact replicating I'd bet ya a Great British Pound that a bow almost exactly like the one I made did exist at some point during the supremacy of the warbow. So, it is speculative but testing with this bow would be more than not valuable at all. I'd love to get access to a field to shoot some distance with it. This will be the best I can do. I may always be the guy in the corner scraping out "Mary Rose Style" warbows haha but in the end it's all in the fun of it for me. But of course I want to make at some point an exact dimensional, cross sectional replica, sap wood thinned replica to add to my rack. But overall most of my bows will probably borrow MR dimensions to start and then I'll tiller them out carefully because like you said I am making a hopefully long term personal bow. Your information is appreciated.

ohma2: Thank you very much. First time using tru oil I had some tiny drips and dribbles on a couple spots of each bow but overall I'm in love with how it lays down and looks in the end.

Hawkdancer: Thank you! I do believe a bow like mine definitely had to exist at some point in the time of the warbow. So it's a replica of some bow out there decayed in the soil haha. But yeah it is mainly a nice personal longbow I will enjoy shooting and that's the heart of all this for me. "Shooters" are what are most important!

[WillS]

Personally, I think what you've made is a really, really nice MR bow.  It's unequivocally an MR bow, because it has retained the MR dimensions, taken from an actual MR bow at the end of the process. 

I'll do my best to locate the original, and record as much as I can regarding the stave itself and any heat treating marks or reflex etc, which should give you a better idea of what the original tiller may have looked like.

Slightly off topic now, but as for sitting in the corner scraping out MR bows, that's me all over as well.  Of course you do get a few people looking down at you saying that making bows exactly to dimensions is a lesser skill, because you're not "making" a bow, but hey.  The danger of forums, FB etc is that often people think you post everything you make, when in reality it's just the stuff you think will be interesting that gets shared.  It gives a twisted impression of what you do - for instance, that heavy honeysuckle bow you made a while ago was absolutely superb and nobody's seen it yet!  I tend to only post actual MR copies or weird experiments, because I don't think people really care that much about seeing another yew bow that looks the same as all the others!

[Mikkolaht]

ERC warbow is so beautiful, love the colours man!
ERC is ''pretty soft wood?'' so I guess with careful tillering you can make a great shooting and over 100+lb  bow like this!
As a beginner I can only dream of making bows like this...

Have a nice day man!

[peacefullymadewarbows]

WillS: Thank you very much! And no worries if you can't. I imagine planning a trek to the MR museum and getting the backstage access to be quite the process. This is true Will. We all probably have five times the projects in process per number we post. I know I sure do. I bet a tour of everybody's workspaces from PA would be quite interesting. Thank you for the kind words on that honeysuckle. If I hadn't shipped the thing out the day after I posted in it on instagram I would definitely post it here  . I get your point but I'll have you know I never get tired of looking at yew bows haha . Thanks again.

Mikkolaht: Thank you! Yes. Two thinigs when making an ERC self bow especially if you are going for a specific draw weight. The tiller needs to be as close to perfect as you can manage so never pull even a half inch past seeing any tiny hinge or stiff in the bend. BUT on the flip side - because it is so soft you need to be careful when working down stiff spots. You only need a cabinet scraper. And even then I've gone a few scrapes too far and a stiff became a hinge. It is soft enough that a cabinet scraper can remove quite a bit of wood per stroke. I am not far from a beginner. I still consider myself very very novice level. And by your show of skill on the boo backed ash you can be making these in no time at all. Thanks again and good day to you!

[backtowood B2W]

Nice bows! The ERC is a looking great
A warbow is definitely on my list too