Main Discussion Area > Bows
Yew stave drying question
superdav95:
--- Quote from: Aksel on October 01, 2023, 03:41:32 am ---I always do it by weight like you explain, but I live in a humid climate. But I always take the stave down to under 1000 g. first. then can I judge by feel if it is very wet or almost there and it will dry much quicker.
Yew do seem to dry and absorb moisture slower and if ends are sealed, even slower.
Another problem with yew is that it can be too wet and you can tiller it and finish it without it taking much set and you have a sluggish bow.
--- End quote ---
I’ve noticed this as well. Most of the yew I have access to has been down 4-5 years. We have higher relative humidity here. Set is not always the biggest indicator for moisture. I can apply a mild heat temper to a floor tillered bow and get better results in performance but I think too is the importance in high ring count in yew. These high ring count perform the best all things being equal. I personally find these high ring count yew staves make better bows despite moisture being the same. Another thing I’ve noticed is that yew does not like too much heat. Especially dry heat. I find it becomes brittle and can explode. Sure other woods do this as well but I find that yew is more susceptible to getting too brittle. If you use heat to correct twist and add reflex be sure to let it acclimate a few days to settle into atmospheric moisture. Just my observations on yew anyway. It great stuff when you get a good piece.
JW_Halverson:
--- Quote from: superdav95 on October 03, 2023, 09:21:37 am ---
--- Quote from: Aksel on October 01, 2023, 03:41:32 am ---I always do it by weight like you explain, but I live in a humid climate. But I always take the stave down to under 1000 g. first. then can I judge by feel if it is very wet or almost there and it will dry much quicker.
Yew do seem to dry and absorb moisture slower and if ends are sealed, even slower.
Another problem with yew is that it can be too wet and you can tiller it and finish it without it taking much set and you have a sluggish bow.
--- End quote ---
I’ve noticed this as well. Most of the yew I have access to has been down 4-5 years. We have higher relative humidity here. Set is not always the biggest indicator for moisture. I can apply a mild heat temper to a floor tillered bow and get better results in performance but I think too is the importance in high ring count in yew. These high ring count perform the best all things being equal. I personally find these high ring count yew staves make better bows despite moisture being the same. Another thing I’ve noticed is that yew does not like too much heat. Especially dry heat. I find it becomes brittle and can explode. Sure other woods do this as well but I find that yew is more susceptible to getting too brittle. If you use heat to correct twist and add reflex be sure to let it acclimate a few days to settle into atmospheric moisture. Just my observations on yew anyway. It great stuff when you get a good piece.
--- End quote ---
Not so sure this one is going to be a good piece, but at the price it was offered to me that fast became a secondary consideration. There is just enough wood here to make a nice bendy handle affair, perhaps with lightly flipped tips sort of like what Aksel posted recently.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[*] Previous page
Go to full version