Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: BowSlayer on June 25, 2013, 11:58:47 am
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hey everyone im pretty sure what i have is Yew but i could be wrong, not forgeting that last time i thought cherry was yew. but i done alot of reasearch and here it is. i went to a VERY old church yard and asked the warden if i could have some and she said i could help myself. i decided not to run before i could walk so i only cut 2 branches to start with. the warden then said "but be carfull, that stuff is haunted" :-\ anyhow i went ahead and cut one clean stave with some even relex (stave on the right) and another one with some carachter (one on the left) again i may be wrong. thanks for looking.
(http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o799/Jez_Walsh/20130625_134638_zps89568fec.jpg~original) (http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/Jez_Walsh/media/20130625_134638_zps89568fec.jpg.html)
(http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o799/Jez_Walsh/20130625_134650_zps538501ba.jpg~original) (http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/Jez_Walsh/media/20130625_134650_zps538501ba.jpg.html)
close up of the bark
(http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o799/Jez_Walsh/20130625_134703_zpsab4ed1ec.jpg~original) (http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/Jez_Walsh/media/20130625_134703_zpsab4ed1ec.jpg.html)
close up of the leaves
(http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o799/Jez_Walsh/20130625_134719_zps4277565f.jpg~original) (http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/Jez_Walsh/media/20130625_134719_zps4277565f.jpg.html)
the character stave, this also has some nice reflex.
ok, it's not letting me upload the rest of my photo's, ill try again later. please correct me if ive been stupid again and not identified the wood correctly. thanks
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I do believe it is...what did you cover the ends with? White paint?
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im panicing! i need to find some of my PVA wood glue :-\ i might need to use paint if it comes to it.
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Then why are the ends white? Yew should have a creamy white sapwood and orangish to pinkish creamsicle colored heartwood
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You were told you could help yourself, and you took THOSE TWO?! Crazy.
Looks like yew. There aren't many other trees here in the UK that have needles like that. Don't panic about sealing the ends. I always forget to seal the ends of my staves and I've not had any splitting or checking yet. I've got some yew billets sat upstairs that have been seasoning for about 7 months now without sealed ends. They're not showing any signs of splitting.
Not that it's a good idea to skip it. I actually bought some PVA glue specifically for the job but keep forgetting. Maybe I'm just lucky. You can use anything - candle wax, beeswax, paint, glue, varnish, sealant whatever you have lying around.
G'luck.
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You were told you could help yourself, and you took THOSE TWO?! Crazy.
Looks like yew. There aren't many other trees here in the UK that have needles like that. Don't panic about sealing the ends. I always forget to seal the ends of my staves and I've not had any splitting or checking yet. I've got some yew billets sat upstairs that have been seasoning for about 7 months now without sealed ends. They're not showing any signs of splitting.
Not that it's a good idea to skip it. I actually bought some PVA glue specifically for the job but keep forgetting. Maybe I'm just lucky. You can use anything - candle wax, beeswax, paint, glue, varnish, sealant whatever you have lying around.
G'luck.
cheers will. i didn't wan't to bite of more than i can chew (which i did) i am heading back there tommorow to possibly get 4 more stave that are longer and more straight, maybe some little reflex.
Then why are the ends white? Yew should have a creamy white sapwood and orangish to pinkish creamsicle colored heartwood
there is heartwood im trying to get pics up now.
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here it is, ive heard of RPI used before but not to sure what that is or how to measure it?
(http://i1343.photobucket.com/albums/o799/Jez_Walsh/20130625_134744_zps6a53e101.jpg~original) (http://s1343.photobucket.com/user/Jez_Walsh/media/20130625_134744_zps6a53e101.jpg.html)
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Yes that is yew. Seal it and hide it from yourself so you don't dig into it too early and ruin it. Put it in the attic, and forget about if. That's what I have to do.
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Winner winner chicken dinner....RPI stands for rings per inch and its counting how many growth rings per inch...looks like about 15 RPI...in general the more rings per inch the denser the wood is....you have a lower density piece there,but that stuff still will make a fine bow if you accommodate to it by proper design...BUT lock that stuff up and forget about it for right now...if your attic gets to hot then don't put it up there..maybe a sellar,or in one of the lost dungeons in your mind...lol :laugh:...a cool damp place for the first six months at least is the best option imho
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Horray! finnaly a decent bow wood! ;D ;D ;D ;D and the best bit is i have an unlimited supply! tommorow im getting up at 6:00 to cut me some YEW! (ok someone slap me before i get carried away) don't worry Bryce i won't touch this stuff until it's seasoned. however i am way to inexperienced to work that charachter stave, anyone recomend any Yew buildalongs for beginers? thanks EVERYONE!
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Sweet stuff, and looks like you have managed to keep people from jumping down your throat, good job and like they said, keep it out of sight and out of mind until you and the yew have seasoned up!
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Winner winner chicken dinner....RPI stands for rings per inch and its counting how many growth rings per inch...looks like about 15 RPI...in general the more rings per inch the denser the wood is....you have a lower density piece there,but that stuff still will make a fine bow if you accommodate to it by proper design...BUT lock that stuff up and forget about it for right now...if your attic gets to hot then don't put it up there..maybe a sellar,or in one of the lost dungeons in your mind...lol :laugh:...a cool damp place for the first six months at least is the best option imho
thanks BH i thought it was something like that. it is acctualy quite heavy. for what it is. right now there sitting in my shed with some wood varnish to seal the ends. im going to have that thing full by the end of summer!
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Anyone got a bucket of ice cold water i can stick my head in? im buzzing
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Yea, got one with a hatchet head cooling in it over here.
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Wait a minute there youngling...what if we are all wrong?.. ::)...what if we all conspired to tell ya a big lie? ::)...how wood that make ya feel? ???
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One thing that might be worth mentioning - the sapwood in the picture is really thick, so will definitely have to be reduced. May be worth finding whatever you can to practice on before you do it on the actual stave. It's not great quality yew, very coarse as BH mentioned so when chasing rings you will ideally want to follow one ring to avoid seeing the contrasting rings.
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Edit - the reason I say it's best to follow one ring in this case is also down to tensile strength. On most yew of higher density it's not too much of an issue as the rings are so close together that there's no problem. But with yew this coarse any drastic violations might be a reason for failure so practice as much as you can on other woods (or find a way of chopping off bits you won't need and practicing on them)
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Wait a minute there youngling...what if we are all wrong?.. ::)...what if we all conspired to tell ya a big lie? ::)...how wood that make ya feel? ???
yeah right. ::)
Edit - the reason I say it's best to follow one ring in this case is also down to tensile strength. On most yew of higher density it's not too much of an issue as the rings are so close together that there's no problem. But with yew this coarse any drastic violations might be a reason for failure so practice as much as you can on other woods (or find a way of chopping off bits you won't need and practicing on them)
yeah i also plan on cuting some scraps of yew with similar RPI to practice following rings. thanks fo the great advice.
EDIT: when i go to cut some more i plan on taking a bandana to stop me inhaling the dust as i now have the sniffles :-[ im also taking refreshments as it is really warm here.
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Lucky yew !
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Wait a minute there youngling...what if we are all wrong?.. ::)...what if we all conspired to tell ya a big lie? ::)...how wood that make ya feel? ???
yeah right. ::)
:) :-X
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Lucky yew !
Loving the Pun! ;D
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Yes, indeedie... that's yew, but you have your work cut out for you getting a bow outta either one of those staves. Given your current skill level, you might wanna look for something bigger.
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Yes, indeedie... that's yew, but you have your work cut out for you getting a bow outta either one of those staves. Given your current skill level, you might wanna look for something bigger.
Well the staves still need time to season and del has offered to give me a stave and teach me how to rough out and splice billits. and I also plan to get some better wood tomorrow. If I get a decent piece I might experiment and rough one out to near bow dimensions so that it can dry quicker. Now before everyone jumps on me for that there is so much yew it is just an experiment, and if I do get a bow out of it then great.
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How bout you send a piece over here and we learn together how to make a yew bow, slayer ;)
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Yeah I am sending you a piece in our trade
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With a piece like that, you can just chop away the excess from what is going to be the back, that will help it season. Also it will provide a weak point for any drying cracks to run out to. E.G the cracks radiate out from the centre on the easiest path, so if you have chopped away most of one half the cracks will go that way, leaving the other side good.
That may not make a longbow, but it woll make a nice primitive with the belly looking like a sandwich of sapwood with a filling of heart wood.
E.G. Basically half a log with the back left untouched or with rewduced sapwood. Nice and wide across a flat belly which has sapwood edges and a heart wood centre.
Sort of thing you can rough out with an axe or bandsaw quite quickly. It's the reducing the back in a sensitive manner that takes the time.
A Yew bow of that shape will be quick ;D
Del