Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Don Case on February 05, 2014, 02:34:49 pm
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I found a patch of yew with about 50-60 trees. Half are dead and 90% are obviously twisted dramatically. I found one small(3") that was dead straight and looked like it wasn't twisted. I ran my pocket knife down the bark and it seemed to go in a straight line. So I cut it and took it home. When split it had about a 45 degree twist in 7', usable but not great. I'm looking for a way to tell if it's twisted before I cut it. I examined the bark carefully but it was just roundish patches that didn't give much of a clue. It occurred to me that if I cut out a square of bark and looked at the inside that might give me a clue. Does the inner bark accurately follow the grain? I should have looked when I peeled this stave but the idea hadn't come to me yet.
Thanks
Don
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I don't know much about yew, but I use chokecherry and serviceberry that are nearly universally twisted way worse than 45 degrees.
I ignore the twist, saw it right down the middle and clamp it so it doesn't warp while its drying.
You might be able to do the same with yew.
Patrick
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LoL. the luck I've had with raw products goes beyond the scope of this thread. At any rate I have given up on that for a while, I concentrate on lumber yard wood that has been dried, planed and dressed.
Although I have to pay for it, which I would rather not but convenience and structure takes precedence over raw stuff from the bush at this point in time.
Having said that I admire so many hundreds of bows I have seen on this site and others made from Osage. It makes me wonder is there any bow wood thats better....... ;)
What I'm trying to say Don is, tackle some maple board material from Windsor, you will be surprised..!
It's extremely forgiving.
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I would just cut it down the center like stated. I actually have some yew I cut seasoning ATM. All about 2-3" In diameter. That was my plan. It's gonna be basically half a stick so I don't see how the twist will matter. Specially yew. U don't even need a solid ring for a back
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Saw the sucker in half dry let em dry and start building bows!
Dale
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Saw the sucker in half dry let em dry and start building bows!
Dale
Yew is for cheaters and people that like staight lines! >:D
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It's very difficult, if not impossible, to read the grain for any twist in yew bark. The bark is so flakey, with no real vertical lines as you find with hickory, ash or oak. It's therefore nearly impossible to see if it twists. Sometimes I can see a local twist near a grain abnormality, but this is only seen in the lighter colored underlying bark, and not in the flakes that lay on top of this. I nowadays rely on instinct to make out if a yew trunk will be twisted. Was the tree growing at an angle? Was it exposed to a lot of wind? If the answer to either of these two questions is 'yes', then I assume the wood will be twisted, even if the bark appears straight.
I've used small diameter trees of about 2" diameter and just chopped away with an axe to get only one bow from it. With such a small diameter, you won't be able to get more than one bow from it anyway, so I just don't split it at all. I recently acquired a small trunk that was 2" at the top and 3" at the bottom. It was just thick enough to get two bows from, but then I wouldn't have to rely on splitting. So I used a jigsaw to saw it in half and just ignored any possible twist that would have been present. Although this wood is still drying, I know from past experience that it is perfectly safe to just ignore a bit of twist in yew and saw a log into staves as opposed to splitting.
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I went out again yesterday to a different spot. I used $30 in gas, hiked a mile in, gained 1000' in altitude in that mile, cut a 2" and a 4" staves and then carried them out. Definitely not cheaper than Windsor Plywood. But these ones are straight!!! I took your advise and just ran the 2" one through the bandsaw and then split the offcut just to see. It split nice and straight. I don't think I'll go back there, that climb just about did me in.
I really wonder about the wind causing twist thing. The place I first mentioned, with all the twisted ones was in deep timber. Some of the yews are a foot or better in dia. That means they've been there for better than 500 years doesn't it? I don't think they've ever felt a breeze. I think it's genetic. In one spot most of the trees are twisted and in another they're mostly straight. Anyway I've got my yew staves. So now I have about 10 Ocean Spray, a couple of Pacific crab, Dogwood, Serviceberry, Doug Maple and Ninebark. I have some OS that is just about dry. I can start making bows in a month or so. Hate waiting.
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Run it through the bandsaw. Yew is tolerant of grain runoff.
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I went out again yesterday to a different spot. I used $30 in gas, hiked a mile in, gained 1000' in altitude in that mile, cut a 2" and a 4" staves and then carried them out. Definitely not cheaper than Windsor Plywood. But these ones are straight!!! I took your advise and just ran the 2" one through the bandsaw and then split the offcut just to see. It split nice and straight. I don't think I'll go back there, that climb just about did me in.
I really wonder about the wind causing twist thing. The place I first mentioned, with all the twisted ones was in deep timber. Some of the yews are a foot or better in dia. That means they've been there for better than 500 years doesn't it? I don't think they've ever felt a breeze. I think it's genetic. In one spot most of the trees are twisted and in another they're mostly straight. Anyway I've got my yew staves. So now I have about 10 Ocean Spray, a couple of Pacific crab, Dogwood, Serviceberry, Doug Maple and Ninebark. I have some OS that is just about dry. I can start making bows in a month or so. Hate waiting.
Good for you, sounds like you have enough material to keep you going for a while. When the wheather changes I have to go out and get some D-Maple and more Ocean spray. Flu permitting....... >:(
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Watch those saplings they're prone to twist and warp on yah. I would clamp them to a 2" reflex form.
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Thanks, done. Clamped to a 2x8
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Thanks, done. Clamped to a 2x8
Atta boy, Don. Show that wood who is boss! Now be sure to post picture as you go. Most of us (like me) can't read, ya know!
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It's gotta dry til at least next fall doesn't it? This cold snap we're in should help, the RH in the house is 10%. The stave is in the shop though, it's nowhere near as dry out there cause it's so flippin cold!
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I have some I'm waiting for. One had a deer rub on it. So I dunno if it was dying or what. It feels a lot lighter. I'm waiting for the summer to check them out though.