Author Topic: Harry Drake record yew bow  (Read 34826 times)

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Offline PatM

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #15 on: December 06, 2015, 07:53:55 am »
If I'm not mistaken I think that bow actually cracked in the fade where the overdraw is notched in.

Offline redhawk55

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #16 on: December 06, 2015, 08:01:37 am »
Not sure about a cracking.
I think he has tried different ways of arrow- rests, glued them and removed them.
Anybody has made a yew- bow without sapwood?
Michael
..........the way of underdoing.............

Offline PatM

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #17 on: December 06, 2015, 08:33:27 am »
The pictures from the listing showed a few more angles and the crack starting at the upper part of the notch was quite apparent.

Offline Badger

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #18 on: December 06, 2015, 02:56:10 pm »
  I have built some yew bows without sapwood, never with the big hooks. Nex time I may try that. Nearly all of my yew bows have come out to be nice bows but I have never gotten anything I would call exceptional from one. I usually end up going with something osage.

Offline avcase

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #19 on: December 09, 2015, 01:41:04 pm »
I'm still looking through old documents. There is one bow that Harry Drake described numerous times in his letters that unofficially cast an arrow 504 yards in 1950. The bow is described as being made from some excellent yew provided by Earl Ulrich, with ears and handle splices similar to Turkish flight bows. It was backed with cattle back strap sinew and used straight hide glue. The bow was faced with "Miller's Toxhorn", which was some kind of plastic material substituted for horn. The bow was 40" long nock-to-nock and had a draw weight of 50-lb with a 23" long flight arrow. Arrow weight was "around 138 grains". The bow had no overdraw, but a feather rest was used, "set sidewise into the handle". The release was a 4-finger plastic block.

Quote from Harry Drake: "I made 6 shots with the bow. With all that creaking and popping going on, no more that 6 arrows were gingerly cast. I wonder what I would have got with that bow if I had ignored the noise and continued shooting the bow?  Generally, you don't get your best distance in the first 6 arrows with a new bow."

Alan

Offline PatM

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #20 on: December 09, 2015, 02:04:28 pm »
« Last Edit: December 09, 2015, 02:07:55 pm by PatM »

Offline JoJoDapyro

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #21 on: December 09, 2015, 02:06:20 pm »
So Sinew backed wood, and "Horn" backed sinew?
If you always do what you always did you'll always get what you always got.
27 inch draw, right handed. Bow building and Knapping.

Offline PatM

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #22 on: December 09, 2015, 02:08:36 pm »
So Sinew backed wood, and "Horn" backed sinew?
?

Offline JoJoDapyro

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #23 on: December 09, 2015, 02:11:57 pm »
The bow is described as being made from some excellent yew provided by Earl Ulrich, with ears and handle splices similar to Turkish flight bows. It was backed with cattle back strap sinew and used straight hide glue. The bow was faced with "Miller's Toxhorn", which was some kind of plastic material substituted for horn. T

So Sinew backed wood, and "Horn" backed sinew?
?

Sinew backed Yew, backed with plastic horn?
If you always do what you always did you'll always get what you always got.
27 inch draw, right handed. Bow building and Knapping.

Offline avcase

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #24 on: December 09, 2015, 02:39:01 pm »
The plastic horn is a "facing" or belly side laminate.

Offline JoJoDapyro

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #25 on: December 09, 2015, 02:49:49 pm »
Good to know.
If you always do what you always did you'll always get what you always got.
27 inch draw, right handed. Bow building and Knapping.

Offline PatM

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #26 on: December 09, 2015, 03:58:01 pm »
The  first thread I posted shows the way the bow was made.

Offline avcase

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #27 on: December 10, 2015, 11:44:47 pm »
I finally found a reference in Drake's letters to the yew bow that is the subject of this post. It came up when Jim Hamm was working on the Bowyer's Bible series and asked Harry Drake about the longest shot made using an all-wood bow.

Harry wrote "I told him I thought I held this record with a bow made of Ulrich yew pulling 69 lb at 23" (length of arrows used, no overdraw) at NAA Nationwide Mail Shoot....1945.  One of the witnesses was Frank Eicholtz. So far as I know this is the best distance ever obtained with an all-wood bow....541 yds."

No other specifics are given.  I don't know if it was a self bow or laminated wood bow.  I'll keep looking to see if something else pops up. 

Back in that time, they used to do these mail-in flight shoots for fun.  It would be held over a fixed period of time, and the results would be mailed into the National Archery Association main office, tallied, and published.  Records were kept for mail in shoots for awhile, but later dropped due to heated arguments over the quality control of these shoots.  I feel 541 yards is possible from a 69 lb all-wood bow, using all natural materials for the arrows and strings. Harry probably used a linen string. The arrows may have had plastic vanes, but probably not much different than we use in our current primitive divisions otherwise.

Alan


Offline PatM

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #28 on: December 11, 2015, 12:18:33 am »
Be nice if Dan dropped by and confirmed his quote on this bow.

Offline redhawk55

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Re: Harry Drake record yew bow
« Reply #29 on: December 11, 2015, 04:41:54 am »
Thanx Alan, that's challenging news!
Maybe you could get some more info and a pic?
Michael
..........the way of underdoing.............