Yew longbow in progress

[Boofus]

I've begun work on this yew stave in the hope of making this an english longbow. I'm concerned with these knots. I was planning on rawhide backing this for safety, but I don't think the rawhide will lay down on the back with these knots. Should I work them down some and apply the rawhide? What do you guys think?

[Pat B]

How long is the stave and where does the knot(s) lay in the stave. This stave might not be your best option for an ELB but if the stave is long enough so you can avoid some of the knots a flat bow might be workable. Build the bow that will suit the stave not use the stave to build the bow you want.

[Boofus]

Pat, in response to your question. The stave is 74" long as of right now. The knots are out toward the tips. The massive one is about 8" away from the tip and the smaller one is about 13" away from the limb tip. I initially, thought the same way, to change the design, but as I paid a good amount for the stave (Yew isn't cheap lol) and that I've dozens of flatbows throughout the years, I figured this IS going to be a ELB darn it all! I could make the bow as is with the knots, just don't know if they can be worked down enough to let a rawhide backing flow over them. I've been toying with the idea of cutting a hole in the rawhide and going around it, haha but then, why back it in the first place right?

[willie]

this IS going to be a ELB darn it all!

what is the widths profile measure and how much weight are  you intending to tiller for? 

is the belly clean under the knots? 
the knob adds nothing but stiffness and is a potential defect for failure. you might consider taking the knots down and reinforcing with flax under the rawhide, as the rawhide its self will not add much strength to a compromised back

[Ruddy Darter]

Not saying this is the best way on that stave, but, for a longbow, what I would do is spend time digging out all the dark soft stuff in the knots with  i.e  a rat tail file/ bradle/ sharpened nail, whatever etc and thoroughly clean out with rolled up sanding cloth to solid clean wood, then stuff down some tissue to get a rough shape of the recesses on the side and belly and shape some yew wood to plug the holes, fix in with generous super glue(low viscosity even better) and fill any gaps with a soak of super glue. For the back I'd clean out the knot as far as it goes and lay in yew sawdust and superglue and build it up to a bit under the rim of the knot. I'd then chase to a single sapwood growth ring, (maybe leaving a cap of a growthring just around the knot) and work down to dimensions as normal but when putting on the belly profile I'd leave it more flat under the knot (although still rounded) and maybe a  couple of mm wider at the knots, proceed to gentle ground tiller, see how it is and proceed... That's just how I would attempt it.
 R.D.

[Boofus]

Willie and Ruddy, I very much appreciate your responses. In answer to Willie here are some more pics with the info you asked. Where would I get Flax from? Hum... Off to google I go lol.

[willie]

that big knot goes all the way thru and there was no additional width allowd when the sides were cut past the knot

what does the bow look like if you just  use the 66 good inches?

[Boofus]

Willie, the rest of the stave looks gorgeous. 66" may just be too short for what I'm trying to force this piece of wood to do.

[willie]

maybe so.  did you mention what draw weight you are going for?

[Boofus]

Willie, I was going to attempt 80+lbs if I could use all 74" I have monkey arms so my draw is 30" at 66" and a 30" draw wouldn't be to safe at high weight. In fact 30" of draw scares me lol.