I need a little help please...update...better photo qality...:))

[akila]

Hello guys....a friend of mine just gave me a piece of yew....it wass a smaal branch, aboute 3-4" diameter.....and he cut it in half, and sendid to me one half...the stave is 71" long....the yew is not verry dense, but im verry happy becose this is my first yew stave that im working on....im verry excited...and i hope i will not ruin it....so this is why i need your  help a litte....the stave has aboute 2" of deflex.....u will see it in the pictures....and, the sap wood is  1cm. thick (0.39")..i want to ask u, iff its posibile to straighten the stave with heat gun,,,,,and, im a little worried, that if i leave the saap  wood  this thick...and start tiller the bow, i will end up with  moore saap wood  thenn hard wood specialy  to mid limb, and tips area....si i would realy need some help  on this one....i never worked with yew...so, some advice will realy come in handi....thks alot...here is some pictures...

here u can see the total deflex...2" of deflex...

this is the middle area....u can see the sapp wood hard wod ratio....and the little knot in the end of the stave is placed at aboute 4" from the tip...

Here is the stave turn on the other side....from mid limb to the tip....


And here is a picture to the end of the tip...u can see the saap wppd hard wood ratio..the stave right now is  3 cm(1.18") wide and aboute 3,2 cm(1.26") thick at the middle, and 1/2" at the tips

[Keenan]

Akila,  You definitely has some possibility with that stave,  Though I generally like less sapwood and understand your concerns about it being mostly sapwood on the ends. I'm not sure that you have much leeway to thin it.  Yew will heat form very well. Use some lard to help keep it from drying to much while heating. If it is still somewhat green you could probably clamp in a form while it dries.
  Because of how narrow it is you are limited on style and I would say an ELB style is what your going to have.  That is why thinning the sapwood might not be an option.  I'd roll the limbs from about mid limb slightly and a little more towards the tips. Keep in mind that generally 1-2 inch of set is normal so form it past that to settle on what you want.
  Yew will tolerate some ring violation and it's near impossible to even see the rings in yew sapwood. You could thin the sapwood slightly toward the tips but only in a very gradual  degree. Or thin it and back it.

[Del the cat]

The stave isn't the best in the world, but Yew is pretty forgiving.
You are right to try and maintain as much heart wood as possible. Don't worry too much about following a growth ring in the sap wood, or the sap heart boundary twisting to 45degrees here and there. As long as there is some sap wood and some heartwood all along the stave you will probabbly ok.
It's all about the difference between theory and pragmatism...you gotta use what you've got.
Even if it doesn't work out, I'm sure you will learn a lot.
Last Yew bow I made was really twisted at one end, looking from one side it was 50% sap, but from the other side it was 1% sap.
Oh, almost forgot, I wouldn't bother straightening it, that bit of deflex will take some of the strain for you and give you a bit of a safety margin.
You can always play about flipping the tips later if you want....If you must straighten it, I'd go for steam rather than dry heat.
Good luck with it.
Del

[akila]

Thks alot guys....i already straighten the stave.....i have to say that i decided to thinn up a little the saap wood....chasing  ofccourse a ring on the back of the stave ...it wass a pain, i must say......and today i willl start tillering the bow....i hope i can get a bow from this piece of yew.....probably will end up as a verry light bow....but i will be verry happy iff the bow will hold on together...i must say, the back of the bow, is verry crowned in some places.....probably i will have t make the belly round....to compensate the crowned back....i will keep u  guys posted....and iff i finished him, i will post some pictures...thks alot for your help....for straightening, i used heat gun....but i used alot of linsed oil,  trying not to  scorch the wood,

[akila]

Hello again....like i promised,  whenn the bow is ready i will post some pictures...so...the bow is finaly finished, it wass a real challange trying to keep this bow in one piece....the belly of the bow wass full with cracks....and  all the time,,whenn i tried to pull the bow to full draw,  the belly  of the bow starting to lok  like little waves....like it wass going to delaminate.....so...finaly i decided to wrap the bow with hemp in those problematic areas....and thenn, for aspect, i decided to make some little wraps, also with hemp , to give him a moore primitive aspect.....the hemp wass soked in resin.....aniway, the bow is ok now....the cracks looks ok.....and im verry happy, to  be the owner of  a yew long bow....i know it sounds a little exagerate....but for me its like a dream come  true.... i have to say thks again to my friend Ionut, who gave me the stave....thks alot  man.. ....so here is some pictures....



Here u  can see the cracks on the belly....there wass to many  cracks, and to be  onest, without the  hemp wrap, i dont think the bow would have survived...


This is the handle area......the bow has a knot placed at 4"  on the upper arm....and one moore knot right where the arrow will pass...i did not picture  him...



The tip of the bow....the bow have side noks, ...i like those side noks verry much...

Here is the bow  unstrung....remember i told u that the stave had 2" of deflex from the start...i tried to straighten the stave and i managed  to make her look straight, but it seams that she like's it how it  wass before....and the deflex comes back....


Here is the full draw picture....the bow  is  40# @ 28"...the string is a flemish string made from Kevlar...i hope u will like it....thks for all your help...

[Dane]

Akila, a great bow! The wrappings remind me of the Germanic Nydam ship bows made of yew. The tiller looks great.

Dane

[Jesse]

looks great Akila. Great job getting a nice bow out of that cracked stick. Tiller looks real nice to me

[zenmonkeyman]

Impressive save of a cracking stave!

[Pat B]

Very cool bow and the tiller is perfect!!!

[Keenan]

 Congratulations Akila, That came out very well and I'm glad you were able to pull it off. Bow making is always a balancing act of problem solving and I would say that you aced the test. Tiller looks great and the hep wraps just add that much more character. Great job.

[radius]

good job, man...i see why you put the hemp wrapping on, too:  those long belly cracks are scary!   ah, yew...

[Pappy]

Very nice,good looking bow from a very challengeing stave. Tiller looks great.
   Pappy

[George Tsoukalas]

That's just awesome! Love the tiller. Jawge

[Tractor]

Good Gravy,

Man takes a bent broken stick and turns it into a work of art.  I once more stand in awe at the craftsmanship that is exhibited on this site.

Akila, You said that bow was a dream come true.  Well let me tell you that if one measure of a man is how fervently and lovingly he is willing to pursue a dream, you sir are a giant.  Beautiful bow and you should be very pleased.

Mike

[akila]

HI....i wanna thk. u all for all the kind words....but i dont know...it makes me feel a little strange...i dont think at my self being a giant....well...iff u consider that im 6,2 feet tall thenn maybe i am....but seriose.....im just a passionate guy...who realy loves making bow's, and i  realy have a big respect  for wood.....so i think that iff i  cut a tree from the forest, thenn  i should  be verry carrefuul , and i should do all the best i can do,  so that the cutting of a tree not to be in vain....i  realy suffer whenn a bow explode or broke on me....so this is why i always try to do my best ......not all the time things go as i want....but, i try to learn and not to make the same mistake twice....thks again for all your compliments....also critics are verry much apreciated by me...so, iff u ever feel that something could be better on my bow's please tell me....thks alot guys....i did some new pictures with the bow....i wass making some setings to the  photo camera....the pictures looks a little better... ...here they are...








Full draw pictures with my wife...pulling the bow to 27" using all her strength....she also likes shooting with bow's....but she usuly shoot with 30-34lbs.... ....i hope u will enjoy the pictures....those are a liitle better....i have to buy a  better photo camera this days...