Author Topic: 'Twister' Yew primitive  (Read 12937 times)

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Offline Del the cat

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'Twister' Yew primitive
« on: September 30, 2011, 03:42:52 pm »
I've just finished this. I was getting a bit jaded with heat treating and straightening everything, so this is just a lump of Yew, plain and simple, no messing with heat.
It has a huge twist so took some carefull tillering, it's 45# at 28", I've taken it back to 29". 64" ntn  169fps was the best figure, which is pretty good for a 40# with no reflex.




OK, I did stick some Waterbuffalo horn on the ends  ;D

Del
« Last Edit: February 11, 2013, 04:49:58 am by Del the cat »
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Offline Del the cat

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2011, 03:47:12 pm »
Oh yeah, I decrowned it.

And it shoots pretty well :), This pic is somehow distorted as it's taken at a downward angle, makes the top limb look much looooonger than the lower one.

Del
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Offline nathan elliot

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2011, 04:51:09 pm »
Very nice bow. I love that you left it as is, Yew just wants to be a bow; especialy in your hands  :) :)

Offline Keenan

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2011, 05:58:12 pm »
That is a sweet bow. I like the natural approach, Very well done

Offline JW_Halverson

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2011, 06:27:21 pm »
Great googely-woogely!  Del, that is the exact bow I am looking for!  Drawing just 40 lbs and sending arrows at 169 fps?!?!  That speaks volumes about your tillering expertise.  Chronies are chronicly honest flaw detectors and it wouldn't give up speeds like this if the mass were off in the slightest!  I have short osage flatbows with stiff handles, recurved tips, and sinew backings that don't touch those kinds of speed!

Those black buff tips set off the lovely creaminess of the sapwood and richness of the heartwood.  Oh how I would love to take that bow out on the wide open prairies here and hunt pronghorn antelope.  Or a springbok in Africa.   Or even bunnies in the Aussie Outback! 

Sadly, it would not last with our extremely dry summers and bitterly cold winters.  I couldn't even accept it as a gift. 
Guns have triggers. Bicycles have wheels. Trees and bows have wooden limbs.

Offline medicinewheel

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2011, 07:19:10 pm »
Nice bow Del! Yew is such a nice looking wood.
Frank from Germany...

Offline toomanyknots

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2011, 07:26:50 pm »
#$%@ Dell, thats a gorgeous bow! Gorgeous tiller. Gorgeous overlay. You can see the twist your talking about in the right limb on the tiller tree pic. I know that feeling just going with it, only thing I ever do anymore is steam in recurves. A little limb twist has never hurt in my opinion, but takes a good eye to tiller. (For me anyway it can be a little harder to tiller a twisty limb, as I can never decide if it looks good of bad from either side most of the time, sometimes I have one side looking good, but if I flip the bow around it will look hinged?   :-[,...   ::)). Those horn overlays are lookin niceee...
"The way of heaven is like the bending of a bow-
 the upper part is pressed down,
 the lower part is raised up,
 the part that has too much is reduced,
 the part that has too little is increased."

- Tao Te Ching, 77, A new translation by Victor H. Mair

Offline Arrowind

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2011, 07:29:26 pm »
Awesome!  Very nice bow.  I like the pure look of the wood, the natural twist and the little pin knots.  The knocks are sweet too.  Well done!
Talking trees. What do trees have to talk about, hmm... except the consistency of squirrel droppings?

Offline Del the cat

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #8 on: September 30, 2011, 07:41:02 pm »
Thanks guys.
It was 45# when I tested it on the chrony, but after that I shaped the grip a bit, did a fair bit of sanding and shot about 50 arrows so it's settled down a tad.
If I discard my highest and lowest chrono readings I get 166.65 average, which is fine (I couldn't resist putting in the max figure).
That speed is with a light field point (70grain) seein' as how we can't hunt in the UK, I expect it would slow down a fair bit with a hunting arrow.
I kept the tips nice and slim with an almost triangular cross section.
The whole build is blogged on my bowyers diary with more pics for anyone who wants to see. http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/2011/09/yew-primitive-stave.html
Del
« Last Edit: September 30, 2011, 08:22:54 pm by Del the cat »
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Offline hammertime

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #9 on: September 30, 2011, 08:27:07 pm »
Great work sir,great tillering eye,beautiful piece of wood ,just love the look of yew-Hammertime

Offline Stiks-N-Strings

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #10 on: September 30, 2011, 10:49:51 pm »
Del you can send that sweet little twisted up stick to me and I'll get her blooded for you, LOL

 Nice bow, I too love the natural approach.
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Offline WolfPupTee

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #11 on: September 30, 2011, 10:53:47 pm »
Wow I could never make that work. I can't even make my simple "twister" work.
Plays With Bow and Arrow

Offline ErictheViking

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #12 on: September 30, 2011, 11:18:35 pm »
Absolutely gorgeous Del, can't help but get excited when I see that sapwood/heartwood of yew. Just an awesome job on the tiller with that twist. love the tips as well.
"He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart"  C.S. Lewis

Offline ken75

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #13 on: September 30, 2011, 11:24:17 pm »
nice bow del ! i like the unchanged staves

blackhawk

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Re: 'Twister' Yew primitive
« Reply #14 on: September 30, 2011, 11:25:33 pm »
Not too many other woods out there as pretty as you...I mean yew...lol :laugh: nice bend to her.

How many grains did your arrow weigh that you shot through the chronograph? For all we know it could've been a 200 grain arrow,which wood mean its slower than an ole dog,or it could've been a 1000 grain arrow which wood mean its faster than a cat ;)