American Yew 130lb at 32"

[adb]

Nice job, Ian. It takes skill to tiller out a character yew stave to those end results. Well done. How long did it take you to tiller?

[Ian.]

Thanks everyone,

From having a rough braced stave to where you see it now I managed it in a little over an hour. The bow its self hasn't taken any set but he stave had some de-flex to being with. The goal for this one is distance hence the faster tillering.

[nidrinr]

Too long since I've made a yew bow now.. Got to start one soon now after seeing yours

-Really nice bow you made here!

[CraigMBeckett]

Thanks for the info. Awesome bow. I hope mine turns out half as good.

Hi Ian,

Great looking bow, any chance of more detailed info on the dimensions etc same as given by MR trust for their bows? Did you model it on one of the MR bows or try for the best you could get from the stave?

Craig.

[Ian.]

Thanks Craig

This bow was a punt really. Its not modelled on any MR bow I know of, the stave was very uneven so trying to follow any given set of dimensions would have been futile. The section is close to a typical MR bow. I do want to make another Yew bow but a clean on this time. When I start that one I will keep a step by step of it and I will follow as close as I can an MR bow.

Ian

[druid]

Great bow Ian. For my taste it works in the middle litltle bit more than I like. It is lovely yew...

[Ian.]

You and me both, but knots and the natural shape of the stave meant that I needed to tiller it that way.

[PAHunter]

"Cry havoc! and let slip the dogs of war!"     Very cool looking bow and tiller looks great!! 

[Ian.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzQBogfSeSg

Here it is at an EWBS event in Derbyshire. I shot 230yds with a Standard arrow, which is pretty disappointing but the stave really wasn't suitable for a heavy bow, so I did what I could.

[adb]

230 yards with a standard arrow is not bad, but I do agree... at 130#, it should do better. I regularily get 200+ yards with a livery weight arrow from my 100# tri-lam.

[Ian.]

My other bow that is also 130lb shot 268yds with a standard on the same day, so its not the weather or me. Glennan who is 6'3" drew the bow to 33" and really gave it all he could and only managed 214 with a Livery. I don't know what is wrong with the bow, whether its still too moist or maybe the deflex robbed it of distance I just don't know.

[adb]

How much set did it take, and what is the initial draw weight like?

[}|{opukc]

Solid limbs makes it a little slower maybe.

[Ian.]

When I bought the stave it had almost 2" of natural deflex, which didn't increase with tillering. The draw weight is very smooth, no early draw weight but it doesn't stack either. The piece of wood is very heavy in the hand, far heavier than other bows of the same wood, If there hadn't been the amount of knots I would have liked to get the tips bending more.

[Del the cat]

Yeah, not every bow can be your fastest.
Knots add character, but they will always take a bit away from the performance.
It's always a teaser with knots trying to take off as much wood as you dare, a trade off between safety and performance.
I think its a damn fine bow from a marginal stave at that weight so don't beat yourself up over a few yards...
Those French knights will soon get close enough
Del