do you think this will work

[danny f]

hi all, i cut some yew last week, and this is probably the best stave to come from it , i have roughed it out abit making it to about 40mm wide all the way down i couldnt get it any wider. it is 59inch long, i know it is very bent but i think i could straighten it abit with steam. the main worry is that the sapwood runs down one side abit more than i wanted, but i didnt want to remove any more wood just yet. i will now leave it to fully season before doing anything else with it. what kind of design would be best suited to a stave like this. i was thinking of maybe a D section. but does anyone with more experience have any ideas thanks danny.

[danny f]

[Pat B]

Heck yeah it will work. Looks like a nice stave!    You might want to reduce some of the sapwood so you have heartwood in the belly when done. The rings look a little thick but it should make a nice bow.

[JW_Halverson]

Nope, it's fatally flawed from the start.  Give me your address so I can send you the postage necessary to mail it to me for proper disposal.  Thanks for playing, no parting gifts, have a nice day!

[danny f]

cheers for the quick reply. should i remove some sapwood before allowing it to season fully or should i let it dry out before removing anything else. this is the only thing i have to work with, so its hard to hold back but i dont want to ruin it so i will do which ever is best. do you have any idea which type of bow this will best suited to. thanks..

[JW_Halverson]

Other than the 59" length I didn't see any other dimensions.  What's the thickness/width on each end and the middle? 

I'm imagining a bendy handled close-quarters brush hunter coming outa that stave. 

[coaster500]

I'd love to give that stave a shot...  as Pat says reduce the sap a bit put a bit of stem to it and it should be sweeeeeet!!! Love working yew. It's old man friendly wood

[danny f]

the stave is 40mm wide all the way down, it is about 30mm thick at each end and around 40mm at the handle. 

[Bryce]

Wow what a beauty I would love to have that baby.

[Pat B]

If my conversion table is correct that works out to be 1 5/8" wide and 1 3/16" deep. 
 I'd mark out a 4" handle centered on the stave and give it a straight taper to 1/2" tips(for now). Remove some of the sapwood so it is about 3/8" thick making the back as even as possible, not flat but even. It looks like the 5th ring up from the heartwoodwood in the end shot would be a good starting place. That ring looks pretty even across the stave...at least on this end. Then shape the bow and reduce the belly until you get to floor tiller. DO NOT bend the tips more than about 4" at floor tiller. If the wood is green steam it, one limb at a time and clamp it to a form with even reflex through the entire bow...then set it aside for at least 6 months....but more would be better.
  Because the growth rings is a bit thick for yew I'd let it cure well before stressing it.

  This is a yew bow I made from a stave Don Berg(Old Bow) carried out of a Montana wilderness 8 miles on his mountain bike. The bow is 64"t/t, 1 1/4" at the handle and tapering to 3/8" tips. The sapwood on this bow is about 3/8" thick. She pulls about 47#@26" and is a sweet shooter. She's finished with hand rubber bear fat. This bow does have very thin growth rings.

[danny f]

cheers for the advice, so if i make the handle central and 4" should i taper the bow from  40mm wide to the half inch or should the handle be made narrower too if this makes sence. im gona have to get me some seasoned wood to be going on with,6 months is a long time. but if thats what it needs. dont wana rush it.sorry for using mm and inches i usually use inches for the longer lengths and mm for narrow.

[JW_Halverson]

I have a strong preference for the metric, personally.  I usually have to go back and convert everything before I post in here in order to prevent people thinking I am Canadian.  (Growing up in North Dakota gave me that accent you are hearing)

[Del the cat]

I'd suggest steam it straight and leave it clamped up while it continues to season.
It's not the best bit of Yew I've ever seen but it's a long way from being the worst.
As others have said you will need to reduce the sapwood thinkness so that you still have some heartwood near the tips.
Don't worry that the sap shows thicker one side than the other. My current ELB has sap wood about 3mm thick one side and 6mm the other, where it is over 50% of the thickness.
Del
(Google 'Bowyers Diary' to see what I've been doing, it's been a string of Yew bows for the last 6 months so there may be some good tips there)

[Pat B]

Danny, the above bow is about 1 1/4" at the handle(34 to 35mm  ). I'd leave it the width it is for now and reduce the handle area later on for comfort.