Sinew Backed Yew Build Along.*finished pg.14*

[Bryce]

Thought I might try a build along.
Been a looooong time since I've done this type of bow so bare with me

Here we go.

Tools: heat gun, coping saw, block sander, 5/8 chisel, nock file or chainsaw file, #49 rasp, micro plane rasp, tape measure, chalk line, cabinet scraper, hatchet, and of course a draw knife.






Materials: Old Yew Stave

This is a piece of yew I got from a guy in Klamath Falls, OR who used to strip the bark for cancer research.
It's about 8 yrs. old badly checked back, as it was left outside in the sun and weather for years. Free yew is Better then no yew the heartwood is most likely still good for bow making



About 40RPI




Got the sinew from J-Dub! And this made me laugh, when I opened it.

THOSE ARE SPRUCE CONES!!! NOT PINE CONES HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!





To be continued...
-Pinecone

[osage outlaw]

This looks interesting.  I'll be watching closely. 

[Carson (CMB)]

I am tuned in.

[Weylin]

You're going to have this done by New Year's Day, right? I want to shoot it.

[portlandfire]

   I'm with Weylin.  I want to shoot it on New Years Day.

Dave H.

[Bryce]

Expected completion mid. February.

[seabass]

i will be watching for it.

[Bryce]

Ok I got her all strapped down let's remove the bad wood.



Unsound yew will have dark rings, either from wind damage or woodpecker wholes that rot on the inside. The rings will separate with little effort.
Took my chisel got into the dark ring and pried the bad layers of wood off.








Now it's time to cut down a little ways past the rotten/checked wood and find a nice ring to follow.





Okay we have a nice ring chased with extra wood around the knots and pins



Now with the rasp, lets clean these knots up. Will try and avoid all these knots in the finished bow.




80G and a sanding block to even out some of the bumps.



And with every newly exposed back its always a good idea to seal it up with a light coat of shellac, to avoid unexpected checking.



-Pinecone

[bow101]

Great build Along Pinecone on a Selfbow. One of the better ones I have seen.

[Zion]

Looking good! Overall thats actually a really nice yew stave. Keep it up, i'l  be watching!!

[seabass]

man you are fast Bryce.way to dig right in.

[Bryce]

Okay I look down the stave and mark the highest parts





And then connects them all following the crest of the crown as best I can.




Then I take a chalk line to see how the string is gonna fall. Next ill mark a good spot for the center of the bow.




Time to measure out the handle. 1" from the center and 3" down from the center give a nice 4" handle area.





Next I mark 2 1/4" up from the edge of the handle.



Next I take a high tech piece of sand paper and mark 3/4" on each side of the center line, then connect them all.






Now I outline the handle which is 1 1/8" wide.

[Bryce]

Okay I took it over to the band saw stayed outside the lines now its time to shape the profile.



Okay now on this bow I will leave it 1 1/2" wide for 6" the taper the rest to 1/2".
Then smooth it all out with soft rasp.






Next I mark a thickness like 3/4" at the fades and lock the fingers and follow the back of the bows natural undulations. Then remove wood with a hatchet and clean it up with a rasp.





Next I make a line 1/4" from the back of the bow and round it from that point up.





Alright I to that on both sides and clean it up with the block sander



And now I have a roughed out bow ready to floor tiller.


But before that let's fill some knots. I'll show the 2 methods I use.



All cleaned out




Some Yew dust and wood glue.




 
Size the knot






Or the super glue method.





And then really push the dust in there.



Then top it off and let it all dry over night.




-Pinecone

[Zion]

Looking good. Sorry if ya ardy said this but what is the length of the blank?

All the yew i got seems to have considerably darker heart-wood. Is the darker stuff denser?

[Bryce]

Stave is 58" long