Yew & Dry Climate

[stringstretcher]

Thanks Pearl.  Yeah I think I have seen that. 

[dwardo]

Well you lot have been holding out on me! 
Thats the very stuff indeed, my local gun smith recommended it to me and its great stuff.

Some pictures below and you can actually see the water laden air.









 

[bow101]

The prettiest bow I ever had a hand in working on was my yew.  It exploded a month or so ago.  From what we can gather (Pappy and Will I think looked it over) it was just to dry.  I kept it in the house and took it outside to shoot and KABOOOOOOM.

I'd not put any finish on it yet.  I was waiting on those skins from a friend (hehehehe )  It had most likely just got to dry inside the house is all we can figure, because I put about 200 arrows through it over the past weeks or so with no issues as far as tillering goes. 

I wish I'd handled it differently.  That was a mighty pretty bow.

I have a small chunk of yew, cut some strips about 1/8" thick was going to use them for power lams, After cutting them I tried bending a piece only slightly and same thing it blew up..!!!
Ever since then I have pondered the use of Yew.  But for curiousity sake I would like to build one to see how long it lasts.

[JW_Halverson]

Here we are challenging another "tried and true" RULE in bowmaking.  I remember not so long ago that a thread like this would get personal in a very nasty way in rapid order!  But here we are having a frank discussion without so much as a sarcastic remark. 

Time for that to change!     And just so everyone knows, I'm doing it with a wink and a smile to all you over-bowed Agincourters that have amazed me with your knowlege historical detail....ready?  Here goes!

At least until the Warbows people find this thread!

Now that brought a frightening picture to mind.  The idea of a warbow letting go close to full draw.  Nothing good could come from that, not for the archer or any spectator around them. 

[Carson (CMB)]

Yew lends itself to a number of bow designs.  Its elasticity allows for deep and narrow limb designs that other woods could not come close too.  Maybe this elasticity fluctuates a bit with temperature and humidity.  I would think cold and dry would reduce the elasticity the most.  Is it the deeper limb designs that can't handle the dry and cold?  Have any of the blown-up yew bows been of a flat bow design?

[coaster500]

Yea JW !!!  You go man

Only built a few Yew bows and in weights under 55#s  ...  I live in central California, so far so good. I think our climate here is fairly dry. Maybe not like Vegas or death valley dry but humidity is very low (considered a desert). This tread has me thinking. I've got several Yew staves in different stages. Maybe I'll just back them all for safety and durability. Yew dings up real easy and is really tough to come by...........  sure love working it though........

[Keenan]

 I think you are onto a good line of thought Carson

[Bryce]

My grandfather once told me," if it's cold, rub the limbs of the yew bow with your palms to warm the wood before bracing. And throughout the hunt. Excersize the bow, so it stays awake."

[coaster500]

My grandfather once told me," if it's cold, rub the limbs of the yew bow with your palms to warm the wood before bracing. And throughout the hunt. Excersize the bow, so it stays awake."

I like that

I have a habbit of 1/4, 1/2, 2/3's pulling my bows before I come to full draw for a shooting session and do the same when I hunt but I do it out of self preservation

[dwardo]

Yew lends itself to a number of bow designs.  Its elasticity allows for deep and narrow limb designs that other woods could not come close too.  Maybe this elasticity fluctuates a bit with temperature and humidity.  I would think cold and dry would reduce the elasticity the most.  Is it the deeper limb designs that can't handle the dry and cold?  Have any of the blown-up yew bows been of a flat bow design?

Two deep and no flat at all, touch wood lol.

[juniper junkie]

My grandfather once told me," if it's cold, rub the limbs of the yew bow with your palms to warm the wood before bracing. And throughout the hunt. Excersize the bow, so it stays awake."

sounds like hunting with Keenan, I have to slap him around to keep him awake, or at least to quit looking at trees and look for elk
I got some really nice yew from a guy that had them in his garage for several years, every bow I tried to make blew up. on close inspection I noticed that the wood had a glossy appearence to it and seemed to scrape really easy. I didnt do a moisture test but I am sure it was too dry. Keenan, I do believe your fish tank helps. I have also heard of the warming of the limbs and have done this on my bows. my last yew made it through a long hunting season and shot well over 100 arrows, I took it out a month later and it blew up. go figure

[Bryce]

Yeah I never even knew that my grandfather knew anything about bows till I showed him one of my yew bows. Then it's like he had a Vietnam flashback or something and started spilling knowledge out all over the floor. Sadly I only could soak up so much.

It's okay I take a role of ribbon with me so I can tag staves/trees for later harvest

Maybe I'll bug him later and see what he knows about yew bows and dry/hot.

[JW_Halverson]

Thanks for showing me where to harvest my yew, Pinecone.  Yew sure are a nice feller to go to all that work for me!

[akswift]

Would  the bowyers with exploded bows care to comment if they keep their bows inside a building with central heat/a.c.? A.c. can keeps things drier in the summer, and requires forced air.  Forced air in the winter is the worst. The  archers and designs of the past did not get to enjoy the modern comforts of today.