No offence Dean, but you need to read things slightly more carefully, without always assuming everything's negative.
I asked the question because Mike knows how to work with ash, and I have only just started. I don't like heat treating because I have nowhere safe to do it and I think getting competent at the basics is what I need to be focusing on, rather than complicating matters.
It's got absolutely nothing to do with flexing imaginary muscles, or even being "historically accurate" because (although I'm SURE you already know all of this) bows were heat treated in the medieval period. I mean, even Joe Gibbs has done it. You've seen them.
As for the constant digs to people about walking past yew trees, you seem to have quite beautifully ignored Del's post on the different woods he uses, and you're also assuming for some obscure reason that anybody who has a question about a different type of wood is somehow addicted to yew wood. I'm not sure where you got that idea from but it's wrong. Speaking personally, yew is easy for me to get hold of, so I use it more than other woods. Ash is less easy so I use it less (and as a result, I ask people who actually know what they're doing with it how best to use it). I'd love to expand my knowledge (at least up to the level you're clearly at (although your original post in the other thread about "still trying to get longbows right" makes that both contradictory and slightly amusing...)) by using other woods, but at the moment they're far harder for me to get hold of.
Once I'm as good at making longbows as you are from every wood species available, I'll let you know. Until then, please feel free to post pictures of your superb ash warbows in the 100# + range, that have no set and perform exceptionally well. If you prefer using other woods, post those as well.
