is hybrid japanese / American YEW WOOD good for bows ??

[rockrush69]

Harvesting YEW for bow wood!!!: http://youtu.be/Cg846FNlqNc

Yesterday i cut a bow stave from a niebors hybrid YEW TREE here in wisconsin . She said it was 45 years ago when her husband planted it and it is a hybrid yew tree jap/american yew ... i have worked with a few yew staves in the past and am working on 2 pacific yew bows right now (one being the otzi the iceman rendition ) and this wood looks just like the pacific yew i buy.  Anyways i video taped it and threw it on yewtube lol the begining of the video is me working on a pacific yew stave (im making a flatbow from that one .) But then i show in depth a good look at the hybrid stave harvested yesterday. Has anyone ever made a bow from a hybrid yew tree Or Japanese yew wood?

[rockrush69]

if anyone has ever use Japanese yew tree to make a bow please tell me all about it how it worked out and if you have pictures please post them here thank you

[rockrush69]

Anyone ??

[KellyG]

Well rockrush looks like you get to be the first so a build along might be in order.

[JoJoDapyro]

I don't know about hybrid between the two, but the bushes are Japanese Yew.

[rockrush69]

There were bushes around the house ... and then on the corner it was a tree which had been cut off at about fifteen ft. And had a few six inch round trunks sticking up ... she said she wasent sure but she knows it was different than the shubs it was a tree when planted . It looms just like yew the leaves the bark and the wood inside.  She said it was a hybrid yew ... there are a few like this in my neigborhood .... maybe its english yew . I red that people in the north plant the english yew as an ornimental...

[Blaflair2]

I have a bow of it roughed out. It's gotta warm up. I gotta do a little straightening. One tip is a little off

[Del the cat]

Woo, that looks rather handsome, almost got a natural RD thing going on there.
Del

[Blaflair2]

Yeah del, it's got a cool natural profile. I'm gonna try and reflex the tips a bit more after I get it lines up. The handle will almost be a pistol grip sorta cuz of the profile. Hopefully it works out

[joachimM]

My 2 €ct
I doubt many people are capable of distinguishing among the different yew species. In fact, by some, all eight or nine yew species are considered to be a single superspecies.
So whether or not it's a hybrid (how did you identify it as a hybrid?) is likely irrelevant to its properties as bow wood. I guess the quality of the stave in itself matters more than of which particular variety of yew it originated from.

Joachim
 

[Blaflair2]

I think the wood is fine. Yew is yew. Just ain't got the same quality rpi

[Del the cat]

My 2 €ct
I doubt many people are capable of distinguishing among the different yew species. In fact, by some, all eight or nine yew species are considered to be a single superspecies.
So whether or not it's a hybrid (how did you identify it as a hybrid?) is likely irrelevant to its properties as bow wood. I guess the quality of the stave in itself matters more than of which particular variety of yew it originated from.

Joachim

Bravo +1
Del

[rockrush69]

capable of distinguishing among the different yew species. In fact, by some, all eight or nine yew species are considered to be a single superspecies.
So whether or not it's a hybrid (how did you identify it as a hybrid?) is likely irrelevant to its properties as bow wood. I guess the quality of the stave in itself matters more than of which particular variety of yew it originated from.

Joachim

The way i found out its a hybrid is ,, the lady who planted it said when she bought it that was its label jap american yew ... and i read online wikipidia actually tht there are like 55 or 57 species of yew ... some being sub species . And there are hybrids says wiki . So .... also i have heard there is in fact a difference in how the different species performs and grows .

[rockrush69]

Well im stoked because she may remove the whole tree and there are several different trunks much bigger and better left on that tree ... she said i can have it all if she cuts it down . So maybe soon i will have a ton of YEW !!!!! Cause paying hundreds per stave .... well ....SUCKS ! Lol 

[rockrush69]

I must add though , some yew species are tiny shrubs . Like canadian yew . And florida yew is like a ten ft tree which only exists in like one county and is highly illeagle to even look at lol... and its a branch off of mexican yew .... theres actually alot on this subject . But . At least i know others have used this kind of yew for bows and it evidently works just like pacific yew . I honestly think maybe this tree is english yew and the lady has it wrong ... idk though ... its got like 30 rings per inch on one side but the rings get wider on the other side . The center is offset . But luckly im using the side with the tight rings . It has to season for at least a few months yet though. Before i will do anything with it . But it was trimmed and kind of dead standing with a tiny spot of leaves on it by the base ... there are like five more of these trees right around my hood . Maybe on a warm night me and my hand saw might go sneak over to the school down the road that has a few of these ?? Yew trees ... im calling them green bay wisconsin yew trees lol... its freezing winter here and sap must be almost non existent so its a good time to harvest some green bay yew staves .... lol . Please post pics of that yew bow as u work it . Pm me if you remember ... im dying to see and hear all about this one .