Hey yew guys!

[jeffp51]

I have this nice straight piece of yew.  There is a 50-50 chance it will become my trade bow for the year.  since it is my first go at yew, I thought I would ask the experts what they would do with it. (Wizardgoat and Del, I am talking to you, but anyone else too, please)  It is 67" long and 2.5-3" wide.  The sapwood is just under 1/2" thick at one end and just over 3/4" thick at the other.  No knots other than a few possible pins.  The only issue with it is the ring count is only  about 15/inch, so it isn't that dense.

I have been going back and forth between trying for an English long bow (except for my lack of horn knocks or the ability to make them) and trying to copy one of Ryan's recurved bendy handled beauties (even though I will fall short there too, I am sure).

How wide should I go with the low ring count?

Bonus points if you are the right age to get the reference in the title.

[osage outlaw]

[wizardgoat]

Jeff, that stave will make an kind of bow you want.  That's some thick sapwood, I'd reduce it to 3/16-1/4" thick. I've made some low RPI yew bows, and I really didn't find anything inferior about the wood.  If you figure out what style you want to go with, draw length and weight I could help ya more

[wizardgoat]

And ya, we loved goonies growing up!

[jeffp51]

Sorry, I am a little older than the goonies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_iGaQglnKg

[Carson (CMB)]

Osage outlaw beat me to it!
Yew and the goonies go together, it is a PNW thang

if this is your first yew, I would suggest going  little more moderate than a deep belly elb or deep belly bendy handle wizgoat recurve special. go for a flip tip american longbow stiff handle bezt of all worlds mild reflex through a pyramid taper CMB special 

Seriously though, when working a new wood, use the KISS method, keep it simple stupid.   

Nice stick, dont worry about thick sapwood, but at the same time dont hesitate to reduce it, so long as you are feathering things out and not hacking it up. not that you would jeff. you make nice bows, and so do yew, and so do you, and so do yew...

Sorry guys, long night after an epic yew haul in the GFNP. Love bows and yew all! good night !!!

[osage outlaw]

Sorry, I am a little older than the goonies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_iGaQglnKg

I'd watch the Goonies 10 times in a row before I watched that show

[jeffp51]

Yeah, me too.  The 70's were not a good time.

[wizardgoat]

Carson, I did some yew cutting this weekend too, didn't think there was any left in Oregon though😉

Also, I've heat treated low RPI yew with good result.
Carson is right though, keep it full length, 1 1/2- 1 5/8 at the fades, and yew loves dry or wet heat.
As far as the sapwood, 1/2" ain't so bad, but 3/4", you'll run out of heartwood on that tip.
Not the end of the world, just in my eyes looks bad

[bubby]

Hey the 70's were great, atleast what i can remember

[osage outlaw]

I only experienced 21 days of the 70's so I wouldn't know 

[Del the cat]

That will make a fine ELB (but a tad short), or almost anything you want!
You will probably need to reduce the sapwood thickness on one limb at least.
A nice compromise is something between an English and an American longbow, a slightly wider (1/5 -1.75" ?) flatter more oval cross section can be more forgiving and avoid the dreaded sideways bend that can happen on an ELB if you aren't careful, it also allows you to go a tad shorter as you don't have a 6' stave.
Horn nock overlays rather than full horn nocks are fine.
Don't worry about low ring count, it just makes it easy to get the sapwood looking good when you reduce it. I've never had any trouble with low ring count, and the odd bow that was a bit rubbery, soon tightened up with some heat treating on the belly.
Del

[TimothyR]

Jeff I've got some water buffalo tips for elb's.  If you need a couple you're more than welcome to some just shoot me a pm and I'll get em out ASAP

[Carson (CMB)]

Carson, I did some yew cutting this weekend too, didn't think there was any left in Oregon though😉

There isnt!  Had to go out of state. 

Jeff, Hope you didn't take offense to that KISS statement. Not calling you stupid.    An old mentor/friend of mine had to preach that one to me a bit. Helps me out when I use it.

I had not heard of that other "Hey you Guys" reference. That electric company show sure looks funky!

[jeffp51]

Not offended at all.  It makes perfect sense.  My problem is I really like bows with hooks on them, so I will probably think about how to recurve this one.  Del is right, it is a little short for a true ELB, but playing it safe still means keeping it as long as possible.

As for reducing the back,  I have read multiple times that violating the growth rings is not a cardinal sin with yew, but I would think I still need to be careful with it. Advice?

The Electric Company looks cheesy now, but it had Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, Spiderman, and a bunch of other (then) famous comedians running it. It's what we graduated to when we aged out of Sesame Street--back when there were only 4 TV channels to choose from, and the Six Million Dollar Man didn't come on for another few hours. . .