My second YEW bow. Help me make this one last:)

[NorthHeart]

Hey guys and gals im working on my second ever YEW bow.  The first one broke which may have been the wood or may have been due to other factors, who knows.  Im familiar with Osage but Yew is still new to me and i really want this one to last.  Its 66" ntn, rawhide backed for insurace.  The thickest width of the limbs near the fades is 1 3/4" and it narrows down to 1" at the tips.  Ive heard that YEW can get brittle and break in the arid climates.  Well i live at 9200ft and its very arid here, a fact that i still wonder about on my broken YEW bow.  I figured if i overbuilt this one and followed the right design maybe it would be ok.  I am at the floor tiller stage and am about ready to cut in nocks and get it on the tillering tree.  I envision a bow anywhere between 45-60# @ 24" or 25" when done, stiff reflexed tips.  Im open to any and all advice.  Some primary questions id like to get answered from some experienced YEW bowyers are as follows: is my elevation ok for a YEW bow or am i just flirting with disaster and wasting my time?  Where should i go from here on the tillering? Meaning now that its trapped do i remove wood off the flat belly surface or the angles running down the sides(hope that makes sense).  In other words i dont know if its better to have a D profile cross section or more of a flat bow.  Keep in mind i did leave the sap wood on too.  Thanks for any input yall have!  This things looking lovely in my eyes and wish to keep it that way:)

[NorthHeart]

more pics.........

[Hamish]

 Looks like a nice clean stave, it should be very do able to get a bow of your drawlength from that design, and length, it should be overbuilt at these dimensions, and should help get around the dryness. If this one fails then it will almost certainly be due to too dry wood. Then your options would be sinew backing, or use a wood like hickory that thrives as a bow in dry climates
What were the dimensions and design of the bow that broke?

[Hamish]

I wouldn't have  trapped a yew back in a dry climate, as you want as much of the back there as possible, because when  bow wood breaks from low humidity/moisture content it is a break in tension, not compression.

A hickory or bamboo backing strip is also an option for you.

[High-Desert]

I live in a very arid climate, and have never had issues with yew being too dry. Our summers are 12-20% humidity, and my shop is usually 30%. I keep a Hydrometer in my shop to monitor this.
Your trapped just the belly correct? I start all my bows this way, but only for a reference on thickness to keep things even, then continue reducing on the flat section and start rounding the side once I get things even and bending.  At 66", and 1 3/4" available width, that's more than plenty for a 26" draw, even 28". Just stick with a flat profile, with radius'd edges

[NorthHeart]

Hamish-thanks for your advice.  I trapped the belly to work down limb taper thickness untill it was floor tillered.  I did not do this to the back(which has rawhide on top of the sapwood).  Just making sure i didnt misunderstand you.

High-Desert-i have a hygrometer too.  Its currently showing 20% humidity.  Seeing as how its bending on the floor, i suppose from here i should go ahead and round the edges off.  Ill take your advice and tiller it by removing wood from the flat belly surface only.

[NorthHeart]

Got a chance to do some more work on the yew bow.  So it started as a flat bow then i kinda trapped the sides a bit, hopefully it shows in the pics but the profile is flat/trapped as opposed to fully flat or a "D" shaped cross section.  I did this so that the area i was working around the fades would be appealing to the eye where they met the limb.  I wonder how much speed/draw weight i cost myself vs leaving it flat?  I didnt realize how much more wood yew requires to get the same draw weight as an osage bow.  I figured this would be a 60# bow im at about 40#.

How does the tiller look?  Its 44#@25" today, yesterday it was 42-43# at 24", seems i may be loosing poundage with draw.  Funny thing is the next day the limbs are straight again not relaxed like right after i shoot it when viewed against my grid.  It shoots nicely so far at my 23.5" draw, but im wondering how far can i safely pull it back to?  I think it might be the ideal bow for someone with a longer draw than myself.

[Weylin]

There are several guys that I know in Central and Eastern Oregon where it is very dry and they make and shoot yew bows with no problems.

[Pappy]

It is looking very good to me, beautiful piece of wood.
 Pappy

[Del the cat]

Looks good to me... mind the back is the most important bit IMO and that's the only bit we don't see.
Ah, just read it's rawhide backed.... 
Note to self... read more slowly...
Del

[Marc St Louis]

Looks really good.  At that length and rawhide backed you should be able to get a 28" draw.

[DC]

How does the tiller look?  Its 44#@25" today, yesterday it was 42-43# at 24", seems i may be loosing poundage with draw.  Funny thing is the next day the limbs are straight again not relaxed like right after i shoot it when viewed against my grid.  It shoots nicely so far at my 23.5" draw, but im wondering how far can i safely pull it back to?  I think it might be the ideal bow for someone with a longer draw than myself.

A light heat treat may help. It will give you a few pounds, help the bow hold it's reflex and it won't have that annoying creep back overnight. I you do it just right you can darken the belly just enough to sharpen up the contrast between the sapwood and heartwood. Be careful you don't scorch the back. Del uses a few layers of masking tape to protect the back. I'm going to try that on my next Yew bow.

[NorthHeart]

Looks really good.  At that length and rawhide backed you should be able to get a 28" draw.

Even in very low humidity huh?  Im very tempted to try it.

DC how would you induce the heat, with a heat gun?  How much heat in the belly to do what your saying but not affect the Titebond 3 and rawhide?

[NorthHeart]

Im now at 46# @ 26".  Here are the pics of brace, drawn, and destrung after.

Sorry about the sideways pics i dont get it, they are straight up and down on my phone and computer.

[Pappy]

Looking very good to these eyes.
 Pappy