Third yew bow, not sure if that means its a charm lol

[NorthHeart]

So i have another stave ive been kinda putting off.  I wanted to sinew it, but impatience and this new fondness to explore Yews capacities has me wondering if i can get away with rawhide only.  Allow me to describe the stave.  62" OAL 1-1/4" wide. The gnarly limb with a knot in the belly removed thus leaving a hump, has plenty of sapwood...but on the straight limb i got the sapwood too thin.  So thin that in the center of the outer limb you can see heartwood peaking through.  Id like to try for a bow thats 50-55# @ 24-25".  Do yall think that rawhide will suffice or is this stave gonna need a sinew backing?

[NorthHeart]

more pics....

[Hamish]

A little bit of heartwood peeking through was pretty common in many of the yew bows from the 1930's and 40's. I think you will be fine.60" btwn nocks is plenty of length for a 25" draw. Even more do able if the handle flexes a bit.
A thin rawhide backing wood be good for protection from dings if you use this one for hunting, even if the back doesn't technically need it.

[joachimM]

No need to waste good sinew if your goal is to protect the back at that bow and draw length. Tthere are other natural materials that are much easier to obtain and apply and which will protect that back.

[NorthHeart]

Thanks Hamish, that gives me more confidence!

So with yew, a very thin layer of sapwood like this is sufficient enough to keep the back from lifting a splinter or breaking the bow altogether?  Keep in mind all my experience is with Osage and working a ring down. 

Joa-id like to make sure i understand your reply.  My goal with sinew is always to protect the back of the bow by moving it inwards towards the neutral plane, so that under tension the back doesnt splinter, crack, or break.  Is there another benefit to sinew that im unaware of?  Truth be told i find it messy as hell and waiting months for it to dry sucks lol.  Plus its more added mass and im still not sure if it helps speed or actually slows the bow down.  Also what other natural materials other than rawhide would you suggest.  Im open to the idea of trying new things.

One more thing, can sinew be applied to the sapwood and it still stick fine?  Something about the sap wood seems smoother and less porus than the heartwood is why i ask.  Almost like its greasy or something.

[Weylin]

Sinew definitely protects the back but like you said it's a pain in the butt and adds mass. I think for a bow to truly benefit from having sinew it should be pushing the limits of what the wood itself can handle so that the sinew takes over and really gets a work out. Otherwise you're just gluing dead weight on the bow. This usually means that the bow should be relatively short and often induced into reflex while the sinew is drying. This really gets the sinew stretching when you get out to full draw. I agree that rawhide would be the right insurance for this bow. In my opinion, a bow should be specifically designed to benefit from sinew. The sinew would stick to the sap wood just fine. A few years back, Gordon made a beautiful sinew backed yew bow with the sap wood still on. It turned out great.

[High-Desert]

Like Weylin said, rawhide would be the way to go on this. Get the lightest rawhide available. 60" is not short by any means and won't be pushing the limits of a yew stave with violation, even if it was heartwood, particularly with only a 25" draw.

[NorthHeart]

Weylin and high desert, thanks for your advice fellas.

After rawhide how long do yall typically wait to start bending it?  Ive been giving mine 7-10 days, but with no real guidance as to if i should allow more time, or if i can get away with less.

Also, im running a bit low on rawhide and have never tried to splice it.  Will that serve as a weak spot in the rawhide backing where it comes together?  What if i over lapped it a 1/4" or so?

[High-Desert]

What are you using to glue the rawhide down? I've typicallybuse Titebond II, and I usually wait two days. If using hide glue, the 7-10 days may be necessary depending on your climate, longer if more humid, but I'm sure someone here has more experience with the rawhide hideglue combo.

If your handle isn't bending, butting the rawhide will work fine, you can thin it out a bit and overlap if you want. Definitely overlap if a bending handle bow. This may not be necessary,and probably overkill,  but for protection, I run a bead of superglue at the end where the two overlap, on the piece that is on top.

[NorthHeart]

I use Titebond III for my rawhide.

It sounds like your referring to splicing the rawhide at the handle.  I should have been more specific.  I have one 19" piece and one 43" piece left.  So the splice would be on one limb. 

[High-Desert]

Titebond III works awesome too, just waterproof.

If doing a splice midlimb, then tapering each end for about 2", and overlapping should work just fine. I've never done it midlimb, but on a bending handle bow, and it worked with no problems.

[joachimM]

For such bows I like stiff plant fiber backings like flax or sisal, or linen cloth.
See for example http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,56612.msg777777.html#msg777777

[NorthHeart]

joa- I took a look at the link you provided, pretty interesting.  Unfortunately the hay bales where i live use synthetic cord for binding, so that might be something id have to special order.  When would one use Sisal as opposed to rawhide or sinew?

Here are some current pics.  The rawhide is on now, i thinned it down to a smooth transition at the handle and towards the tips. I didnt have to splice the rawhide since i ended up cutting strips from another hide that i was actually planning to use for a quiver(bows are funner to build anyway:))  I also got the antler tips epoxied on and worked down a bit.  Suppose its time to start working it to brace height on the long string.

Im having a bit of a mental block regarding the hump on one limb where the knot was.  My brain sees it as a "kink" and wants to flatten it with heat.  Not only are we past the stage of doing any of that, but i would like to become a better bowyer and learn to work less than perfectly symetrical wood.  So when i start bending the limbs and my eye catches this "kink" or imperfection what am i looking for as it flexes?  Do i just want to sort of ignore the actual hump and draw an imaginary line through that area in my mind, or what should my mental process be...

[NorthHeart]

Heres where i am on the Yew bow.  Im using the long string to get it to brace.  At the current distance its pulled in the pics its at 95#.  What do yall think about the bend so far?  That kink on the left limb is playing tricks on my mind   I think its already taken just a tad bit of set on the outter limbs too.

[DC]

If you're shooting for 50-55# you shouldn't be pulling it to 95#. Don't pull beyond your final draw weight.