How knotty is too knotty for yew?

[Corvus]

Basically have had zero luck finding anything clean. Some are not as bad as this one. Wondering if they will even hold up. Will sinew back it probably since even if it does fail can reclaim most of it

[BAfromPA]

Unless folks see something that I don't I would happily make a selfbow out of that piece. If you plan to find perfectly clear yes it's going to be a LONG time before you get a stave. That or you will be paying a premium for it.

[Corvus]

Yeah I know not going to just find premium staves just like that. Just did not know how bad they can be on knots and pins. So far been disappointed mostly that pretty much all have not had useable sapwood due to all the pins and knots. Feel like those are just likely to fail if tried to keep it on opposed to working it down to heartwood while eliminating a lot of issues on the way.

[BAfromPA]

Have you taken a look at some of the yew bows posted here or the warbows forum? Yew is pretty amazing stuff. Even crappy sticks almost seem to desire being transformed into a bow.

[Hamish]

As long as you compensate for the knot in the layout, you won't have an issue with durability. The old timers knew this, and left a bit of extra width at the spot, or a bump on the belly. Fill any loose knots with Dutchmen plugs made from yew.

People sometimes have problems when they shave through knots,(both in tension and compression) pretending they aren't there. Some people get away with it, especially if its otherwise overbuilt. A highly stressed bow, with compromised knots will blow sooner rather than later.

[stuckinthemud]

That IS a clean piece, it looks to be about as good as yew can get. Follow the grain as it flows around the knots and you'll be fine. Dig out all the punky stuff,  fill it if you want but you dont actually need to.

[Del the cat]

Like they've all said, that's fine. It's all about the back.
IMO it's a mistake to leave bulges on the belly to try and compensate... I tend to look at the width of clean sapwood at any point, so if there is a big knot, try to leave a little extra width there, respect the flow of the wood.
Del