Final prep advice?

[Sagebrush]

I have an almost pristine pacific yew stave that i cut six months ago.  5 inch diameter that i cut to 79 inches and tapered with dels specs starting at 39mm at center. It presently has no deflex or reflex.  Should I strap it to a caul now to prevent drying deflex or just heat treat it down the road.  Can a pole with this crwn support a 100lb bow or should i reduce?  Thanks in advance.

[Pat B]

You should have enough to split or saw it in half lengthwise and make 2 staves. If you do saw or split it in half I would clamp each half to a form or board to prevent twisting, warping or taking too much reflex or any deflex. Or better yet bind them back to each other with spacers between the 2 halves to allow air circulation. How thick is the sapwood? I wouldn't worry about the crown eitherm although with yew you can violate the sapwood to achieve a more uniform back. 

[Sagebrush]

The other half had some knot issues so it produced some billets.  The sapwood is about 1/4 inch, 3/8ths at most.  I am going to clamp it just to make me feel better.  Thanks Pat.

 Ill keep weighing it till its stable and then go for it.  Anybody have any ideas how many grams I can expect this to finish at??? This thing is still seemingly masive.

[Del the cat]

Personally I'd let it move how it wants to and then correct it if necessary afterwards. It may well move a bit as it gets reduced later anyway regardless of whether you strap it up or not.
Probably won't make much difference either way...so just do what takes your fancy.
Del

[Sagebrush]

Thanks Del.  I have a lighter piece that im going to use as a control in a quasi experiment.  My yew always seems to pull into a deflex when I reduce it from rounds to usable staves. 

And thanks for publishing starting rough dimensions.  Your blog and videos have been well used over the years sir.  You have my gratitude!