Rawhide backed yew 55# at 26”

[Kidder]

Not sure what happened but she blew at full draw and pieces went flying. The rawhide even separated. Second shot after putting string silencers on it. Bummer.

[Muskyman]

Man, that really sucks Kidder. What’s up with the yew bows. If memory serves me that’s 3 that have failed recently to people on this site. And of course I’m building one right now and am a little nervous.
Shame that happened, it was a really nice looking hunting bow.

[Hamish]

Real shame, that was a nice looking bow.

Let's see some close ups of the belly/fragments. Any knots or major grain run off?

[Kidder]

I have two Hypotheses. There is a dark spot at the highest part of the break that looks like a tiny bit of rot. Or it looks aweful dry. I’m shocked how the rawhide itself delaminated.

[Muskyman]

Wow, that thing really exploded. That’s pretty scary looking. I’m like you about how the rawhide didn’t hold up.

[Hamish]

Grain looks plenty straight enough, and no obvious pins let alone large knots. Backed, but still broke comprehensively in tension. Very frustrating.

[superdav95]

That sucks kidder!  Mine recently exploded on me like this.  Mine was a violation in sapwood.  Just curious did you do much heat correction on this bow?  Yew dose not like to be heat corrected too much it gets brittle.  I’ve pushed the limits on yew in the past and paid the price with trying to heat correct too much. 

[Kidder]

That sucks kidder!  Mine recently exploded on me like this.  Mine was a violation in sapwood.  Just curious did you do much heat correction on this bow?  Yew dose not like to be heat corrected too much it gets brittle.  I’ve pushed the limits on yew in the past and paid the price with trying to heat correct too much.

Minimal heat corrections as I recall. Some but not tons. I wish I had a moisture meter…

[Pappy]

Man that stinks, I know Yew makes a great bow but over the years I have had that happen for no real reason I could see, guess that is where we came up with the saying a few years back 'Osage is King" "Yew is queen"  . I just finished one myself and have put a few hundred arrows through it but still think on this very thing from time to time. I have seen them go for no reason at all, guess they just didn't want to be a bow.
 Pappy

[Gordon]

My guess is you got too aggressive when thinning the sapwood. Even rawhide won't save the bow when that happens - I know this from experience.