Advice on stave, setting out.

[Ruddy Darter]

Hello, I got a European yew stave I've been sitting on for a while,  thinking ahead for when I do tackle it, and would like some advice on setting out (for an English longbow), my basic questions are...
 The top limb ( in pic ) is slightly reflex and the bottom deflex, would there be a preference for the orientation of limbs?
And (I've marked on lightly in pencil), the grain is a little snakey down the length of the stave...would it be better to lay out the dimensions faithfully to the grain for a slightly snakey English longbow(which I'd tend to opt for) or simply straight line from tip to tip...what would, if any, would make a better performing bow?
Thanks for any opinions..
 R.D.

[Pappy]

I would use the reflex limb for the top if possible  and always good to follow the grain in my opinion. 
 Pappy

[Ruddy Darter]

Thanks very much Pappy,
Great stuff, that's the way I was thinking of going too, 😎

 R.D.

[superdav95]

Keep us posted on this build as you go.  I’ve got a stave set aside that I debarked and looks like a clean candidate for a war bow.  I’ll be watching this one. 

[Ruddy Darter]

Will do superdav95, 
 I hope to debark this one sometime this week and get it layed out and do a post on it in the warbow area... I just got a little to finish on a couple of bows.
 R.D.

[Del the cat]

Which ever way up you build it, someone will always say it's wrong! (I had Robert Hardy tell me a bow of mine had a weak lower limb! When it was just slightly deflexed).
Steaming out some of the deflex will make it look better and easier to judge the tiller.
It isn't strictly necessary to follow the grain on a Yew ELB, but if you are steaming it anyway, maybe you could straighten it.
The problem with following the grain on a long thin bow (ELB) is it may start to bend side ways... in which case just leave it a tad wide until you have it bending how you want.
Del

[Ruddy Darter]

Thank you Del, I'll see how it goes when it starts getting worked down, I'll be taking a few sapwood rings off the back, I'll have a good ponder while I'm doing that. A major search will be required for the steamer.. .
 R.D.

[Ruddy Darter]

Keep us posted on this build as you go.  I’ve got a stave set aside that I debarked and looks like a clean candidate for a war bow.  I’ll be watching this one.

Got around to making a start, the stave is 78&3/4" length.
 I debarked and measured every 4" through the length from centre. I got a  40mm starting width throughout the length, (I kicked it out a little on the bottom limb to miss as much of a slop off to one side on the back,) which I'm going to work down square and then I'll reduce the depth taking into account I will be taking off a couple of sapwood rings. A couple of troublesome knots top limb had me thinking, they go through central on the belly, do I move over and keep the remnants of one?, looking at the angle I wasn't confident how much of the most northern knot I would be able to lose, so I decided to keep it in the middle and keep both knots with a little extra wood around them on the back, not sure if that's the best choice but I'm going with it, for now anyway.
 
 R.D.

[Del the cat]

I think you are right on the knots... just leave loads of extra width. As you progress and the final shape develops you can ease it down where appropriate. Nothing worse than cutting it too fine too early.
Del

[Ruddy Darter]

Thanks a lot Del, I was hoping it seemed I was on the right track .
 R.D.