New to bowyer craft, will this bow? Looks like pacific yew

[capsteve]

The cemetery by my house was clearing growth that was obscuring some headstones and my wife went out to get some greens for Christmas decorations. The groundskeeper said it was yew and she was welcome to as much as she wants. I looked at the wood she brought back home, and for a conifer it’s super dense with a papery and flakey bark with a reddish color just under the bark.  My plant identification app indicates it’s pacific yew, and I managed to get a few branches/staves measuring 80-90” length by 2 1/2” dia. There’s definitely some “character” to these branches and I wonder if they will bow. Any suggestions and thoughts are welcome.

[Pat B]

The bark looks like yew. Any needle pics?

[capsteve]

Couple pix of top and bottom of needles with berries

[Del the cat]

Yes it's Yew.
2 1/2" should make a decent bow. But you may have some sapwood showing on the sides/belly. More of a stick bow rather than a classic Yew bow.
These posts from by blog show what can be done with a very scruffy unlikely yew stick.
https://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/2013/06/yew-stick-bow.html
https://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/2013/06/stick-bow.html
Del

[capsteve]

Thanks Del!
Any suggestions for if I should treat the staves at this point?
It was cut in the last couple of days and left out in the rain...

[Del the cat]

It's best not to leave it in the round or on the ground.
Left round it will tend to split radiating out from the centre.
To season it needs to be somewhere dry and airy, (off the ground) ideally with the ends painted.
I'd suggest looking for the longest cleanest face and then chop or saw away some of the opposite side... that will help any drying stresses split out from the centre towards the cut away side rather than the good side.
The closer you can rough it out to somewhere vaguely near the size you want, the quicker it will season and the less likely it is to split/check/crack.
Personally I like to leave the bark on... in some parts of the USA bugs may get in and painting/treating completely may be advisable.
Del