Yew ring count

[radius]

The skull was from a black bear lying close to the yew stand. Packed both back. Would have liked to know more about the story of the skull.

couldn't ya just make up a story?

[Keenan]

 If only trees could talk   Nice skull

[Rich Saffold]

My favorite selfbow I made for myself is from some Yew billets given to me by Jim Fetrow. Its as fine a wood as I have seen, and trying to count the rings would be an exercise in futility..Easily 70+rpi..

That being said if someone handed me an average piece of yew I'd still try and get the best bow I could out of it..I don't see much yew here in the desert...

I'm quite sure like other woods there are yew staves which look "average", but end up performing much better than expected especially with the knowledge base we have nowadays..and skinny synthetic strings

Rich-I'm still drooling over that piece Keenan is working on...

[Dano]

Guy's, I like yew as a bow wood as well as the next guy, and I have built a few, but the stuff is way over rated and over priced. Yeah I understand ya gotta climb a mountain to get it, but I ain't the big bucks for someone to do it. I'll take 2 or 3 osage stave for the price everytime. That's my thoughts on the subject. If ya got yew, I'm happy for ya.

[Keenan]

Dano, I can definitely understand what your saying about price. I can't believe what I see some of it sell for and I've very thankfull to live in yew country. It is a pain in the #$$ to get permits but they are obtainable if you go through the process.
  It's all about region. I wish at times we had Osage abundantly growing here but since I cut my teeth on these white woods and yew. I tend to do better on them then I do the yellow stuff.
 by the time I pay for a decent Osage and the shipping it's not cheap on this end either. Guess you'll just have to stay with the gold dust and I'll just keep wandering in them mountains.

[Dano]

I hear ya Keenan, since I moved from osage country, I have to pay the price too. 

[Marc St Louis]

High ring count does not necessarily mean a more dense wood.  I've worked with Yew that had a ring count of 30~40 RPI that was considerably more dense than Yew that had a ring count of 60~70 RPI.  The density of wood is important but not quite as important as it's elasticity

[adb]

So, how does one go about assessing yew? Until now, I've always assessed yew purely by ring count... high ring count = more dense wood = better bows. What I'm hearing is that this is not necessarily the case. For the yew experts, what criteria do you use to assess a stave? 

[Keenan]

Mark, I do respect your knowledge as a bowyer and know you have a few years on me in that realm, However have a hard time agreeing with that statement. Higher ring count means more late wood (denser cell structure) less early wood (lighter cell structure) So it's hard to imagine that a 30-40 RPI could be denser then a 60-70 RPI.   Have you done any testing on your theory?
  I do agree that elasticity is more important then density, but yew is so elastic in general, that in yew, I don't find this to be a problem.

[Blacktail]

hey i think adb has a good question....now i am a rookie...but,i think if it has a low ring count you would leave more wood on..if it has a high ring count then you could take more wood off..i think this is what adb is asking..i might be wrong  ....MY QUESTION...how do you know when to reduce sap wood...is an all around good measurement 1/8-1/4 good...thanks john

[Blacktail]

sorry keenan i was writing when you was ...

[Keenan]

 Good input John, Because the yew sapwood is more elastic then the heart wood and it can handle slight ring violations as well, it is generally good to leave a thin layer for the back. So yes a good rule of thumb with yew is 1/8 - 1/4" of sapwood

[Dano]

From what I've read, John Strunk and Glenn St. Charles both preferred yew cut from higher elevations, with an average ring count of 40-60 rpi.  Slow growth has a lot to do the density of wood, but that's just my theory.

[Marc St Louis]

Mark, I do respect your knowledge as a bowyer and know you have a few years on me in that realm, However have a hard time agreeing with that statement. Higher ring count means more late wood (denser cell structure) less early wood (lighter cell structure) So it's hard to imagine that a 30-40 RPI could be denser then a 60-70 RPI.   Have you done any testing on your theory?
  I do agree that elasticity is more important then density, but yew is so elastic in general, that in yew, I don't find this to be a problem.

Keenan
I used to think as you do that tight ringed Yew had to be more dense than Yew with a lower ring count.  I had to revise my way of thinking after buying some relatively tight ringed, about 50~60 rpi, Yew that was noticeably less dense than some lower ring count Yew I had.

[Keenan]

Intresting info Mark. Thank you.  Do you remember the color and weather it had any "Shot" look the the grain? What diam tree, if you can remember.