Shrub in front yard is ENGLISH YEW!

[doggonemess]

I've had a tall shrub (I guess I would call it a tree) growing in my front yard since before I moved in to my house years ago. It isn't all that attractive, and I've almost considered having it cut down. But I wasn't really serious about the idea, and it's continued to get bigger. I have lately been learning more about different trees, and decided to figure out what I had in my yard.

Imagine my total complete shock on discovering that the tree is actually English Yew. I compared some photos of the needles and cones, and it's a perfect match. I also had a landscaper come by and confirm it the other day. He estimated the age at around 30 years old.

So, now, the question I have is pretty obvious. Is this bow wood? Obviously, if it is English Yew, it could be. But should I cut some of the trunks down and try to make a bow with it? Or is it too small? None of the trunks are more than three inches in diameter.

I'm very interested in proceeding, but I don't want to mess this up, considering the price of yew staves. Should I let it be for a few more years?

I'm open to advice! Thanks very much.

Here are some pictures:

(please excuse the contrast)

[Lee Slikkers]

Jack-pot, Mutha-load, et al...   Congrats

[Weylin]

Yew is actually a commonly planted shrub. It's shade tolerance makes it attractive. Not to diminish the excitement of your find.  Hope you can find some bows in there. You're likely to have a lot of knots to contend with, and a low ring count due to all the sunlight and watering it's received.

Wow, I sounded like a real negative nancy there , good luck and have fun. 

[toomanyknots]

Even if there's no bows in there, I would still say you are lucky to have a nice yew tree in your front yard. I have never seen a yew bush that big in person,... but I look all the time...

[Jim Davis]

Well, the fact is, the Britons had English yew in their archery heyday, but they used Spanish yew, the English yew not producing stave-sized material. Mostly what you have is a shade shrub that is poisonous to certain herbivores. guess you could kill a deer with it that way.

Jim Davis

[fishfinder401]

it may not be the best quality, worthy of a warbow, but it would work great for a regular weight bow

[toomanyknots]

Well, the fact is, the Britons had English yew in their archery heyday, but they used Spanish yew, the English yew not producing stave-sized material. Mostly what you have is a shade shrub that is poisonous to certain herbivores. guess you could kill a deer with it that way.

Jim Davis

Hey now, del makes english yew bows all the time I believe. I have seen some nice english yew bows. Please correct me if I am wrong del.

[PatM]

Let it be. I can't believe how bowyers will cut anything growing if they've heard it makes a bow.

[Dane]

Perhaps prune some branches and incorporate them into a bow, but not kill the goose.

[mikekeswick]

I've made quite a few bows from english yew. Our yew tends on the whole to be less dense than some of the imported stuff that i've seen, oh and twisted and full of pins. Occasionally you see some really straight sections with no/few pins. I've found most of our yew is best for flatbows with crowned bellies, it's also very good when sinew backed too.
Your tree is just about the weirdest looking yew i've seen - it doesn't grow like that here.
If the ring count isn't great (which I suspect it will be) try it heavily reflexed and sinew backed.

[Josh B]

Let it be. I can't believe how bowyers will cut anything growing if they've heard it makes a bow.

I believe it! I see it happen all the time.  If it weren't for all of us primitive bowyers around here,  Kansas would be heavily forested.   Just kidding you a bit.  I don't believe it matters in this case since he was considering cutting it down before he thought it was bow wood.  Wouldn't you prefer that tree died for a reason instead of just being piled up and burnt?  Josh

[doggonemess]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement! I'm not going to cut the tree down, I've decided that I like it. Regarding Bowyer's Deforestation, I understand the urge, but I don't act on it very often. In this case, I was just curious if the tree was the correct size and shape, but I still want to keep it in the yard.

My neighbor two houses over seems to hate trees. He has an oak that is 50 feet tall (or so) and huge around the trunk. He's been talking about cutting it down for ages, due to it taking up so much space in his front yard. Fortunately, it would cost way too much for the service, so the tree is safe. Any idea how old an oak that big must be?

But like it was suggested, I may "prune" a limb or two some time. One is resting on an overhead coaxial cable, so maybe I should remedy that...

[Del the cat]

... the English yew not producing stave-sized material....Jim Davis

That's just an oft quote quoted theory, but it's no more than that, it certainly isn't fact.
Provincial bowyers would probably use local wood and there is documentary evidence that they were given leave to cut any Yew except that belonging to the church (or some such, I can't remember the source document but it is quoted in either Longbow by Robert Hardy or Weapons of Warre).
Yes we imported Yew from Spain Italy etc but maybe because they had it and were keen to supply us with wine and other goods, thus we could levy a tax of so many staves per ton on imported goods.
Maybe we were more interested in the Oak in our woodland for ship building.
So perhaps it's more about supply and demand and trade than quality.
It doesn't mean English Yew is no good for bows.
I have made many excellent English Yew bows.
I don't mean to appear argumentative, but the facts are open to more than one interpretation and extraploation of the facts into theories is fraught with possible error.
If you can get foreigners to provide you with free material why go to the trouble of harvesting your own?
I don't profess to be right on this, I'm just saying we don't know for sure.
Del

[Del the cat]

I'd suggest you cut that dead limb out, it may give you an idea of the heart/sap ratio and the quality of the wood.
There may be a slim chance that you'd get enough heartwood for a small bow, a miniature or a crossbow prod.
Del

[1000000volts]

yes it is a yew tree( shrub),how do you know if its not a welsh yew tree instead of an english yew tree,where are yew from ,if yew were from scotland it wood be a scottish yew ,lol...anyway it looks a bit thin to make a self bow have yew considered splicing them ,glue 2 short staves  together in the handle area and work from there ,good luck and dont forget to where a mask when using this wood as it will make you high!seriously...be warned.