Got a yew (3“ diam., 45“ long) with very wide rings, so semi good bowwood. I decided, to give up my first idea - cutting billets - , but give a west coast paddle a try ...
I cut out the middle section with the sap on, limbs are 3” at the widest part – you can see the sapwood there. Steps: rough shaping paddle, cross section is a very wide oval, steam bending recurves, 2 layers of sinew, painted with a mixture of hide glue and earth pigments.
This bow has a high reflex of 6” and a heavy string tension at brace.
specs:
species: yew
length ntn: 43.5”
braceheight: 5¼“
drawlength: 22”
drawweight: 52 lbs
mass: 520 gram total
w/d at handle: 34/15 mm
w/d at fade: 51/14 mm (below fur)
w/d at midlimb: 78/9 mm
w/d at tip: 22/11 mm (below silencer)
stiff parts: about 1,5” end of limbs
backing: 2 layers sinew
recurves: static, short
tips: self tips with sinew wrapping
handle: buck skin wrapping, otter fur
painting: earth pigments
silencers: otter fur
