Grain orientation on stave

[Ruddy Darter]

I got the sides all shimmy'd up with a bit to spare for shaping and then I'll  mark on closer final dimensions for the belly. After that I've decided to take out some of that D-flex at two points. It's also where the stave twists out, it runs straight at the handle for a good while and then twists out again same direction, this is also where the D-flex kicks in, it's pretty straight a good 26" at the centre. The bow will line up bang on then and if I get it moving evenly hopefully more chance of it staying in, so seems a good time to do it, I'll then shape and get ready for tiller.(I gave the stave at press at the centre and gave quite evenly and had a bounce to it, starting to feel a bit bow like )
Pic shows where I'll heat gun out(going to try and twist a little),  pencil and scraper mark the spot.
Another pic of the funky top limb, (still with a little extra wood for final shaping.
 
 R.D.

[FilipT]

So pacific yew is practically only wood that allows messing up grain, taking too much off sap wood and such?

[penderbender]

There are some other woods that a grain tolerant too. Yew is just one of the better ones. Cheers- Brendan

[Ruddy Darter]

I have know idea to either, it's all a learning curve to me, I'm not sure I'm doing the right by this stave either, just trying to apply my(frequently questionable) logic . I havent removed any sapwood as yet, this is how it came. (If all goes pair shaped with this it's a good bit of practice for a nice straight forward stave I have.) Any pointers always appreciated.

 R.D.

[WillS]

So pacific yew is practically only wood that allows messing up grain, taking too much off sap wood and such?

All yew is fine with grain violations, bad tiller, knots, holes, rot etc.  It's probably (in my opinion) why it was so used so much for mass production of military bows.  You can chop them out of the stave and rough them out quickly and send them off, without needing to spend ages chasing rings, heat straightening and so on.  It's no better at being a bow than all the other European woods, it just makes a bow faster.

Pacific yew is especially good at tolerating straight bows being cut out of curved/twisted staves.  It also never requires back rings to be chased, whereas sometimes on coarse European yew you need to be more careful.

[Ruddy Darter]

Well I'm set up for one limb, got to thin the belly on the other limb before I do that one. Just going to try and superglue a length of tin foil to each side to minimise scorching.

 R.D.

[DC]

Let us know how the super glue works. I'm doubtful because it releases at about 190 f.

[Ruddy Darter]

It's seems ok, I think the hollow belly trapped most of the heat in. I'm only trying to get the worst out for alignment, so far so good and the slight twist has come out a bit on its own.
Leave that for a couple of hours and see if I need some more, I'm only trying for a little straighten out, as you can see some more needs to come off the belly, I'll take that off first if it needs a further tweak.
 
 R.D.

[willie]

All yew is fine with grain violations, bad tiller, knots, holes, rot etc....................It's no better at being a bow than all the other European woods...................

Ruddy
I have not seen where you mentioned your design weight, but Will might be exaggerating a bit.

Guess there is a fine line between being "too careful" and "getting it done", but unless you have quite a bit of that Pacific yew on hand,  I do not think that taking some time to be careful, especially while you learn, is such a bad thing.

[Ruddy Darter]

Thanks Willie,
 
Yep, it's a bit pricey for me at the minute so aiming to make the most of what I have. I feel I dissected this stave to a degree which was fun, and maybe I'm wearing a life ring in a paddling pool but there's no loss and no time frame, but would mean a lot to me if I got a good result working for my first self bow. 
As for design weight it's 110-140 (36mm wide and 33mm deep at the handle, although I have a few mm extra at the moment ), but weight is not really the objective, but a good working bow is the main goal.
I feel I got the hard graft done now anyway, 

 R.D.

[WillS]

Ruddy
I have not seen where you mentioned your design weight, but Will might be exaggerating a bit.

Not really

I've got yew bows made with bits of the worst timber you've ever seen.  Bug damage, holes through the sapwood, heartwood showing through the back, rot, decay and delaminating rings all in one limb.  It's been shooting for years.

It's the ultimate beginners wood, and will take the most ridiculous abuse.

[willie]

It's the ultimate beginners wood,

There is nothing like success, to inspire the first time bowyer. Just wish we had more (any at all) growing around here.

but weight is not really the objective, but a good working bow is the main goal.

Ruddy,
Do you have a particular tillering method in mind? Some like to work to specific weight goals while others are more "let the wood talk to me as I go" types.

[WillS]

There is nothing like success, to inspire the first time bowyer. Just wish we had more (any at all) growing around here.

Yeah, that's the problem with yew.  While it's ideal for beginners, it's also either expensive or impossible to get hold of for many.  I take it for granted that I can get as much as I want here, but I do remember starting out when I couldn't find it without paying a fortune for the American stuff, plus shipping etc. 

I'm now in the same boat with elm - I'd give away body parts to get hold of good amounts of Wych elm but it's just not available where I'm based!

[Lucasade]

I'm now in the same boat with elm - I'd give away body parts to get hold of good amounts of Wych elm but it's just not available where I'm based!

We've got loads of it growing in the verges here (Warwickshire). I've got a couple of spare staves if you like - how about a kidney? 

[Ruddy Darter]

willie,
The set of dimensions for a 110-140 that I copied down off the🇳🇴Norwegian bows🇳🇴website is just a start off point, I'm going to let the wood decide what it wants to be, hopefully not kindling  . I'll be wholly focused on looking for the shape and how it arcs on the tiller.

R.D.