west coast bows,,

[osage outlaw]

That bow will look great laying across a fat Tennessee doe.  Good luck with it Pappy.

[sieddy]

Man those bows are absolutely amazing works of art! I'm lucky enough to have a great anthropology museum near me that has a good collection of plains and west coast bows so have seen some originals up close. It amazes me to think of the ingenuity that went into the development of these designs- absolute genius! 
I have a couple of really knotty Yew staves with very thick sapwood. They are quite wide and so I'm wondering if I could use the heart wood for a sinew backed paddle bow. Is it feasible to use kitty yes heartwood as the core of such a bow? 

[High-Desert]

Knotty staves aren't an issue, within reason of course. Strip the sapwood and create a nice even back, no reason to bother with anything close to a a growth ring.

[sieddy]

Cheers Eric I'll give it some thought. I've been wondering what to do with those staves for a couple of years- dunno why I didn't think of it before! I'll have to improve my tillering skills before starting a sinewed bow though! ☺

[bradsmith2010]

High Desert,, do you leave the knots proud,, or do you smooth them down,,???

[High-Desert]

When I smooth out the back, I treat it like there are no knot. I'm looking for symmetry with these bows, not following growth rings, dips or rises in the wood.  I'm talking about your typical pin knots, not huge loose nots. If it's a sold knot, up to a half in or so, and probably larger,  they have never caused any issue with any yew I have worked. Since these knots will only be on the belly, they cause no issues, even if they are on the edge.

[bradsmith2010]

thats very interesting, and sounds scary to my old school train of thought,, but I will give it a try when I have a stave that alows,, thanks for the info,,
 

[Hamish]

Awesome bows guys.

[Philipp A]

Love your short bows Simon! Beautiful tiller and impressive draw weights!