Yew Stave

[bigcountry]

A friend of mine sent me a yew stave from Wa State.  I took the bark off tonight and sanded down to the white sapwood.  There are small cracks in the sapwood, some about 1"-2" long.  I tried to figure out a way to work around them, but can't find a clear path up the stave.  Should I remove with my draw knife sapwood to see how far the crack goes?  Or is small hair cracks in the grain nothing to worry about?  Or should the back be clear of all hair line cracks or cracks period?

[sailordad]

everyones gonna say it,so here goes.

pictures would be helpfull,if we can see it,its easier to give advise.
but im sure those that have used yew will chime in sonner or later.

good luck

did i mention pictures?

[Keenan]

 Bigcountry, How thick is the sapwood and how big of tree was the stave from.."Aprox."  also if you know how long it's been drying, and aprox ring count will help as well.
 Pictures would be a plus.

[Pat B]

Generally speaking drying checks are not necessarily detrimental to a bow as long as they remain parallel to the limb and don't run off. A rawhide or silk backing might help you sleep better.     Pics really help   along with the explanation of the problems.        Pat

[shamus]

Yeah, we'll need pictures.

I wouldn't start whittling away at the sapwood. If the cracks need to be addressed, I agree with PatB;  a rawhide backing would a good solution.

[bigcountry]

Ok, finally able to get back to show pictures.  Here's what I am talking about.

[bigcountry]

Here's the picture of the stave

[bigcountry]

Another of the stave

[bigcountry]

Another pic of another small crack

[bigcountry]

Last pic of the nastiness. 

[Marc St Louis]

Looks like the sapwood is pretty thick.  I would remove some of it and get rid of some of those split (not cracks).  The splits should not be of any concern in any case.

[Dano]

You say this was a firend that sent you this stave??? As Mark said the sapwood is pretty thick, it only needs to be about a 1/4".

[rudderbows]

I have used the thin viscosity super glue woth awesome results. After filing it wil the super glue a nice raw hide backing would do wonders for security.
Jim

[bigcountry]

Looks like the sapwood is pretty thick.  I would remove some of it and get rid of some of those split (not cracks).  The splits should not be of any concern in any case.

Thanks, so on Yew, is it very important to keep with a growth ring like osage?  Or does it matter? 

[Dano]

You want to leave about 1/4" of sapwood on the back, don't have to chase a ring.