Problem? Furrow in yew sapwood, but probably not a violation.

[shamus]

Nice piece of yew.  45-46 rings per inch, nice and straight. I scrapped off the bark and inner bark and I have this furrow in the sapwood. I didn't gouge the sapwood with the gooseneck scraper;  I just had to scrap that far down to get rid of the inner bark. I went VERY slow and careful but the result of removing the inner bark was this furrow, and it  has me concerned.



 

[Bryce]

Looks fine. Happens in yew all the time.

[Del the cat]

+1.
That's called a "feature" and is cool.
Seethis video here:- within the first 40 seconds I point out some stuff like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i8tv8EknVw
Del

[shamus]

thanks, guys. 

[PatM]

You have lots of scratches an violations so why not take the whole thing down to the bottom of the pit and make it smooth?

[shamus]

no there's no violations. Once I sand the back the scratches will be gone along with the remaining bits of inner bark.

[PatM]

 Depends on your definition of violations. For some it's ANY nicks or scratches and for others it means going through a ring. If you have to sand the back it was not and will not be a pristine back.  Whether it matters or not is up for debate.

[shamus]

Seriously, people debate that? ??   I respectfully disagree.

I don't define a violation as any nick or scratch. Frankly, that's just silly.   A violation goes through a ring, which compromises the integrity of the back.  Scratching the surface of said ring is not a violation.  Otherwise, I would have blown up all the  osage bows I've made over the past 20+ years.

[Del the cat]

IMO, the "no ring violation" thing is mainly applicable to Osage as it's early/late growth is like alternate cast iron and chalk.
Yew is vastly more tollerant. Here's a pic of the first ever Yew ELB I made, it's still going strong some 40 years later and shows where I had to reduce the sapwood at one point and step down through about 8 rings!  where it became V thick and there was a big dip in the heart wood. It's still a fast bow at about 70# @28".
BTW. That's an old pic. That bow has been pulled to 31.5" abused and refurbished with the belly heat treated, and 40 years of experience put into re-tillering and adding horn nocks. It shoots faster than when I first made it and is fine.
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/refurb-progress.html
At about 1:20 on that video I linked to you can see where I've had to drop down a few rings near the tip, again it's to avoid running out of heartwood. In the commentary I mention the difference between Osage and Yew.
Del

[PatM]

Of course they debate that.  If the rings on your yew were the best type of rings then those  nicks and scratches you have would be through a ring. I wouldn't be surprised if many of them actually are.
 
 Many people prefer a  green peeled or dried "popped off" back when working with the outer growth ring as the back. You're just stacking the odds in your favor by doing that.

  Osage is more tolerant and not the under bark ring anyway.

[Del the cat]

...  If the rings on your yew were the best type of rings...

What???
I'm sorry, but I think the pic in the above post trumps any myths about fine grained Yew.
Del

[PatM]

That's the American versus European yew difference.
  Pope and Young backed their yew with rawhide for a reason.

[Bryce]

Yeah they backed bows that where 75-100# to reduce the chances of breaking, as a type of insurance policy.

[Del the cat]

Sheesh ...
I've overcome similar problems on a 130# Yew ELB...
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/dealing-with-dip.html
But hey... what do I know?
Del

[wizardgoat]

  Ive made about 20 yew bows with back violations, but I snake skin backed most, just because I don't like how it looks. They all still shoot.