Yew Stave Just Arrived...

[mikekeswick]

Just to offer an alternative viewpoint.
1. If the sapwood is 1/4" it will not need reducing, or maybe just a tad at the tips. Bear in mind a warbow is typically 1/2" diameter where the nock meets the limb, that would be 50% sapwood 50% heartwood.
2. The best way to avoid damaging the sapwood is to leave the bark on. I will start to crack off as the the bow is beginning to flex during tillering. The cracks will run across the back and if they are effectively a strain indicator which is a handy way of checking if the tiller is good. They will appear every 3" or so spaced equally if the bow is bending easilly. The sections of bark will fall off or can be easily picked off.
3. If you really want to remove it, just take off the top layer leaving a pinkish dusty layer which will take a pencil mark for marking out.
Del

100% agreed. There is no way even with years of experience that I would use a drawknife to remove the bark/cambium. A little deflex will not hurt the performance at all. Forget this straight bow thing! Let it be how it is, tillering won't be much harder and anyway get the practise in on your laminates first.

[DC]

It may sound like a sacrilege but to get the last bits that don't pop off I scrape the outer bark off(down to the purple) and then spritz it with water. Let it soak for a minute or so and scrape it off with a dulled edge. The inner bark doesn't seem to have any waterproofness(word?) and mushes up so it scrapes off easily. I do a final pass with the little wire brush that comes with your Dremel tool.

[markc324]

thanks for all of the replies, gents! It's production season at my office so I was pretty caught up with work, thus no time to tend to the yew stave nor checking the responses here.

I have the stave roughed out to a square shape. it is looking more like a "bow" now, but there's still a long way to go.

One thing that kind of bugs me is the color of the wood...it's really pale?!?! not the kind of color I was expecting such as white sap wood and yellow/orange/brown heart wood...
the color is rather like faded pink. there is even one section of the heartwood being so pale that it's the same color as the sapwood.

I reckon the color can be darken when exposed to UV sun light, but is it okay to leave it under the sun? will that reduce the moisture content too fast too much that it becomes brittle? will the color darken as it age? some input is greatly appreciated as always. I'll take some photos of it in the day time later.

thanks!

Mark

[Del the cat]

It will darken a bit with age.
Del

[markc324]

thanks Del. what makes me so confused is that when it was still a quartered log, the color was much more orangey, but the inside is really pale, and I thought perhaps it's because the outside was exposed to oxygen and weather. but then when I refer back to your videos, i noticed those stave you roughed out is equal color all the way through. How long has your woods been seasoned? is this an indication of an evidence that my wood has not been seasoned long enough (seller said 1 year)?

thanks

[penderbender]

In the pics you have the wood looks fine! I wouldn't worry about it. And like del says it will darken with age. Cheers- Brendan

[DC]

Some is pale, some is darker. In my limited experience I haven't noticed any difference in performance. Your finish will darken it some. You could try a test patch now and then you might want to choose an amber or darker finish.

[Ruddy Darter]

It's pretty similar to what I just made that 150# warbow from.
My advice hasn't changed, but if you did watn to heat bend it, you'd want to get it roughed out first and beginning to flex anyway.
Del

Hope I'm not deemed rude by asking a question on this post, when it comes to heat straightening a near dimensions stave, say to reduce a deep natural d-flex with steam on oregon yew, is it advisable to seal the stave first with Danish oil or sealant of some sorts? (Or a steady dry heat on bare wood a safer option on a recently seasoned stave?)
And if steamed straight is it a good idea to then follow with some dry heat tempering of the belly to inhibit the return of any d-flex?

Thanks for any insight/opinions on this,

...Good venture with this bow markc324 , hope you get a great result.

R.D.

[DC]

Quite often when I steam yew I get a purple stain from it. It's not deep and scrapes right off but if it's on the sapwood and you want pristine sapwood it can be a bear. I'm not sure if sealing it would help but it might be worth thinking about. Wait for more input

[WillS]

You can avoid the purple stain by simply wrapping the bow in clingfilm/gladwrap first.  You only need the heat on the timber, not the steam itself.

For dry heat, just go straight onto bare wood.  Some people add oil to the area, but it's not necessary.

[Ruddy Darter]

O.k., good to know....thanks DC and Wills.

  R.D.

[DC]

You can avoid the purple stain by simply wrapping the bow in clingfilm/gladwrap first.  You only need the heat on the timber, not the steam itself.

I was going to try that next time. I was pretty sure it would work. It might be an idea for all steaming. Thanks

[markc324]

In the pics you have the wood looks fine! I wouldn't worry about it. And like del says it will darken with age. Cheers- Brendan

I believe you are referring to the original photos that were posted in the beginning of the thread. here are the roughed out bow.

you can see how that section of heartwood is pretty much the same as sapwood. The second image shows the branch/limb shadow that was visible in the original photos when it's still a quartered log. I think it will fall off as I round the belly. I also still have couple of mm's of extra meat to remove, too. not too worried about that. the third image shows a knot that i cleaned out. close inspection shows it just clears the soon-to-be-rounded belly, if it still show, it will be very minimal. I'll epoxy a peg in, but I'm pretty sure it will fall off.

[FilipT]

What do you worry about, color looks great.

[penderbender]

That is strange it looks like all heartwood. It'll darken up though I wouldn't worry about it. Cheers- Brendan