English Yew Cut and Drying!

[Tommy D]

I know English Yew is meant to be very knotty and generally poorer than Pacific Yew or Yew from Europe but can one find decent English Yew and what should one look out for?

My friend has quite a lot growing on their farm - some big trees with thick branches... any tips on what to look for and what diameter is good would be much appreciated...

[DC]

Ohhh, I think Del's hackles just went up

[Tommy D]

Ohhh, I think Del's hackles just went up

I seem to be good at putting my foot in it don’t I! That wasn’t my intention ... I had just heard it was more “challenging” than the other varieties...

[stuckinthemud]

And mine.
Yew grown in the UK is fab.

Same as any other wood, avoid really big knots, learn to read the bark to avoid helical twist . Good news, you can largely ignore small knots and pin knots.

You can never have too much, grab it while you can, even short lengths for billet bows . It can be found fairly knot free but you do have to be a little lucky. I have 2 lengths of perfectly straight almost knot free 7ft lengths hidden in the loft but shh dont tell anyone

[stuckinthemud]

Branches can be used very successfully but do be careful choosing branch stock, not too curved.  Diameter depends on what you are comfortable processing.  Anything over 2 inches diameter at centre.  Yew responds really well to heat corrections so dead straight is not a requirement as a lot can be done with it.

[Tommy D]

And mine.
Yew grown in the UK is fab...

Well - that’s another myth busted for me! Just goes to show how much misinformation floating around!

[Tommy D]

  Anything over 2 inches diameter at centre. 

Do you mean heartwood needs to be over 2 inches?

[stuckinthemud]

Including sapwood, by centre I meant the centre of the stave as in half way point along its length.Sorry for being far from clear!

 You can make a really nice long bow from a 2 inch wide stave, yew needs the sapwood kept on, though you will often need to thin it down

[Tommy D]

And then seal the ends? Do I split it ASAP? I have read mixed opinions on how long yew must “season”...

[DC]

If you ever decide to make a bow like I do you want anything over one foot long. Knotty twisted chunks with sapwood streaks make great risers. Any Yew is good Yew.

[bownarra]

I would have to disagree. UK yew varies in quality  drastically. Some is great ,a lot is so so and some is terrible. I personally wouldn't use branch wood,unless it was 8 inches or so plus diameter. The young branches dry into all sorts of shapes..... Look for the straightest, knotfree, untwisted stuff you can find.

[stuckinthemud]

 But that's the same everywhere in the world, at least if you are cutting your own you get to pick , if you are buying from abroad then you are dependent on the scruples and experience of your supplier and returning a bad stave aint easy. I have used branch stock for a pair of short bows, one was great, the other was ok. The other branch I cut was useless for bows but I shouldnt have cut it, will make a beautiful harp though.

Just be careful in your selection.  Do you know what compression wood is?

[stuckinthemud]

Yes, cleave the wood as soon as you can, do not saw it.  I have found if its stored somewhere cool you can leave it a few weeks but the sooner you split it the better.  Pour a dollop of pva into your hand and generously cover each end and the first few inches of timber and bark.  I leave the bark on as there are few bugs in the UK but others will differ on this

[Del the cat]

(cough... splutter )
All this is just my opinion:-
There are basically 2 sorts of stave:- "stick bow" stuff and logs/trunks.
The ideal log is about 6-8" diameter. Much bigger and you'll struggle to handle it, but of course you can split it on site if it is too big.
With the small stick bow stuff... and it can come from anywhere, hedge row, church yard, garden Yew. The best option is to identify the cleanest face and chop or saw away the other side for about 1/3-1/2 of the thickness. This will help stop it splitting as it dries... the splits will radiate from centre to the cut away face rather than spoiling your clean back. Paint the ends and an inch or so, leave to season somewhere dry and airy.
Logs:- some people think it's macho to split 'em with axe and wedges.... yes it's lots of fun and good exercise. It's also wasteful of wood. If you have access to a bandsaw/chainsaw or a trained beaver on a stick , use that instead. Always saw to give you the best possible half log stave rather than two bad ones. Each half can if the log is big enough be sawn again to give quarter staves.
At this point pick up your quarter stave, twirl it round your head and marvel at what a lethal weapon it would be as opposed to the quarterstaffs you see in the Robin Hood movies that are little more than broom handles. Now stop messing about, paint the ends and put 'em somewhere dry and airy to season.
Study logs carefully, even stuff that may appear to be scrap can yield a good billet and you'll soon find you have a stash of usefull billets. Don't throw Yew away in haste... you can always weed out your stash later.
Oh, and where to find it? Make it your business to locate every Yew tree within a 2 mile radius of where you live. Contact, tree surgeons, Council parks departments, conservation groups etc. Frankly, anyone who says there is no decent English Yew isn't looking, or hasn't discovered the difference between looking and actually seeing. In the post below, you'll see a relatively small trunk that became a 130# warbow.
https://bowyersdiary.blogspot.com/2012/10/applying-to-cut-yew-and-general-progress.html
Funnilly enough I've just made a short video about Yew staves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hon6o-zk7Jo&t=49s
Del

[stuckinthemud]

Hi Del, roughly how large a log can be quartered?