Del's New Year Bow, Pacific Yew 120# @32"

[Del the cat]

I started the bow shortly after Christmas... it was an odd stave of Pacific Yew.
I'd made a bow for one of my mates and he said he was buying a stave from a well known purveyor of such things and if I chose one from their website, he'd buy it for me as payment. Now that may seem a convoluted arrangement... but then I'd never pay that sort of money for a stave myself. Anyhow the stave wasn't as clean as I'd have expected... but then you all know I like a challenge. It had a big knot near the middle and a couple of inches of deflex (.eg with tips on the floor, the belly is 2" off the floor) and some twist over its length. It had been roughed out by degrees over the previous year or two and now my mate JT wanted a 120# bow I decided that now was a good time to have a go. It's the top stave in the pic, the other 2 are English Yew.
I'd had the stave for 2 or 3 years and it had shifted a bit over that time.
With some careful roughing out and tentatively working in the area of the knot I finally got it to exactly the target draw weight and length (120# @ 32"). It was satisfying to manage it without recourse to heat or steam.
There's a 4 part playlist on my Youtube chanel:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJvkD1ib4YI&list=PLBz2tD9476KTaf_X7Em-n2t7jv4i1kCqm
And... no! I can't draw it!
Del

[Zugul]

every time I watch one of your challenging builds I tense op on the chair, already bracing myself for the incoming "Bang"... That pretty much never arrives. Watching those staves turn into bows has something magical to it, and your experience in doing so is unmached

[Ruddy Darter]

Nice work on an awkward stave Del,
Great result, I've found it annoyingly easy to undershoot the target draw weight on the couple of deflex staves I've worked on. Looks a fun bow for roving

 R.D.

[Pat B]

Nice tiller on a difficult stave, Del. Tiller looks good to me. 

[medicinewheel]

every time I watch one of your challenging builds I tense op on the chair, already bracing myself for the incoming "Bang"... That pretty much never arrives. Watching those staves turn into bows has something magical to it, and your experience in doing so is unmached

Same here.

[Thorsten]

Some people call me a strong "boy" but I donˋt see me drawing that kind of strong bow - who can?

Since now, I only had one chance to built a bow from yew but I love that wood and I love my ELB…

52# 28" thatˋs it (only;-)

[Del the cat]

Some people call me a strong "boy" but I donˋt see me drawing that kind of strong bow - who can?

Since now, I only had one chance to built a bow from yew but I love that wood and I love my ELB…

52# 28" thatˋs it (only;-)

When I turned 60 (11 years ago) I thought that if I don't draw 100# now I never will.
It took a bit of training to get there, I could pull 70# but some training and improved technique got me there. Build the weight up slowly.
I still do 20 pushups every morning
Del

[bjrogg]

Nice bow and video Mr. Cat.

I can tell you do those pushups. You’re still looking healthy and sharp.


Bjrogg