Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: shamus on December 27, 2015, 02:39:11 pm
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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.
(http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/sx975/IMG_2509_zpssat0v2zg.jpg)
(http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/sx975/IMG_2507_zps6u7mccuv.jpg)
(http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/sx975/IMG_2504_zpsqe1l76ay.jpg)
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Looks fine. Happens in yew all the time.
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+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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i8tv8EknVw)
Del
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thanks, guys. :)
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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?
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no there's no violations. Once I sand the back the scratches will be gone along with the remaining bits of inner bark.
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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.
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Seriously, people debate that? ?? :o 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.
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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! :o 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 (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
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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.
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... 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
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That's the American versus European yew difference. ;)
Pope and Young backed their yew with rawhide for a reason.
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Yeah they backed bows that where 75-100# to reduce the chances of breaking, as a type of insurance policy.
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Sheesh ::)...
I've overcome similar problems on a 130# Yew ELB...
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/dealing-with-dip.html (http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/dealing-with-dip.html)
But hey... what do I know? ;) :laugh:
Del
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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.
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Pope and Young had many breakages, it wasn't just for insurance. Consider also location Del. Aren't you in a place tailor made for Yew to show its strengths?
What you can get away with in one location can be disastrous in another.
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I've seen those bows. And there pretty much de-crowned. And the amount of use they used those bows too far more exceeds my own and anyone else I know. And I would back any 75#-100#hunting bow no matter what the wood.
But I'm with del on this one,
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Shamus, it has been a long time. It is good to see you back and posting.
Jawge
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aw, thanks, George. :D
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Wow that is a lovely stave. 45-50 rpi is pretty good these days. I think 60 rpi is the most I have personally come across, but then again you sometimes hear of ones around 100 rpi.
I can't help feeling slightly jealous, even though I have a fair stack of lovely yew, that I haven't touched for years.
Hamish.
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Wow that is a lovely stave. 45-50 rpi is pretty good these days. I think 60 rpi is the most I have personally come across, but then again you sometimes hear of ones around 100 rpi.
I can't help feeling slightly jealous, even though I have a fair stack of lovely yew, that I haven't touched for years.
Hamish.
whoops. I deleted my post.
here are the pics again.
(http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/sx975/ae300e4f-a71f-4c39-a94f-b57bc6fd6c89_zpspv6a8a8r.jpg)
(http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa466/sx975/IMG_2418_zpsgqkkb1ry.jpg)
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While I'm at it, how strong is the bow you are wanting to make?
I would call that furrow a flaw(ever so small though), rather than a violation. You could probably get by without doing anything else to it. Even though the sapwood is unbroken, that localised furrow might cause a hinge on the belly, hard to know until you try it.
Personally I would rather be safe than sorry, and leave a small swelling in the sapwood, out at the edge, or take the entire sapwood down to an even level as Del does at times. Virtually all the old yew bows had their sapwood shaved and levelled off, decrowned into a flat back.
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I was shooting for 40#@30".
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That stave should be pushed to something wonderful in the 150lb range. You don't see pacific Yew with that gentle recurve and ring count too often! Dream big, make a masterpiece!
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That stave should be pushed to something wonderful in the 150lb range. You don't see pacific Yew with that gentle recurve and ring count too often! Dream big, make a masterpiece!
Hmm....you don't? Bc I do.
Nice piece of wood! Should make just about anything you want:D
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Nope, that's the sort of stave warbow makers over here would pay about $500 for, if not more.
You can make 40# bows out of anything, but a piece of wood like that needs something amazing done with it!
I'm kinda joking really, any bow is a good bow. I just know what I'd use it for ;)
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Really? I didn't think it was warbow quality. It's been seasoning indoors for the past 15 years so I decided make something out of it. But I wouldn't want to waste it. Hmmmm.
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Not warbow quality?!?! You should see the stuff I use! 5 rings per inch, heartwood showing through the back, knots all over the place being pushed to 120lb or 130lb...
I saw an absolutely stunning 155lb Pacific yew bow made by Joe Gibbs recently, with the thinnest sapwood I've ever seen. It was so thin that with a slightly rounded back you could see the heartwood along the sides when you looked square at it, just like the Mary Rose bows. Even that had less rings per inch.
Don't let me persuade you away from your original plan though. I'm biased, but it would make a stunning bow no matter the poundage.
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I made a warbow out of this a while ago. If your stave isn't "warbow quality" I don't know what is ;)
(http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb363/Will_Sherman/18095_10153140621081427_1674330906030093193_n_zpsap749iux.jpg) (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/Will_Sherman/media/18095_10153140621081427_1674330906030093193_n_zpsap749iux.jpg.html)
There is some sapwood on there somewhere, to the left ;)
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In my mind (granted, a beginner's mind) it should not be a problem.
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If you're only going to make a light bow why not bandsaw off the belly inch and make a backed bow with that piece?
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If you're only going to make a light bow why not bandsaw off the belly inch and make a backed bow with that piece?
Not a bad idea. But it seldom pays to get to greedy with a stave... you wind up ruining the stave. Or at least I do. :embarassed:
My plan is to proceed as planned while keeping an eye on it. If it presents a problem, I'll back it with rawhide, or wrap the ends of that area with nylon serving thread and epoxy. I'd be more inclined to a wrap than back the bow.