Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: NorthHeart on October 15, 2017, 04:58:59 pm
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Hey guys and gals im working on my second ever YEW bow. The first one broke which may have been the wood or may have been due to other factors, who knows. Im familiar with Osage but Yew is still new to me and i really want this one to last. Its 66" ntn, rawhide backed for insurace. The thickest width of the limbs near the fades is 1 3/4" and it narrows down to 1" at the tips. Ive heard that YEW can get brittle and break in the arid climates. Well i live at 9200ft and its very arid here, a fact that i still wonder about on my broken YEW bow. I figured if i overbuilt this one and followed the right design maybe it would be ok. I am at the floor tiller stage and am about ready to cut in nocks and get it on the tillering tree. I envision a bow anywhere between 45-60# @ 24" or 25" when done, stiff reflexed tips. Im open to any and all advice. Some primary questions id like to get answered from some experienced YEW bowyers are as follows: is my elevation ok for a YEW bow or am i just flirting with disaster and wasting my time? Where should i go from here on the tillering? Meaning now that its trapped do i remove wood off the flat belly surface or the angles running down the sides(hope that makes sense). In other words i dont know if its better to have a D profile cross section or more of a flat bow. Keep in mind i did leave the sap wood on too. Thanks for any input yall have! This things looking lovely in my eyes and wish to keep it that way:)
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more pics.........
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Looks like a nice clean stave, it should be very do able to get a bow of your drawlength from that design, and length, it should be overbuilt at these dimensions, and should help get around the dryness. If this one fails then it will almost certainly be due to too dry wood. Then your options would be sinew backing, or use a wood like hickory that thrives as a bow in dry climates
What were the dimensions and design of the bow that broke?
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I wouldn't have trapped a yew back in a dry climate, as you want as much of the back there as possible, because when bow wood breaks from low humidity/moisture content it is a break in tension, not compression.
A hickory or bamboo backing strip is also an option for you.
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I live in a very arid climate, and have never had issues with yew being too dry. Our summers are 12-20% humidity, and my shop is usually 30%. I keep a Hydrometer in my shop to monitor this.
Your trapped just the belly correct? I start all my bows this way, but only for a reference on thickness to keep things even, then continue reducing on the flat section and start rounding the side once I get things even and bending. At 66", and 1 3/4" available width, that's more than plenty for a 26" draw, even 28". Just stick with a flat profile, with radius'd edges
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Hamish-thanks for your advice. I trapped the belly to work down limb taper thickness untill it was floor tillered. I did not do this to the back(which has rawhide on top of the sapwood). Just making sure i didnt misunderstand you.
High-Desert-i have a hygrometer too. Its currently showing 20% humidity. Seeing as how its bending on the floor, i suppose from here i should go ahead and round the edges off. Ill take your advice and tiller it by removing wood from the flat belly surface only.
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Got a chance to do some more work on the yew bow. So it started as a flat bow then i kinda trapped the sides a bit, hopefully it shows in the pics but the profile is flat/trapped as opposed to fully flat or a "D" shaped cross section. I did this so that the area i was working around the fades would be appealing to the eye where they met the limb. I wonder how much speed/draw weight i cost myself vs leaving it flat? I didnt realize how much more wood yew requires to get the same draw weight as an osage bow. I figured this would be a 60# bow im at about 40#.
How does the tiller look? Its 44#@25" today, yesterday it was 42-43# at 24", seems i may be loosing poundage with draw. Funny thing is the next day the limbs are straight again not relaxed like right after i shoot it when viewed against my grid. It shoots nicely so far at my 23.5" draw, but im wondering how far can i safely pull it back to? I think it might be the ideal bow for someone with a longer draw than myself.
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There are several guys that I know in Central and Eastern Oregon where it is very dry and they make and shoot yew bows with no problems.
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It is looking very good to me, beautiful piece of wood. :)
Pappy
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Looks good to me... mind the back is the most important bit IMO and that's the only bit we don't see.
Ah, just read it's rawhide backed.... :-[
Note to self... read more slowly... ;)
Del
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Looks really good. At that length and rawhide backed you should be able to get a 28" draw.
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How does the tiller look? Its 44#@25" today, yesterday it was 42-43# at 24", seems i may be loosing poundage with draw. Funny thing is the next day the limbs are straight again not relaxed like right after i shoot it when viewed against my grid. It shoots nicely so far at my 23.5" draw, but im wondering how far can i safely pull it back to? I think it might be the ideal bow for someone with a longer draw than myself.
A light heat treat may help. It will give you a few pounds, help the bow hold it's reflex and it won't have that annoying creep back overnight. I you do it just right you can darken the belly just enough to sharpen up the contrast between the sapwood and heartwood. Be careful you don't scorch the back. Del uses a few layers of masking tape to protect the back. I'm going to try that on my next Yew bow.
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Looks really good. At that length and rawhide backed you should be able to get a 28" draw.
Even in very low humidity huh? Im very tempted to try it.
DC how would you induce the heat, with a heat gun? How much heat in the belly to do what your saying but not affect the Titebond 3 and rawhide?
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Im now at 46# @ 26". Here are the pics of brace, drawn, and destrung after.
Sorry about the sideways pics i dont get it, they are straight up and down on my phone and computer.
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Looking very good to these eyes. :)
Pappy
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Looks good to me too. Yes, use a heat gun. Watch it like a hawk so it doesn't get too dark. Don't go to pee don't turn away :D. Do a google search on "Heat Treating Bows". Lots of stuff comes up.
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Ok boys tonight i puller her back 100 times to 49# @ 27". Pics are at rest prior, at rest after, and during the draw cycle. Havent heat treated anything yet. Got to thinking will that make it more brittle or less likely to hold up to a 28" draw?
Btw i intend the lower limb to be the one on the left, or exactly how it appears in my sideways pics lol.
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Excellent job, doesn't look like it took any set at all.
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I'd leave it. I only mentioned heat treating because you mentioned that it seemed to be taking set set and you thought the weight was down. It looks great as is.
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Beautiful tiller. I wouldn't change a thing. Don't heat treat it. I think it could potentially make it more brittle, not to mention you backed it with rawhide. I'd slap it, string it and call it a bow! ;D
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Ok ladies and gents...here she is drawn to 51-52#@28". Which brings my next set of questions.
When you measure your bow for the official stats...do you use the first draw initial number which is inevitably higher by about a pound, or do you go with the lower number after its been pulled a few times???
Also, when you determine that you want a 28" bow for yourself or a buddy...how far over 28" do you pull it for safety? 28 and 1/4". 28 and 1/2"???
Thanks for the helps guys.
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I guess I would go with what every number it settles in on. Never really though about it. Unless you pull it passed the intended draw which I usually do by about an inch at least once just to be safe and sure of the bow. After that I don't like them to be pulled anymore than they were tillered for. Who know how much more you can draw one before in best case harms the bow and in worst case break it. As For me I don't care to find out. ;) Nice looking bow. :)
Pappy
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Thanks for your advice Pappy! )P(
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What Pappy said. :)
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Very nice looking yew bow you made there.I'd call it good.I too like to pull a little past intended draw length[close to an inch] and only then while tillering just for safetys sake.A top view of the bows' back would be nice.
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Nice yew bow. I think you have a keeper.
Will you post a full draw pic with you drawing it? Sometimes the static draw from a tiller tree will be different than a hand drawn bow.
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Merry Christmas and thanks for the comments guys! BowEd and Pat B ill see about getting those pics up.
I have pulled it a half inch over the intended draw length to 28.5" for safety. but some of yall are saying that you pull a full 1" past the DL? Well, for the dimensions of this bow do yall think i should get it back to 29" just once....or do i leave it and not push my luck?
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This is one of the cases I would say the decision is strictly yours as to how far you want to pull it for safety. I usually go 1 inch over but if I told you to go over and it broke I would feel bad. Whenever possible I like to find out a guys true draw length and not take there word for it. I know a lot of guys who draw 26 or 26 1/2 who think they draw 28 The shorter you draw a bow the better it is for the bow.
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First rule is, if he is taller than you or looks a bit like a chimpanze don't let him pull your bow. Or if he's wearing a sweatshirt that say's "compound bows rule".
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I'm not going to say to draw it to 29", but at 66" long and 1-3/4" wide, there's plenty of wood there for a 50 lb bow at that draw length. It looks like your stave is clean, and your tiller looks great and it doesn't look like you have any set.
And Merry Christmas everyone.
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Excellent job. I'm glad this one is working out for you.
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Drew the bow to 29" 3 times :OK
As primitive bowyers we measure brace height from the back of the grip area, right(and by back i mean back of the bow)?
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Tried to capture pics of the back.
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Looking at the bow this morning i think it may have taken a little set, primarily on the lower limb(left side of the pics, or the one that appears down on the sideways pics). I went back and looked at the pics to confirm this...had to pull the website up twice and look back and forth between my last pic at 28" and my most recent at 29". I think im seeing it in the outer portion where the bow narrows just a bit before the curved tips. Let me know what yall think.
Either way, im glad she held up and i feel safer now about the forgiveness of the draw length. What amount of set do yall find acceptable on your bows? Im not even sure how one wold measure set. Ill show my ignorance here. I still dont get the difference between set and string follow?
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Just tell everyone that you put a little deflex in it to lower the strain ;) ;) ;) Shoot it, if you like it, it's fine. It looks great to me.
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Like Gawge says, set happens. Unless it is excessive, it isn't the end of the world. That bow looks great. Shoot the heck out of it, and make another.
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You may be right ablout some set in that limb, but from the looks of it, it's not significant and an acceptable amount. I have a few bows with considerably noticeable set and they have been shooting great for a long while. Great job on this bow
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Thanks for easing my concern fellas. Here is a pic i took drawing the bow myself(keep in mind im only at about 24" at my anchor).
I drew it to 28" multiple times today and it was at a solid 50#. At my short draw of about 23-24" it was weighing in at 39-41# and flinging a 555gr arrow at 132-134fps. Not gonna break any speed records but i can only imagine what she can do at 28". FWIW my Osage hunting bow only shoots about 138-140fps, and it seems to get the job done. I use the same arrow for testing all bows so that i have a constant in the process...its actually an Easton aluminum draw length measuring arrow i went ahead and fletched up lol.
And regarding my previous question on brace height, do yall measure it from the string to the back of the bow? And what would you say is an appropriate starting point for a bow like this?
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Finally finished the shelf and grip on my second yew bow. Felt compelled to share the pics:)
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If you are drawing 24" I would tiller the bow to 25". You will notice a big boost in performance not going past your own draw length.