Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Taxus brevifolia on April 21, 2018, 01:03:03 pm
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I posted this pic a few days ago, someone said I should have let it grow another 150 years...I disagree. It's an old branch, and it's as straight as one of Carson's arrow shafts, and plenty long enough. I have a strict system of ethics regarding what I cut. I call it the cut/no cut matrix. Just because you have the green light from the powers that be, doesn't mean you should cut. This piece passes all tests with flying colors. If your preference is for wood 200+ years old, fine, but please don't act like cutting anything younger is a bad idea.
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I never complain about anything anyone cuts. It's another matter if you complain about after :)
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A lot of yew I cut is that size, maybe a little bigger. 2-3” is my favourite stuff.
Much easier to cut and haul out, and you don’t have to kill a tree to get a few staves from it.
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I’m the opposite. If I can’t get 4-5 staves out of a round I won’t cut it.
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I'd be willin to trade ya a nice Osage stave for a nice yew stave. Never worked yew over yet😅. Seriously though. If you're up for it I am too
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Whew I'm glad I'm not the onliest one!
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If it's a tiny branch or a big 10" tree, if I can use a majority of it with out waste, I'll cut it. This piece looks like it will get good and used.
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It will make a bow. But the amount of heartwood is gonna be minimal. If I had to guess it will probably follow the string 3-4 inches.
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Bryce, remember the sapwood thinning debate.
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I think on this one I'll probably end up chasing down a sapwood ring
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Bryce, remember the sapwood thinning debate.
How could I forget it was hilarious. Even still. Not much.
I’ve done sapling yew bows where there is sapwood on the sides of the belly. They never really shoot that great...
Great back to chasing rings on yew again SMH
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Ishi's best bow was only yew heartwood backed with rawhide.
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Ishi's best bow was only yew heartwood backed with rawhide.
I’m not sure what your point is?
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Apparently reducing yew sapwood is a good thing if you need to access the good stuff. That's all people are trying to do.
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Sure....??? Not making much sense there pat. I’m talking about the stave in the picture. Nobody said anything about heartwood bows or whatever. If you look at that stave it’s 2/3rds sapwood which is garbage when it comes to compression. Yeah he can take the sapwood down but then that all around less wood to work with. Being 1/3rd heartwood there is gonna be more that usual amount a string follow Bc the proportions are off.
Now, that being said, yeah it’ll make a bow. Now compared to a bow with the proper ratios and dimension they’re going to be entirely different shooting bows performance wise. Granted it’s a good stave to learn on.
If it where mine I would definitely decrown and try and make it as narrow as it would let me.
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Sure....??? Not making much sense there pat. I’m talking about the stave in the picture. Nobody said anything about heartwood bows or whatever. If you look at that stave it’s 2/3rds sapwood which is garbage when it comes to compression. Yeah he can take the sapwood down but then that all around less wood to work with. Being 1/3rd heartwood there is gonna be more that usual amount a string follow Bc the proportions are off.
Now, that being said, yeah it’ll make a bow. Now compared to a bow with the proper ratios and dimension they’re going to be entirely different shooting bows performance wise. Granted it’s a good stave to learn on.
If it where mine I would definitely decrown and try and make it as narrow as it would let me.
Even though I didn't make sense you figured it out perfectly in the end. ;)
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Sure....??? Not making much sense there pat. I’m talking about the stave in the picture. Nobody said anything about heartwood bows or whatever. If you look at that stave it’s 2/3rds sapwood which is garbage when it comes to compression. Yeah he can take the sapwood down but then that all around less wood to work with. Being 1/3rd heartwood there is gonna be more that usual amount a string follow Bc the proportions are off.
Now, that being said, yeah it’ll make a bow. Now compared to a bow with the proper ratios and dimension they’re going to be entirely different shooting bows performance wise. Granted it’s a good stave to learn on.
If it where mine I would definitely decrown and try and make it as narrow as it would let me.
Even though I didn't make sense you figured it out perfectly in the end. ;)
Oh well good:) must be my Jedi powers maturing.
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You only need a very little amount of heartwood to prevent string follow. Even sapwood showing up on the belly edges is no big deal. Although they are not as eye appealing as a bow with the "proper ratio", bows that are majority sapwood, come in very light in physical weight and take no set.
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You only need a very little amount of heartwood to prevent string follow. Even sapwood showing up on the belly edges is no big deal. Although they are not as eye appealing as a bow with the "proper ratio", bows that are majority sapwood, come in very light in physical weight and take no set.
Sorry bud, but that’s not true at all.
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I have made maybe a dozen yew bows, less than a few of you for certain. I have to agree. The less sapwood and more heartwood off the stump is no doubt better in the end. I just finished a 70" ELB'ish style bow. It started as a dead flat stave and now follows the string 1.5", too much for my numbers and too much for the time I took tillering. The ratio is about 1:1 on the finished bow. Great bow, but not as zippy as it should or could be.
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Not saying you guys are wrong, Maybe style makes a difference, but I just finished a flat bow, that nearly has sapwood showing through, 65lbs @ 27, and has taken no to very little set, and weighs 18oz. That has just been my experience with it. I haven't chrono'd it, so maybe the differnece will show up there.
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Every yew stave is different, and all our experiences vary as well.
I’ve made 50-60 yew bows, and have made some sapling bows where there
was more sapwood than heartwood. I save those staves for lightweight bows
and they always make good bows. The draw weight prevents set, so design your bow for the stave you have. Without a doubt, yew heartwood is the true magic,
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That one side has the denser/thinner sapwood, I thought I might try making that the back
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The side with the tighter rings is 99% most likely the tension side of the stave. You’ll want that to be the back of your bow. Otherwise you’ll end up with a dog in comparison.
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And the sapwood it thinner there so you might not have to reduce it. Nice natural back. :D
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Back, yes I meant back. Sorry. I thought I'd get the thinner/denser sapwood on the back, for doing what sapwood does, and then there's plenty of heartwood for the belly including the densest heartwood. Or this was my thinking anyway.