Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: simk on June 28, 2025, 06:16:27 pm

Title: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: simk on June 28, 2025, 06:16:27 pm
I made this one for some fellow that shoots longbow competition with his Howard Hill glassbow. Hopefully now can convert him to a woodie and save his soul  ;D
Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: simk on June 28, 2025, 06:17:44 pm
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Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: simk on June 28, 2025, 06:19:08 pm
thanx for watching
Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: willie on June 29, 2025, 02:31:49 pm
I made this one for some fellow that shoots longbow competition with his Howard Hill glassbow. Hopefully now can convert him to a woodie and save his soul  ;D

very nicely done HH style.
It would be interesting to hear more about how hickory backed yew works out. The hickory looks very thin. I should think it will work fine.
Did it take any set?

Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: Del the cat on June 29, 2025, 02:45:50 pm
Gorgeous bow, love the colour of the Yew against the Hickory.
Del
Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: simk on June 29, 2025, 05:27:09 pm
Thanks Del
Minimizing set was priority here because of the higher drawweight and in fact it did not take a lot. I glued in about 7cm of reflex and preserved around 4. That is very good imho. My approach was
1 make it long enough 68.5ntn
2 use the better yew
3 heattreat the yew before glueup
4 use hickory instead of boo
5 make a flat belly
6 tiller careful
I normally dont like a hickory backing for a 40# bow....it clearly makes the slower bow than boo. But it does stress the belly less. Its the give and take gamble 😁
Cheers :)
Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: Pappy on June 29, 2025, 06:24:06 pm
Nice bow, that should bring him around. :)
 Pappy
Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: willie on June 29, 2025, 06:44:19 pm

I normally dont like a hickory backing for a 40# bow....it clearly makes the slower bow than boo. But it does stress the belly less. Its the give and take gamble 😁


presuming both boo and hickory have the same effect although in differing amounts....
it would seem with any backing that has a different stiffness than the belly, that "how much" is just as important as "what"
Title: Re: Yew-Yew-Hickory 63#-28"
Post by: JW_Halverson on July 02, 2025, 01:02:04 pm

I normally dont like a hickory backing for a 40# bow....it clearly makes the slower bow than boo. But it does stress the belly less. Its the give and take gamble 😁


presuming both boo and hickory have the same effect although in differing amounts....
it would seem with any backing that has a different stiffness than the belly, that "how much" is just as important as "what"

This right here is the line that is drawn between the boys and the men! Anyone can make a bow. Some of them will figure out how to consistently make bows that don't break. A rarer bunch will figure out how to make bows that shoot well, and can consistently turn out a quality product.

And it comes down to learning the trade-offs. Give up a little here, get a little there. Learning that give-and-take isn't an easy process because you have to make plenty of mistakes along the way. Those that come in with the mindset believing there is a "best" are badly handicapped. They cannot let go of this desire for "best" and it's false promise of the "one true way". Baby, this bow making is a dance!

Simk, I love your posts and the bows. You have an eye for graceful lines and, unsurprisingly, graceful lines are what work best with bending wood. Cheers, brother!