sorry it took so long
I got distracted while looking for my copy of The Traditional Bowyer's Bible Volume 1...
anyways... just as an fyi there is alot of info in the chapter, and I doubt I'll do justice to it... ok the first thing to note is that on yew the growth rings consist of 2 parts first the lighter early wood and then the late wood (the dark rings)(it is not talking about the sapwood and heartwood but rather the growth rings)... it goes on to say to "cut a tree when you want to or when you can, just make sure you treat it properly once it is down." It says the tree should be a min 8 in because it will be deep enough for the grip of a bow. "Before cutting a tree, look closely at the bark, because its appearance is a sure indicator of major grain characteristics of the wood." (they are calling grain the "lines" that wood splits on, not the growth rings) if the bark spirals up the tree the grain will too. Now that you've picked a tree you can cut it down, how you do so is your choice. You can either split it into staves or cut it, from what I've read it dosen't make much of a difference (if the grain spirals it will twist when drying) also you can pull the bark off and seal the back and ends off at this time but my personal opinion is to leave the bark on and seal the ends (from what I've read most who work w/ yew would leave the bark on) Now a bit about drying, the book talks more about getting the wood down to a % range of 12-7% below 5% is a dangerous area to be, to measure the moisture content you'll want to buy a moisture meter(idk where to buy one, but i need to find out so i can reduce the chance of my erc bow from breaking), you could also weigh the wood every couple days till it stops losing weight and give it another week or so and it should be ready. Sooo its your choice leave the staves/ billets out to dry for a year (as is said by some who use yew) or you can artificially dry them (i.e.: a kiln (a car in the middle of summer works for this)) Checking for over-dryed wood is simple: just play w/ kinda bow shaped sliver of the wood, it will show just how brittle it is.
I hope this helps
there is more info in the chapter, and is a worth while read, but don't take everything at face-value, do your research and make your own opinion, best advice I can give (I read this somewhere) is do what the wood wants you to do
--Mark R.
