Any self bow enthusiasts here.

Yvsa

Yvsa

Joined
May 18, 1999
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Just happened to think.... Everyone talks about seasoning bow wood and the importance of using hardwood trees cut in the winter when the sap is down.... Well what about Yew?
Is not Yew an evergreen and therefore always cut green and if so how do you go about seasoning it for self bows???? :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

Just wondering...;) :D :o :eek: :rolleyes:
 
You tell it dog jokes until the sap is so skeerd that it hides down in the roots. Once the sap is down, you cut you a yew stave and season with salt and pepper to taste.

:D
 
I would love to get into self bowing but in the desert there aren't too many trees to harvest good wood from. and lowes or home depot don't count:)
 
Yvsa, I believe there may have been another DIY bow enthusiast in one o' them OTHER forums. Possibly in its "Great Outdoors" section if I recall correctly. But you may yet have some of the regulars here chime in.
 
aliloff said:
I would love to get into self bowing but in the desert there aren't too many trees to harvest good wood from. and lowes or home depot don't count:)
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Aliloff the Apache and other tribes made great bows from the desert wood they had. And don't sell Lowe's or Home Depot short as they have some good Red Oak Staves for the picking. Sarge was very much a believer in the dried stave bows from either place. I think they may even carry Ash once in a while and Ash makes a great bow.
It does take some picking to find a proper kiln dried stave but they are out there. Check out the old and older posts here for a whole lot of info on self bows.
 
I'm a self-bowyer wannabe :). I just haven't had the time when I had the money to explore it. I did buy the Bowyer Bible vol 1 a few years back (had to leave it in Fl :mad:).

I can't answer your question. I would think that an evergreen would have sap year-round... but maybe it is less during some parts of the year than others... ?

Alan
 
Watch out for Yew wood - it is a accumlative poison - but takes many years of working with it to really wreck you. I have heard of one English Bowyer who has to have his Bowyer business partner completely change clothes /shower etc before coming over to his workeshop if the partner has been working the Yew. Apparently any more of the Yew toxins will do him in big time.There are a few resources out there re the seasoning of Yew wood.I have had a couple of Yew staves seasoning for a few years waiting for me to do something with them...probably means I'm either very patient or just lazy...LOL ! The Yew tree virus is almost as bad as HIKV.People give you a weird look when you suddenly stop the car and go tearing into a Church yard and start hugging a Yew tree and then you wonder if anyone will notice if it suddenly accidently gets "slightly" pruned...oops ...LOL !
 
Yvsa said:
Aliloff the Apache and other tribes made great bows from the desert wood they had. And don't sell Lowe's or Home Depot short as they have some good Red Oak Staves for the picking. Sarge was very much a believer in the dried stave bows from either place. I think they may even carry Ash once in a while and Ash makes a great bow.
It does take some picking to find a proper kiln dried stave but they are out there. Check out the old and older posts here for a whole lot of info on self bows.
Click to expand...

Yvsa, I know they have 'em but it's not the same feeling as going out and finding one in the woods.
 
aliloff said:
Yvsa, I know they have 'em but it's not the same feeling as going out and finding one in the woods.
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True, but a man has to do what a man has to do.:)
I have no aversion to using any kind of wood as long as it will make a proper bow.;)
 
I was told the local indians used osage orange....For bows and arrows...carl........ps....I use it for knife handles.....
 
combs6136 said:
I was told the local indians used osage orange....For bows and arrows...carl........ps....I use it for knife handles.....
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Carl I have some Osage Orange for both bow staves, such as they are because I haven't checked them in years, as well as some for knife handles and other things.
Osage is another wood that can be toxic to anyone who works much of it so be careful.

The main thing I was wondering is how the old ones seasoned Yew as it is an evergreen and can't be cut when the sap is down.
I know how I season summer cut wood but just wondered how the Brits and the people in the PN did it......:confused:
 
Yvsa said:
Carl I have some Osage Orange for both bow staves, such as they are because I haven't checked them in years, as well as some for knife handles and other things...
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I know what *I'm* doing on my next visit...
 
Jutte said:
Watch out for Yew wood - it is a accumlative poison - but takes many years of working with it to really wreck you.
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IIRC the Yew tree is the source for the Cancer drugs Taxol and Taxotere. Both these drugs can have severe side effects so I can imagine that the sap or dust from the wood can be poisonous.
 
you're supposed to only harvest yew that has been struck by lightning :)

though i don't know why.

bladite
 
Yvsa a few {actualy lots} of years ago I worked for a while in a Shipyard, my main extra income seemed to be turning green yew & seasoned Canadian rock maple or baseball bats & box wood or greenheart truncheans for my "lumpy & earthy" co-workers. {All Custom made of course.}

i used to get a realy "high" of all the yew sap spray that used to spray onto me, like a strong coffee hit but more "spiritual" realy. I liked it but I dont reckon it would be good for the body in the long run.

Even though its an evergreen the sap drops in the winter so the trunk moisture content is much lower. You can see this as a fact from the annual rings in the timber, if it grew all year their wouldnt be any ring feature.

Thanks for reminding me to check on the sapling I first pruned 14 years ago, I havent checked it for 4 years, it might just be ready. :)

Spiral
 
i wanna learn me how to make these things and bend them and ...

i even bought a draw shave last year and have some stuff seasoning. shame it takes YEARS. SHAME.

bladite
 
My daughter is into Archery BIGTIME and we have tried to make a good bow out of several kinds of wood but could not get one that had consistency in shooting. We have finally purchased a bow made from the famous Carbon Fiber/Fiberglass tree which apparently only grows back east since I have never seen one...And boy, Is the wood on that tree expensive !!
 
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