Monday 9 December 2013

Yew Stick Longbow Full Draw

It's been shot a few times, got the horn nocks on and had a wipe of Danish Oil. I will take my time shooting it in and finishing it. I want to be V cautious in case any of the cracks on the belly start to open or move, in which case I'll rasp off about 3/16" and glue on a nice long slim patch from the same wood (I always save the offcuts) There are things like grip and arrow plate to consider later, but first I'll give her plenty of exercise.
You can see the bow isn't bending that much, due to it's long length, this was deliberate caution on my part as the stave is so knotty. Normally I like to see a bow with a good bend on it.
Sorry the pics are dotted about a bit, it's a limitation of the blogger software and I can't be bothered to use 'paint' to join all the pics into a montage. The pictures show some of the features, there is a nice little ridge on the back at one point and the big swirl of knot by the bottom nock is interesting. During roughing out there was a big knot there either side and I was tempted to cut it off, yet by the time the tips have been worked down there is just a nice swirl and bump there. A lot of problem areas just melt away during the bow making... some however stubbornly remain.

I think the beauty and strength of this bow is it's untouched back and it would probably withstand a 32" draw, at least maybe a flash/slash draw to 32" for flight shooting. I won't risk it though as the knots and the cracks/shakes mean it is unlikely to fail gracefully if over stressed, more likely to explode.





2 comments:

  1. Very interesting Del
    I'm working on a yew stick bow similar to this at the moment , and if mine looks half as good as yours has turned out - I'll be a happy bunny :-)

    Thanks
    David

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  2. Beautiful bow! I like the bottom nock! Makes sense to round the bottom one, since it will be against the floor all the time, etc. Super nice.

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