pnw sinew backed yew

[sadiejane]

good morning!
been searching, unsuccessfully, for a build-along of a shortish pacific northwest native style bow.
have found numerous pix and specs, and read some books regarding making. but still feeling quite unsure where/how to start.
picked up a yew stave.
the piece of yew is 53" long and about 5" at back with bark still on.
thinking id like to make a sinew backed shortish bow.
being a rank amateur at bowmaking.
have read several of jim hamms books, including ones he has contributed to ie traditional bowyers bible series. and several others.
maybe since this stave was a gift i shld just dive in and see what happens. my tendency is to be more thorough. not afraid to experiment but hate to ruin a perfectly good piece of wood without reason. any suggestions for further reading?
thanks!

[snag]

I am sure you will receive help from very experienced bowyers on here, such as Pat B.
I am a greenhorn also. But from what I have read a short bow is harder to make than a longer bow. The one book I read said to start out making a 66" bow. Because of the extreme compression of the wood a short bow should be wide and flat rather than rounded.  
Good luck with this project. I have just about finished my first, a hazelnut bow. I have started on a osage bow and have another osage stave and yew wood stave in the wings! It is very fun.

[Pat B]

If you are a beginner I would suggest starting off with a simple bow design and learn proper tillering. After you get that down start your new project.
 I've only done a few yew bows and only a few sinew backed bows. I'm sure there are folks here that have done both and maybe a few that have done specific West Coast sinew backed bows. A little bit of searching should find lots of info. Primitivearcher also has a few guys that build these types of bows on a regular basis.

[hova]

yeah i saw a bunch on PA when researching my 51" brush bow. basically , start with some red or white oak , or whatever you can get easily , and get used to tillering. my first bow broke while testing , the second bow broke after i shot it hundreds of time , then glued the handle on. that one broke on the tillering stick. third one is a d-bow that i use daily , and right now i have a 50" pyramid shaped and waiting for some hickory for a backing(or sinew if i ever get work). right now i am working a bend in the handle pyramid style. 51" , white oak , going to have brush nocks and possibly some fancy handle work...


just get something that doesnt mean a lot , cause chances are if youre anything like me , you'll break a few.


if you aint breakin , you ain makin.

-hov

[b.glass]

I've been wanting to make something similar. Maybe we could learn together. I don't have any yew but I've been wanting to get some. With the holidays over I think I can afford a stave. But I may practice on something cheaper.

I have read the same books you have and have a few bows under my belt. What say you?

I will research some specs. In the mean time maybe someone will give us some pointers.

[Silent Bear]

Sadie- how are you doing on the bow

[Pat B]

Bona, ERC is a true juniper and should be similar to the western junipers. Are you far enough south in Indiana to have ERC growing there?
 There was a nice group of West Coast sinew backed yew bows on Primitive Archer. 3 or 4 very cool bows.

[Diamondback59]

hey bonna been a long time  let me know what u guys find out im bulding one now 41 1/2 long yew  im about ready to sinew it  ill b watchin this  brock

[b.glass]

Pat, we do have quite a bit of ERC around here. I would have to do some door knock'n to get any thought. In the small town I call home there is a big, straight, clean tree on the edge of town that I drool over every time I pass it. It has a natural reflex too.

You may recall that I was working on one last spring. Well...I had it in my hot box which sets on top of a refridgerator in the garage/shop. While taking another stave out the juniper bow was dragged out and it landed tip first on the cement floor. Broke the limb about half way down in a long splinter. It was coming out pretty light anyway but now it's not much good at all. I've kept it to maybe take the sinew off or something.

Hey Brock! Can you show us the bow?

[sadiejane]

Originally posted by Silent Bear:
Sadie- how are you doing on the bow

morning silent bear
well, yesterday i took the bark off.
gonna take some pix today and let you take a looksee
what you  think about where a bow can be carved outta this piece of wood.
bowmaking group gets together tonite
will let the expert there take a look too
he has only made osage bows but has done that for about 12 yrs
maybe he can see something int hat wood
thanks
peace

[b.glass]

Silent Bear, you posted some pics of bows like this not too long ago didn't you?

[Bjorn]

Yew does not like to be a short bow at all, for a 28" draw I would suggest 68" or it will not last very long. Osage is great for a shorter length.

[Silent Bear]

sadie- Im sure the expert will be able to help you out and give you some good tips to get started

b.glass- I did post a couple of these bows not to long ago, I would be glad to help anyone out on making these types of bows heres a picture of some of the lastest that I have made
 

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[don s]

SB. those bows are awesome.
                           don

[Diamondback59]

bonna  just got back from missouri been cuttin puttin up osage   i have a new phone if i can figure this thing out and how to post pic s ill do  it    i got a deal for ya  if u still want to make one of them yew shorties iv got about 30  yew billetts  ill trade ya one  for a good ol erc stave lol  p m  me brock

[b.glass]

If I can find a good enough stave that would be a good trade IMO. Yes, please give me your new number. I think I'm going to have a little more time this year and I do want a yew stave or billets. PM sent.

[sadiejane]

tho the bow will be relatively short
it will not have a 28" draw
more like 20-24"ish...
or thats my understanding of these type bows
this is really gonna be a lesson/experiment for me
but im willing to give it a go
in the meantime im working on a osage bow
shes gonna be in the 64" range