Need your helpful yew harvest hints

[Blackhawk]

Some of my wife's relatives own some property near the west side of the Cascade Mountains here in Washington.  They have a few yew trees of 6"-10" diameter that appear very straight with no limbs the first 8'...and they say I can have one of their yews for making a bow, or two or three.  

Since I've never made a bow, I would like to get a tree that "may" contain 3-4 staves.  Other than cutting down a 10" tree, leaving on the bark, and painting the ends, what else?

I know I need to keep it dry for a year, but other tips would be great.  

Have I missed something critical in making a selection?

[fujimo]

yew is tricky stuff, allow it to dry very slowly, keep out of the sun and wind, maybe saw it in half- doesnt split very well- like to run out!!.
on average 1 year per every inch in the round to reach equilibrium m/c..
what i would do personally, saw to rough stave dimensions, (oversize) and strap it to some forms- 4x4 with riser blocks- to induce back set or r/d - remove twist etc, while drying.
i had a beautiful log a few years ago- that had been in my barn for quite a few years- was dry- or so i thought- saw'ed it into staves, and brought them inside into my cozy,warm  shop- and within 15 mins they had all split all over the sapwood beyond use.
and while it is drying- get some practice on some other staves- so you dont waste the good stuff practicing.
look for some vine maple on his place while you are there- awesome wood i believe!!

post lots of pics of the trees befor you cut them- folks will help out heaps here- and give good advice.
then post pics of the logs to get the best "splits"

g'luck

[Blackhawk]

OMG...10 years to dry for a 10"X8' log???  I guess sawing into staves wins out here.

Can I expect to get 4 staves from a tree of 10"?

There is plenty of vine maple nearby, so will definitely do some practice.  

I have a few selfbow fans in our local club, and will have to get their help too.

Would storing the yew in my attic be OK?  It's a bit warm there in the summer and cool in winter...but it's dry.

[Bowjunkie]

Absolutely NOT. The attic is an extreme environment and will ruin a green stave. Initially, it will be very wet and needs to be put in a place that will cause it to lose moisture slowly so that it doesnt split. Someplace cool, with a relative humidity above 60-65% and little to no air movement. A cool basement perhaps, or a shaded shed, etc. Later, after it loses the bulk of its moisture, it can be moved someplace drier. Patience is a virtue. One of the yew staves I'm currently working is 22 years old :^) .. and I'm still very careful with how and where it's stored. I've made yew bows within a year of cutting the tree though, you just have to be VERY careful about drying it.

[fujimo]

one year per inch in the round, so a 10" would take 5 years- ( one year per inch around)this is just a very general benchmark to be used- but gives you an idea- a lot depends on the woods porosity,cut in winter or summer etc etc.
take it real slow!!
when you cut vine maple there is a top side and a bottom side- mark this clearly when you harvest it, cos' when you saw it in half, you want to split it along this line- stave/s from the top and stave/s from the bottom ! you will find staves from the top go into immediate reflex, and staves from the bottom into deflex, i took the deflex staves and strapped them to a reflexing caul, and they took on very nice reflex as they dried- still have to make bows out of them yet- to see how that went.

yew likes to be around 12% mc. so dont overdry it , it will become brittle.
i might get most the moisture out- maybe a year, then split it, and strap to cauls, then slowly let it come down to the 12%- yew moves a lot while it is drying- there are a lot of compression and tension forces being enacted as it dries out.
if, and when you do split it, i would then debark and coat the outsides with a sealant.

[LittleBen]

Regarding how many staves you can get, a 10" diameter tree has a circumference of ~30".

If you split it into quarters each blank would have an arc length of 7.85" and a chord length of ~7".

If you split it into 8 sections each blank would have an arc length of 3.9" and a chord length of 3.8"

Refer to this article to see what I mean by arc length (s) and chord length (c)  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circular_segment

Chord length is related to the maximum width of the bow you can make, so lets say to be safe, you want to know the max limb width for a 1" thick limb (obviously you wont need 1" thick, but this is to make the calculation conservative).

For maximum Limb width (LWm), Take chord length (c), divide by diameter of the log(D), then multiply by (diameter of the log (D) - thickness of the limb (Tl) or:
LWm = c ((D - Tl)/D)

for a 10" diameter log, split into 8 pieces as described, and figuring a 1" thick limb (to be safe)

LWm = 3.8" ((10-1)/10)
LWm = 3.8" (9/10)
LWM = 3.42" .... so once you square off the stave you'd have a maximum of 3.42" width.

For a 6" diameter log, split into 8 pieces as described below, and figuring 1" thick limbs (to be safe)

LWm = 2.29" ((6-1)/6)
LWm = 2.29" (5/6)
LWM = 1.9" .... so once you square off the stave you'd have a maximum of 1.9" width.


Based on these calculations, a 10" tree should yield 8 very ample staves. That will leave you alot of room to remove wood from the sides of the stave.

I would probably split the stave into quarters, saw off a belly split from each quarter, then split the outer portion of each quarter into 2 staves. Like this:  http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Timotoad/osage%2009/osage014.jpg

That would be enough for 8 selfbows and 4 backed bows. You could probably go even crazier but I wouldn't risk it. Thats alot of bows. and with stave prices for good yew, thats big money.

For a 6" log the circumference is ~19"

If you split it into quarters each blank would have an arc length of ~4.75" and a chord length of ~4.24".

If you split into 6, each blank would have an arc length of ~ 3.16" and a chord length of ~3"

If you split it into 8 sections each blank would have an arc length of ~2.375" and a chord length of 2.29"

For a 6" diameter tree I'd probably split it into thirds, saw off one belly split each, then split the outer staves into 2 each, yielding 6 outer staves and 3 belly splits. Again, you could probabyl go crazier and split it into 8 staves and 4 belly splits, but I wouldn't risk it personally.

I know that was long but hope that helps with deciding the age old question of "how many staves are in this log"

[Blackhawk]

Great info from you guys and I really appreciate it.  I did find a 6" that was deadly straight with no limbs for the first 8 feet.  

I had read to avoid such a tree that has a "twist", but not sure about how to ID a twist by checking the bark, so who can tell me what to look for?

[John Scifres]

I rarely get 8 or more staves from a 10" osage tree, even the straightest one I can find. I'd be surprised if yew is that different.  It is much better to have more wood than you need on a stave than to try for too much and waste it all.  It's the old bird-in-the-hand maxim...

That being said, quarter it, and then split each quarter.  You should get 8 staves.  Belly splits are tricky for newbs.  Best to be sure to get what you can from the first one.

It is possible to force dry bow wood.  I've never done it with yew but plenty of others have. You don't have to wait an year per inch.  Some maxims are just that...

[fujimo]

to really help with twist- try and get your eye close to the trunk, right at the bottom- lie on your back next to the tree- and look up it -kinda like sighting along a board, and you will see the twist- as you get better at it, you wont have to do the "newton" thing.
but it does help a bit in the beginning, yew usually has kinda thick "spirals" a few inches thick, if those are straight, then she's straight- almost like someone has let super thick molassas flow down the trunk- kinda hard to explain.- if you dont see it- i can pop out and get a few pictures of some trees for you.
remember to saw the yew- splitting is a figurative term here with yew.
if you try to split it, it will run out on you.

[Sharpend60]

Get a hold of Steve Meyer(Little Hindu) or Damien (cant recall his last name, he lives in Auburn).
Both those guys should be able to help ya out.

I think ya know em...

[Blackhawk]

Yeah...two of the folks in the know.  I was also thinking of Clinton Gault and Bill Curtaindale too.

[Blackhawk]

I selected a nice one today...straight, no limbs or knots for 7 feet, with 18" circumferance.
 
   

So-called experts say to cut in late October when there's no moon.    

Check out this King Bolete which is one of my favorites:

 

[fujimo]

so its about 6" diam.
sure looks like a nice tree!!should yield lots of staves.
i have cut them all times of the year- cant see a difference- just seal the ends immediatly.
good luck
nice shrooms- we get lots of the chantrelles and boletus up here but no matsutake.
looks to be a nice open hemlock grove- lots of blacktail there??
cheers

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, about 6" diameter.  I plan on getting it next week or early November and will seal ends with wood glue.  Would spray paint work just as well as glue?

As for critters, vast majority is elk and very few blacktails.

[Sharpend60]

I'd use glue, never had a problem w/ it. The cheap white Elmer's works.
 I've also used poly u, a few sloppy coats.

[Blackhawk]

[fujimo]

X2 what sharpend says.
gosh darn- all those pesky elk   :D  
just gotta hate it.

would be cool to go back there and get an elk with one of those yew staves    
g'luck

[RAU]

I know nothing about yew except that the best trees Suposedly come from high elevation and have little tiny super fine growth rings, In dean Torges's hunting the Osage bow he takes a plug cutting bit (i forget the exact name of the bit) in a hand drill to cut a plug to check rings before he cuts. Maybe this would be worth looking into

[fujimo]

yea i have heard that before too- but i have cut some yew here at pretty low elevation, and it has had 80 rings to the inch.- some as low as a few hundred feet above sea level!
but even some of the coarser stuff i have cut has had at least 30 rings to the inch- and actually that is rather uncommon- 99% of it is tight ringed.

jus' sayin"- but thats in my area- cant say for other areas

the tool is called an "increment boring bar"- known as an "inky bore" in the industry.

[Blackhawk]

I have heard both sides of elevation theory and am sure no expert.  Some say over 3,000 feet is best, but this stuff I plan to get is around 2,500 so it's not sea level anyway.  

He wants me to cut it at least a foot off ground since he claims it will re-grow itself (in a few hundred years anyway...LOL).