about yew wood

[blacktailchaser]

how long would you wait to cut your wood into staves or roughing out a bow.how long to season yew.thanks john

[rascal]

Im no expert but from what Ive read and heard a year seems to be the accepted standard for curing time but Ive heard of curing for several years.  I think you can cut your staves as soon as you get it home just have to seal the ends.  

Again Im no expert by any means so my advice is to wait for better sources than me.

[John Scifres]

I would not hesitate to rough one out whenever you felt like it.  It will dry faster that way.  I made a yew bow from wood cut only 4 months after roughing it out and drying it for a couple months.  I didn't use a hotbox but if I had, I could have shortened that by a month or more.

[Pat B]

If your yew is in log form I would at least split the log in half and seal the ends. Like John said, you can make staves and rough out a bow as soon as cut. Be sure to seal the ends and the back if you remove the bark.    Pat

[Ted Fry]

I like to split in half and coat the ends , let dry at least 4-6 months in this form . Then after some of the moisture content has left split into smaller quarters ( that is if the log is big enough), I have found with yew that if you reduce the log size to quickly it tends to get squirly when drying.
It is not just an issue of drying either, more of a seasoning of the wood, yes it does change as it drys but best over time . I like about two years for my yew.
As John said yes you can make it work quick on some cases but I have found time is the best policy for a larger percentage of success.