Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: longbow fanatic 1 on February 21, 2017, 12:48:00 PM
-
I was wondering if any of you own bows with yew cores or have shot them? I'm considering the purchase of a bow with these cores, but I'm not sure how they perform. Some bowyers have said that on bows with glass limbs overlays, the performance comes from the glass and not really from the cores. So, maybe the limb cores don't matter much.
I've shot bamboo and maple cores with glass overlays and like those cores fine. How do Yew cores compare?
-
I got a Morrison Dakota with yew lams and the same bow with bamboo lams and the yew lams always feel harsher on the draw than the bamboo limbs do, even though the yew lam bow is 2" longer than the bamboo limb bow.
I stay away from yew unless it would be a traditional English wooden longbow.
-
The bowyer's who are telling you there is no difference are being straight up honest with you.
Doesn't mean that there is absolutely no difference, but detecting any difference is not going to be easy to do. Two "identical" bows can have slight differences in performance due to barely noticeable differences in the completed bow.
If you decide to purchase a bow just like your maple cored bow, the advantage you find in the yew cores will most likely be in a direct and linear relationship to the additional cost of the bow. :)
-
Yew is a proven core wood. Has been used for decades. The core is much different than laminations, laminations are there for looks only the core wood is the working part of the limb. I beg to differ that the fiber glass laminations are the working part of the limb, they may help performance but that is all they do, the core is the base of the limb. Now as to yew, I have owned bows with yew core, bamboo core, maple core, actionwood core and wenge vertical stacked core and a combination of wenge/walnut vertical stacked core and I can tell you the wenge/walnut was the best performer I have ever shot next to the wenge vertical stacked. Not going to find that though as Bill Howland was the only person I know of that made his own core woods vertically stacked. Just my opinion.
-
I dunno. I've owned a few yew core bows, and they shot just fine. I agree that most of a bow's performance is a result of design and glass or carbon, but core material also plays a role.
Just isn't that much difference among core materials though. Bamboo is my favorite, followed by juniper and yew. In the hardwoods, I like elm and maple. Bamboo, juniper and yew are all generally lighter than the hardwoods. Lighter limb increases performance. Perhaps not as much so most folks would notice.
-
Danny, what does "vertically stacked" mean? (Other than possibly a description of some actress)?
-
Talk to Allen Boice at Liberty bows. He uses yew often I think.
-
So does Leon Stewart. My 3 piece Slammer has yew core and it's extremely smooth drawing and has good cast and speed.
-
Whatcha' buyin'? Huh, huh????
-Jeremy
-
Originally posted by J. Holden:
Whatcha' buyin'? Huh, huh????
-Jeremy
Gett'in twitchy, Jeremy.I've got a short list of some big hitters I'd like to own. :goldtooth:
-
My new Jet is a yew core bow. I'm not good enough to compare it to bamboo and others except to say it seems to send the arrow just as fast, it is quiet, and with green back glass it is gorgeous.
-
The core is much different than laminations, laminations are there for looks only the core wood is the working part of the limb.
How would you describe the distinction(s) between cores and laminations?
-
I am guessing Danny is speaking of the first layer back and belly, the pretty ones (if clear glass is used), as the laminations. The rest is the core.
Also, vertcally stacked might refer to cut and glued strips, as you would get using flooring or by using strips cut from bamboo boards. You can buy it or make it yourself.
-
At Kalamazoo i watched a talk by Jaap Koppedrayer (?) about processing bamboo. Very interesting. One of the ways he makes "laminations is by cutting three sided strips, triangles, and gluing them into laminations. Anybody ever use sonething like that ?
-
I have a Northern Mist Shelton with yew lams. I think Steve uses Pacific Yew. It is the smoothest of my Hill style bows, and I have 5 HHA bows and another Shelton with bamboo core. I really like it a lot.
-
I have an Abbott with yew laminations. The bow is super smooth and the draw feels a lot lighter than it really is. Haven't really gotten to much of a chance to compare it to others though, so I don't know what the differences are.
-
Depends. I have a bow with all yew lams, and have shot others of the same model with other woods. The yew is noticeably smoother, lighter, less shock.
If the bowyer recommends it, then most likely he/she has experience with it and knows how to exploit the benefits. If they don't, I'd stay away. The properties of yew appear to be very similar to bamboo, with yew being more durable.
-
Yew is my preferred longbow core and limb material. Just seems smoother to me.
-
I have always had a couple of yew bows, when yew is right yew is really right. I gave one to a friend that fit him and not me, to use until he got his own bow. Three years later he bought his own bow, the one I borrowed to him. He told me that was the only way he could keep me from taking it away from him and shooting it, he was serious he won't let me shoot it anymore.
-
I've got two identical bow, except for the core material. One is yew, the other bamboo. I cannot tell a difference in shooting. The exposed yew laminations along the limb edges maybe slightly softer, the bow seems to have a few more dings.
-
Yew is prettier and you will not notice a difference in a thin limbed bow like a R/D longbow or recurve. In a deep cored straight limbed bow you may noticed a slight difference in core woods.
-
Originally posted by monterey:
The core is much different than laminations, laminations are there for looks only the core wood is the working part of the limb.
How would you describe the distinction(s) between cores and laminations? [/b]
I took this to refer to thin veneers that are added just for looks. Like many bowyers who use actionwood limb cores will put a thin veneer of fancy wood over the core and under clear glass. I guess technically those thin veneers are not considered part of the limb core. But often that pretty wood is part of the limb core. I've had a few good looking red elm limbs and also some other types of core wood limbs under clear glass. And in those cases the wood you were seeing under the clear glass is one of the core laminations.
-
I understand that and was trying to determine how the the terminology was being used by the gentleman who made the original statement.
It would be hard to find a glass bow without laminations. The core is composed of laminations.
Was trying to bring clarification to the topic for the benefit of readers who may not understand the terminology.
-
McDave,
I believe what is referred to as vertically stacked limb laminations are composed of laminations which are not a single thin strip if tapered wood the width and length of the limb, but are numerous narrow strips laminated together to make a single tapered limb lamination. These laminations are often referred to as the limb core.
You can see this vertically stacked composition in action boo limb laminations and also some maple limb laminations which I believe they refer to as action wood laminations.
I think in most cases the very thin ornate wood veneer you see on many bows today offer little if any performance to the limb unless they are a thicker viable lamination such as Yew, Tonkin Cane, and what is sometimes referred to as dirty Bamboo, etc. and not just a very thin veneer basically for esthetic purposes.
I have had bows with a very thin Yew veneer over a bamboo core.
-
try pacific yew and bamboo together nice shootin
-
Originally posted by monterey:
I understand that and was trying to determine how the the terminology was being used by the gentleman who made the original statement.
It would be hard to find a glass bow without laminations. The core is composed of laminations.
Was trying to bring clarification to the topic for the benefit of readers who may not understand the terminology.
Thanks for attempting to clarify. What I meant is that in the very center of the limb are layers of limb core material. Bamboo, Yew, Maple... Then you have the next layer of veneer lams that we all see when we look at the belly of back of the limb. Then you have the glass layer over the veneer lams.
I hope no one feels I'm being condescending. That's not my intention, I'm just trying to clarify my point. When I said core wood, I think I didn't explain myself well. It sounded like core wood was a solid material.
-
Nope, understood you. Yew will notice more of the effects of the yew, when you get a yew core longbow with the least amount of glass. To be honest, I shot a yew cored recurve and could not tell that it was yew. I shot a third or fourth generation yew self bow with sinew backing, the most perfect yew billet that I thought was possible. I tried to trade a Schulz for it, no go, I offered mucho bucks, no go. The sweetest shooting bow that I ever shot.
-
I have always been under the impression that almost ALL natural benefits of the wood species are 'sawn out' when making most limb lams. Very different for self-bows
-
McDave,
several pieces of wood glued together in a vertical stack, then the core is sawn from that. Verses gluing the pieces together and cutting the core horizontally. In other words the stack is vertical when the core is cut from it. At least that is how Bill Howland explained it to me a long time ago.
-
I love Yew!
my quickest bows are cored with Yew.I have not found a lighter core material and I've weighed it next to identical laminations of foam,bamboo(actionboo) and maple.
Bamboo in it's natural form,not actionboo might be the best in terms of lightest limb mass.
-
I agree with Curt. It's a great fast and light core wood. My only problem is it's so toxic that I can't work with it at all. Gotta sell the planks I have in the wood shed.
Mike
-
Originally posted by joe munno:
try pacific yew and bamboo together nice shootin
I asked Craig at HHA about his personal bow. It is yew & bamboo, what HHA calls a "Halfbreed". That's what I would like to order for my next Hill.
Frank
-
Originally posted by Learner:
Originally posted by joe munno:
try pacific yew and bamboo together nice shootin
I asked Craig at HHA about his personal bow. It is yew & bamboo, what HHA calls a "Halfbreed". That's what I would like to order for my next Hill.
Frank [/b]
Best shooting longbow I own is yew and boo.
-
Thanks for the feedback, Mike!
-
All Yew and and Yew and Bamboo. My favorites also.
I have only used English Yew though. It is soft on the edges and dings easier. But its worth it. I first noticed the Yew shooting an Abbott years ago. Didnt know it was toxic to work with. :confused: :confused:
-
Doug,
Be very careful when working with yew. Micky Lotz ended up in the hospital for a week as a result of respiratory poisoning. I get very sick anytime I'm exposed to the dust.
have you seen the damage that Japanese yew is doing in Idaho. People are planting it and animals eat it and die very quickly. Lost a bunch of antelope and elk recently.
Mike
-
I have a J.D. Berry Taipan with yew cores and it is buttery smooth, without any hand shock. I find no negatives with it.
-
We need to have better controls on invasive species, including plants. There are ornamental trees that are also killing native song birds. the last yew bow that I sanded out from a blank caught me. I had a mask on while sanding, but I took it off when my cell phone rang. My throat and lungs felt a rash for two weeks afterwards.
-
sorry, DP, internet is blinking here,
-
I have a couple sets of bear signature limbs with Yew core and gotta say that they are the smoothest set of limbs I've ever shot.
Not sure if Yew is the reason but they sure are sweet.
-
Thanks, Good to know.
I have the lams made so its only finishing the limbs that I am exposed. Haven't noticed anything.
I'll be more careful.
-
Working with Yew is no different than a lot of other woods we Bowyers like to use. tropical Rosewoods(bacote,cocobolo,zircote,ebony,etc.) are just as dangerous.
The most important thing is to always use a good dust containment system for your tools and wear a quality dust mask when working with these woods.
-
Curt,
Your right in that all exotics are toxic to some extent. But Yew is in a class by itself. It can kill you if your not careful. Take extra precautions when grinding or sanding it. Imagine poison ivy in your lungs.
Mike
-
Yew is my 2nd choice behind Elm,,,, But honestly I'm not even sure if I notice a difference I just have had a few red elm limb bows that I was impressed with.
now selfbows, I have had a yew flat bow and a few Welchman Yew Longbows and for a selfbow wood yea is fragile but shoots so nice!
Yew has a sweet look too,, its sad when the clear glass & Finish over it is so dark it ruins the whole grainy look of it.
-
Mike,
You're right,I can't tell you how many Elk died in our valley(20-30) last winter eating Yew,it's so bad that it's against the law here to have or plant Yew trees in your yard.
I often wonder about people like Glenn St.Charles working with Yew their whole life and if that affected him?