I was going to add this to the maple vs. boo post, but did not want to thread jump, so here goes.  Are there any opinions on Yew not just as a veneer, but as a core material.  I have heard folks comment on its speed and smoothness.  I have bows with boo core, rock hard maple core and yew in both core and veneer.  They all seem smooth to me.  I figured I would ask the board if they had any opinions.


Bob.

I like my all-yew Howard Hill Redman, but I don't have a similar bamboo bow with which to form an objective opinion, sorry.

The Marriah Thermal T/D recurve I have on order with Ric Anderson will have Yew limbs.  Ric recommends Yew limbs for recurves as well as longbows.  The Wenge and Bocote riser should look great with the Yew limbs on it.

Bill

Bill is correct.  Yew makes an excellent limb.  Although it is fairly soft it has great strength and recovery speed.  It isn't one of those woods with wild grain character but the color is a rich, golden amber that goes great with alot of different riser woods.

A friend and I recently had almost identical bows made. Mine is all yew and his has boo core. I can't tell the difference, and I don't think he can either. I am how ever lovin' my bow very much. Fast, smooth and sure is purty.

I can't usually tell much if any difference in the core wood with a bow that has wide, thin limbs--seems the glass does most of the work, and performance comes from the design.

In a limb with deeper cores, where the wood is doing more work, yew is my #1 choice--especially in a longbow.

I think it also makes a difference what core material the bowyer designed his bow around--I don't know, that's just a thought.

Chad

Chad's right on regarding the deep core longbows in my experience. I own or have owned several with bamboo cores and yew cores, and the yew is definately smoother!

Regards...Ken

I've had comparable Hills all yew;  yew with boo core and all bamboo.  I also have a custom Hill with yew out and boo and cocabolo in.  To that you can add an all yew that I built with JD Berry's help that is a very wide limbed flat bow.  Conclusion... the more yew the better.   After shooting more than 40 Hills, if the boo is faster, as claimed, I never especially noticed it from a hand release.  The performance seems to come from the deep core design, and if bows are similar in that respect, of comparable weight and draw, and the limbs are tillered similarly, they seem to perform well.   I'd give an edge to the yew on smoothness.   I've recently built three bows of all osage and I'd say it's just about like yew... another very impressive and beautiful bow wood.

I love my yew limbs. I've heard that the fibers in the yew don't break down over time like boo plus it looks great!

Love this one!!

Wish I hadn't sold this one!    




Oh well, live and learn!

Ken  

SpankyNeal, that's the one your going to sell to me correct? Ha Flint

Sorry Flint, that one's getting passed down to my son! Hopefully he will enjoy shooting it as much as I do! You know we both need to save our money and buy a new one from Steve now that he's building these again! If they're as good as his dad's, they're worth the money! Hope your still loving that new Miller Bud! Take care!

Regards...Ken

My Dryad Bushwhacker has yew cores and is a looker as well as a shooter.



My dad had an identical bow in Osage and mine is a bit faster than his.

This bow was once featured on the front cover of the Bowyer's Journal:



Yew will be just fine for limb cores!

That's an awesome looking Dryad - congrats!

Ken

Well I have an older Leon Stewart 68 inch long bow, 47 at 28, I draw about 30 inches.  I was shooting a 580 grain arrow around 165 fps.  So, does that sound reasonable?  It is SUPER QUIET and shoots well.  I like it, just never shot a yew bow before and wanted to get an idea what I got.

Love the bow anyhow.

Bob.

I'll take yew over any core out there. Smooth,quick and quiet

On one of the Whips (R.D.Longbows) that Dan Toelke has made me, a Cocobolo Riser, Yew Veneer bow He put in a Yew compression (face side) core lamination instead of the normal tempered Bamboo. It is separated from the veneer by a thin lamination of Maple and the bow is every bit as smooth drawing as the other Whips I own if not more so.

i have had bows of nearly woods and yew is my favourite by far...plus there is just that touch of Mr Hood when a longbow is made of yew.....

cheers

ben

Here is my bow, a Half Breed from Craig Ekin, with three lams of yew and to lams of bamboo in the back. Yew for riser also. It looks very good imo, and reminds me of a yew selfbow with the bambo looking like sapwood.