Knot's Cracks and Features

The Yew bow is now just over 70# at 28" and the tiller is looking good.
I'm cleaning up the back, a laborious task, carefully scraping off the remaining cambium and cleaning out any dead wood and manky stuff from knots. You'll see some of the knots are pretty huge, so I'm pouring a little low viscosity superglue into the crater and flexing the bow to force it into any cracks.
There are some areas on the belly where radial cracks from the central pith are showing, I think these are stable, but worse case they can be rasped out and a belly patch added. With a bow like this it is safest to leave it long and also to make sure it has plenty of shooting in and time to settle a lesson I learned from

'Bonkers Bow' (A search on this blog for 'Bonkers bow' will show all the work on it and what an awful scruffy offcut of Yew can turn into).

Note the tear drop shaped scraper in the second pic down.

I'll press on cleaning up the bow and then get some horn nocks on it. I'll go for black Waterbuffalo horn as it will tie in with the dark of the knot holes.

I've had a bit of a play with the bow, moved the top nock down half an inch and tried a few test shots. Smashed an arrow by using one too stiff, too close to the taget, it struck home at 45 degrees and fractured itself. Backing off to 10 yards with my usual arrows gave a clean true shot (even with the string adjusting toggle on the string!). Looking forward to shooting it with decent nocks and string. On the tiller I had it back at 28" a good few times and even held it for a second or two, it feels safe and sound, but only time will tell.

Yew Stick Bow and Draw Weight to Brace a Bow.

The Yew Stick bow has come back to 28" at 70#...so.. it's not going to make 90# but it gives me room to reduce the length by an inch or two and fine tune the tiller for 70# at 28" for someone who has been waiting for a bow from me for a while. (pics tomorrow)
Maybe the other fatter Churchyard stick stave will make a 90# Warbow.

I've been in conversation online with a fellow bowyer about draw weight, long strings, string tension etc and it's all a bit confusing.
The upshot is I think I encapsulated it by saying the draw weight on a long sting, short string and string tension are 3 very different things. So 50 pounds isn't necessarily the same as 50 pounds! It depends how you measure it.
As an example the draw weight of a bow at brace height is zero.
(A force draw curve pretty much shows the draw weight going to zero at brace height).
Even if you argue that it can't be measured 'cos you aren't drawing the bow, we can say, ok! Then measure the draw weight at 1" of draw and it will be very little.
However consider the tension on the string at brace height, it's probably 40 pounds or so! Anyone who as struggled to string a bow will vouch for that.

Can you get a bow tillered almost to final draw weight by just pulling it to brace height on a long string, if you know how the long sting draw weight converts to a final fully braced draw weight?
Yes and no!
Say we know that a 80# bow needs 60# on a long string to pull the tips back 6" to brace height. Theoretically we could simply do that ... BUT of course the bow has never been draw beyond 6" tip deflection!
So,  assuming we are using a real world stave with knots kinks, dips etc.
When we put our short string, brace it and pull it back to 28" draw will the tiller look right?
Of course not!
It will be out of kilter and may even be trying to twist or bend sideways. Maybe the draw weight will be spot on... But we will need to adjust the tiller and when we do so it will loose weight and we will end up with a 70# bow in stead of 80#.
That's the difference between a nice even laminated stave, where you can probably get a lot closer to final weight a lot earlier.

What is the point of all that?
Well, it illustrates why, if I'm making a 80#bow, I will use the full 80# on a long string to get it back to brace height. It may be a bit over weight and I'll still have a good bit of wood to remove, BUT I'll have a chance to get the tiller right!
Won't it over strain the wood?
I don't think so as:-
a) The bow is going to take 80# anyway when it's finished.
b) 80# on a long string is less strain on the bow than 80# on a short string, due to string angles etc. In the same way that at brace there is substantial tension on the sting but no draw weight.
c) The defection on the bow is a lot less than on the fully drawn bow.
d) Any belly wood that was stressed will probably get removed during tillering anyway.
e) How much weight and stress do you think the wood was supporting when it was still  in the tree in a howling Winter gale?

So there you go! I hope I haven't bored you all rigid with this diatribe, but maybe it answers some fundamental question... conversely you may disagree with my analysis.

Yew Stick Longbow Progress

I've got it to a low brace and it looks skinny and under weight.. but it still feels rather stiff, like it may be about 70-90# at 28". Of course I haven't gone mad and just heaved it back... despite the temptation.

The grip is almost the full size of the stick and is still pretty stiff.
As it's flexed the bark has been cracking off showing me where the bend is concentrated. There are a couple of areas where there are some cracks (shakes) on the belly and sides. Some of these are associated with the pith centre line (visible in one of the pics), these and the knots have been liberally doused with low viscosity superglue as a precaution to help stabilise them and prevent further cracking. Hopefully some of the cracks will disappear as the stave is worked down.
The top pic shows a couple of the dead knots, the sapwood flows nicely round them and I'll try no to disturb it. Note the bark is still on there, so it's not flexing much, about half way between the knots and the right edge of the pic there is a crack in the bark going up from the lower edge where it's about to pop off.
The pic of the whole stave shows it has a hint of reflex, which will be nice if it can be maintained.

I still don't know what the draw weight will be, as there are a lot of features to be worked around. So it may end up as a long bow with a 28" draw rather than 32". Not sure how the back will take the 32".
I'm keeping the cross section fairly wide and thin, but well withing the accepted definition of a longbow (depth/width >= 5/8), but a long way from the narrow deep D laminated bow of Victorian target archery. I mean... does it look like it wants to be a target bow?
Hope fully I'll get some pics of it on the tiller over the next few days.
Here it is, about 60# at 25".
A frame grabbed of some video as I tentatively flexed it.
It doesn't look too bad, a little stiff in the outer limbs.
It's now a trade off, how far dare I pull it? Dare I shorten it an inch or two? Can I get the middle and the tips flexing a bit more?
I don't think it will make the 90# at 32 I was hoping for, but maybe the bigger Churchyard stick will do for that one. Probably done enough for today, it needs some looking at and thinking about...  nice cup of tea will help.

I also bought some nichrome wire off E-bay, it's special wire that is used for heating elements. I'm going to use it to make a hot wire feather cutter for trimming fletchings. As electronics design is my day job, it's a relatively simple task, not sure when I'll get round to it but now I have the wire, it's something I can do when I need it. I have fancy plans for making it so it will fit on the tool post of the lathe, so the arrow can be mounted in the chuck which can then be turned by hand. I have a couple of 12v batteries from an old golf trolley which should provide a nice power source, or an adjustble power supply which might be good for it, just needs Ohms law and a bit of arithmetic. Something else for the 'to do' list.

Fraternity of St George Shoot

I had a great day out with several guys from the club at the Fraternity of St George shoot in Windsor Great Park. (You can just make out Windsor Castle on the horizon in the gap between us).
We rendezvoused at a pub for registration and proceeded from there to the shoot venue. There was a great turn out, I've don't think I'd seen quite so many longbow archers before.
The organisation was great and there was even warming fruit punch before we started.
The weather was cool and dry, perfect for the time of year. We were shooting at marks from a variety of ranges, some barely visible, some over trees. There were some closer timed shots too, one being 10 seconds to loose as many as you could at the head of a goose (a polystyrene cut out) for a prize. Apparently this replicated a Scottish shoot where a goose was buried to the neck in the soil and shot at. The range was about 40 yards or so, my first shot was a few paces short, the second (last shot) was about 10" away. Someone managed to hit it!

At one point there was a rider on horseback, she kindly agreed to ride away about 250 yards and then come at us at a fast canter so we could get a feel for how it may have been in battle! I mimed shooting and felt I could have got about 7 shots away in the time it took her to reach us. It felt quite intimidating having the horse come at our line (with a suitable gap in it for her to ride through) but I'd rather be in our shoes than hers, for she would surely have succumbed to a hail of arrows were it in earnest.

I was shooting my 50# Yew longbow and there were several other Yew longbows there too, including a lovely characterful one from some slow growing English Yew found on chalky hills (Malverns if I recall correctly?) The bowyer recognised me from one of the forums and we had a good chat, scoffing at those who would have you believe that you can't make bows from English Yew.

In the afternoon I was also carried the big Elm 100# Warbow which drew some interest.
The flight shoot was to be the final shot (4 arrows) and the shoot captain Brian Mooyaart kindly suggested I warm up with the Elm bow on the last Mark to be sure I'd manage it. I let fly and my heaviest (600grain) flight arrow seemed to go for miles. This gave me the confidence that rather than being tired, I was in fact nicely warmed up!

The flight shoot was great, however, the strain of trying for a full 32" draw was throwing my aim way off left and I was missing the shooting lane. I actually shot the furthest arrow at 302 yards, this didn't count as a win, being out of bounds, but it told me what I wanted to know about the bow and my flight arrows.
The arrow which went the furthest was 385 grains, the four arrows I had were nominally two at 400 gn, a 500gn and a 600 gn. The 600 fell shortest, followed by the 500 and the two 400grain arrows. The result pretty much falls in line with the results from my experimentation here:- http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/mass-velocity-and-energy.html
Lighter is faster, as long as the bow, arrow (and my elbow) can take the force!
I was really pleased with the bows performance (if not my aim), the light was fading and it was getting late. We had a fair distance to travel home so we reluctantly took our leave and drove home, missing the prize giving in the pub.

My thanks to the Fraternity of St George for the excellent hospitality, organisation and a thoroughly enjoyable shoot.

Flight Shoot Arrows

On Sunday there's a roving marks and flight shoot in the Deer Park at Windsor (Longbow only)
Roving isn't my fave' but I can't resist shooting in Windsor Deer park with the castle as a backdrop.
I've not done a flight shoot before so it will be good to get a measured distance under my belt.
I was thinking of taking the short bamboo backed Oregon Yew longbow for the flight, but the ILAA who are holding the event don't allow bamboo backed bows in the flight shoot as they feel 'boo gives too much advantage.
So, I'm tweaking up the Elm warbow and making 4 flight arrows in the hope of getting a decent distance.
I've got the first arrow made and it looks the part 661grains in weight, tapered front an rear (barrelled) with a very small nock and 1" x 1/4" flights. The shaft is 3/8" Maple with a Waterbuffalo horn strip glued into a slot at the nock end for reinforcement. The point is a 5/16 field pile turned down to blend in with the taper.
The two arrows shown are have the same shaft material.
I need 4 arrows so I'll probably vary them a bit and see which flies furthest.
Unfortunately I have nowhere to test them before the event other than my 10 yard shot into the garage and my aerodynamic freefall range... that's where I lob 'em up in the air in the back garden and see how they fall!
I've just tried it from 65# bow at 32" draw and it hit the target slightly sideways, flying a bit stiff, which means it's prob ok from the 100#. The other arrow in the pic' flies well from the 100# so it should be ok, as they are made from the same material. I'm not sure how to finish the arrows, I'll probably go with a wipe of beeswax polish as it's quick, easy and buffs up well. Any finish applied with a brush is liable to end up less smooth than simple wax and buffing.

It transpires that they will allow bamboo backed bows in the flight shoot as it's not a championship event
... but' I've started now, so I'll stick with the warbow and 32" flight arrows.

Ah! Testing... theory vs practice. Ignorance vs experience vs guesswork.
Flight is totally new to me, but of course I've read up about it. I'm assuming we want the arrow to straighten up as quickly as possible, but without the big drag of large fletchings.
I tried the arrow at 10 yards from the warbow and it's hitting the target at 45 degrees! the other arrow in the picture hits pretty much straight, but of course it has great big fletchings.
To see if a weaker spine is better I tried a 32" 5/16 shaft (prob about 45-50 spine) with a 100gn field point. It hit the target dead straight. I then cut down the fletchings and tried again... unfortunately I was tiring and managed to shoot the front light of my bicycle which laziness had stopped me taking out of the garage... after all, I'm hardly going to miss the target, am I?
So the upshot of all this is I'm going to end up making 4 different flight arrows, so I can see which goes furthest. I've also got a headache and an ache between my shoulders now!

Yew Stick Longbow

The longbow from the Churchyard Yew is progressing fast. I roughed it out on the bandsaw and it flexes when I lean on it. There is much less wood to remove than with a great stave from a quartered log and nature has started the tillering of the narrowest end already.
For a brief moment I didn't know what to do next as I was seduced by the trappings of the modern workshop. Ah! drawknife and shave horse... Bliss!

It evoked memories of childhood making stick bows from Hazel, but now I'm armed with better tools, knowledge and more muscle power than that 12 year old.
No less enthusiasm though!
The Yew is a joy to work, the centre pith is clearly visible in the outer limbs. Some of the knots in belly and edges are disappearing under the drawknife already, those on the back are old and dead but fairly central. I'll leave the back completely untouched and hope that nature has swelled the sapwood sufficiently around those knots. Plugging knots on the back probably has little value as they will be in tension, but I may well dig them out to explore how deep they go towards the belly, I don't want any pockets of rot or cavities which may collapse.

Once the bow starts to move I'll scrape off the bark or maybe just let it pop off.I'm really enjoying the freedom of working this bow, it's beautifully straight but has lots of interesting features to work around. I do have a target of it being a 90# warbow about 80" long with a good full 32" draw. It may not become that bow, but it is always good to have a target.

I'vedone a bit more this afternoon and exposed some ccraks and a black line of rot at the tnin end where the bark had been rubbed away. I'm hopeful most of these will get removed as the stave is worked down.
As I lean on it hard to flex it the bark is cracking and popping off.

Churchyard Yew and some Shooting.

I've heard assorted daft opinions and generalisations about English yew and Churchyard Yew.
The cutting of the Yew is blogged here:-
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/variability-of-yew.html
Any wood needs to be viewed on it's own merits.
One piece of the Churchyard yew would probably be dismissed by most people (and was almost ignored by me), yet look at this picture of the narrow end which has been trimmed off as I've started to rough out a bow. You'd have to look at a lot of Yew to find a bit as good as that!
You can see the lower edge has been chaffing against another branch and the bark has worn through. The diameter is so small that the grip of the bow will need to be the full size of the brach and the central pith will be incorporated into the limbs for some length.
Now it may not make a bow, but it certainly has the potential to become a glorious character 'stick' Warbow. Certainly a worthy challenge to a bowyer.

The 130# warbow was collected yesterday, we went out to do some shooting to see it perform. It's difficult to find somewhere to shoot, even our club is a bit short of room for long shots.
We went out to a location where there is a huge expanse of open field with a footpath right across it.
Now, some would throw their hands up in horror at shooting along a public footpath, but before you call the armed response unit, allow me to paint a picture.
We drove about a mile up a dead end road to a farm, then walked half a mile up an ancient cart track with trees along each side, and fields of brassicas (kale?) sprouting on either side. It then opened out onto a vast open plain which was once a WWII airstrip.
Stretching out over the farmland, every 1/4mile or so, posts marked the footpath across the open fields of winter wheat which was just showing a few inches of growth. We walk out about 200 yards where the grass of the path way stopped at the edge of the field where kale gave way to the winter wheat.
Shooting along the path we had a clear view at least a mile and a half in front and a good half mile either side. No hedges, nothing. The only thing that concerned us was walking over the crop, so we kept single file and walked along the marked path. We had to divert a little to collect the arrows, but tried to tread carefully.
Obviously this isn't an ideal shooting ground and if we saw anyone we would have immediately packed up.
Anyhow it's only the second time I've shot there in about 3 years, and it's one of the few places safe to test shoot Warbows or flight bows.
I'm posting this really as a counterpoint to the endless 'health and safety' style post that I've seen on some forums, with knee jerk reaction to questions about shooting on public land or in the garden.
Anyhow the shooting was fun and I shot about 9 from the 100# Elm warbow. John warmed up with a variety of bows before trying the 130#, he was close to managing it and got off a couple of shots which went as far as the other arrows (which were all going a similar distance). He wasn't quite getting 'over the hill' with his right elbow to get those last couple of inches, but he was confident that he'd master it in a few weeks and was looking forward to enjoying it over the next year when the weather was warmer and the shooting easier.