Building a Pacific Yew Recurve Self Bow - Start to Finish
For this self bow building video I'll be starting with a seasoned log and taking you through the entire process of building a pacific yew recurve self bow. Pacific yew is very similar to the European yew that was historically used to make the classic English Longbow. We'll start by splitting out a good bow stave, removing the bark and cutting the stave o length. One of the great characteristics of this particular wood is the sapwood is very strong in tension and the heartwood is strong in compression. So by leaving a thin layer of sapwood on the back of this selfbow, we end up with a natural backing. This stave has a thick layer of sapwood so I thin this to about 1/8" thick. We then lay out the bow's limbs and handle, remove all excess wood with a draw knife and rasp and start tillering the bow. Tillering is the process or removing wood from stiff areas of the bow while skipping over weaker areas. This allows the limbs to bend evenly from side to side on a nice arc. Finally I cut in an arrow shelf as well as sand, steel wool, and burnish the wood before shooting my new primitive bow.
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Пікірлер: 958
I've loved archery ever since I was a kid but couldn't pursue it because my parents didn't like it for "safety reasons". Now that I'm older but with a tight budget, this video made me want to go grab a draw knife and get to work :) Amazing video!
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Go for it!
@franke102
Жыл бұрын
@@clayhayeshunter Not sure how it will work on wood, but as a tile-setter we use hair-spray to make the chalk lines permanent on concrete subfloor. Only fill your chalk line half way up to reduce that residue and keep the line clean.
@Weaver1812
11 ай бұрын
Likewise my friend
@godsorandom5336
10 ай бұрын
Then do it… find the time and do it bro your only limiter is you
@user-wj8qm4pp9h
10 ай бұрын
😊
Wow - there is something so therapeutic and relaxing about watching Clay make a bow. I've watched all his bow making videos many times. If one is ever stressed and the mind is overpowered with thoughts and information, this is a fantastic way to unwind. By the end of one of these babies, I'm as relaxed as a kitten.
@byronheisler5416
Жыл бұрын
I believe the name for the bow vise is known as a "Bodger's Bench".
@conexionsinaloa2850
Жыл бұрын
Excelente amigo 👌
@conexionsinaloa2850
Жыл бұрын
Saludos amigo clay me encantan tus videos estoy aprendiendo saludos desde Sinaloa México
@johnperks8620
Жыл бұрын
@@byronheisler5416 I think you mean " Bowyers Bench ".
@ManiMani548
Жыл бұрын
philip, it is even more relaxing for you to make such a bow, and handwork in general has this quality!
Had the bow set up at a pro shop. It performed just fine kzread.infoUgkxQEKUoxLWwayEDZR0NKB-5limn4MBU-2L . And I would say this is a good starting now that I could pass down to my son when he is older.But the package was missing the release and a nock was missing from one arrow.Dealing with customer support was terrible. They suggested I buy a new release rather than correct their own quality control issue because it’s to expensive for the. to ship it out from China.Update: manufacturer got back to me and resolved the issue. I retract the above statement.
My grandpa used to make bows for people back in the 70s and 80s. He was a competitive archer named Roy Frederick Burch. Sadly he died when I was 6 (in 1987) so I never got to learn from him. I still have a couple of the bows he made though 🙂
This was like watching a short documentary on bow building, which I like. The cinematography approach is something I'm striving towards. So if you ever feel inclined to do a video on outdoor film making tips, please do.
@tradbowtimewithuncledan2686
Жыл бұрын
Hey brother👍
@BackwardsHatNation
Жыл бұрын
@@tradbowtimewithuncledan2686 howdee dan
@mapuiahmar1421
Жыл бұрын
V vi
@mapuiahmar1421
Жыл бұрын
Pl
Best wood on the earth! I know elders who have bows hundreds of years old
What a bow. The thing is made of the legendary yew wood. Ancient Long bowmen of Britain cherished them.
Clay thank you for your videos thanks to you I was able to build my first selfbow (it didnt snap), I was able to heat-bend the twisted stave into a much better shape (it had reflex halfway through a limb) backed it with rawhide successfully, it shoots with minimal handshock but the weight is only 25lbs so I'm going to reflex the tips and try to get the weight up. But I couldn't be more thankful for your videos. For anyone thinking you don't have the tools I did it mostly with a straight blade pocket knife. You can do it I wish you all luck!!!
Outstanding bow-making as usual. Thanks for sharing.
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Thank you too!
I want to see more of this bow. Maybe an update on it after a while? It is a beauty!
Best bow making tutorial ever!!
Man, sooner than 30 seconds inside the video and I can already compliment you for doing a narrated craftmanship video the RIGHT way (craftmanship videos with voiceover have a bad rep because of the huge amount of youtubers doing it the WRONG way). No annoying talking head, no unnecesary yapping, just relevant, useful explanation of what we're actually seeing being done. Well done.
@clayhayeshunter
11 ай бұрын
Many thanks
Thanks for not letting traditional bow building die keep it up you are doing a great job 👏
Really glad I found this channel. Very inspiring. I have a couple of Yew quarter rounds that have been waiting for me to do something with for years.
Your honest and thorough way of going about the work process is an inspiration for new bow makers, Clay
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Many thanks
As a life long wood worker, I even learned a few tricks from you. I'm impressed and grateful.
Alright Clay, you've inspired me to try this out for myself. thanks alot. also, for the record, you're one of the few people I could actually stand to watch on Alone. basically skipped all the other people to get to your content. really great stuff !
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Cody
@user-kn4lh7ck3d
Жыл бұрын
بلطبع رائع جدان
Awesome, thanks for sharing that. Pacific yew sure does make a nice looking bow.
You've supplied me the fine details I was lacking, big respect and my thanks
I've made bows since I was 12. I am old now and live in N.Kali. But I grew up in N.Qld. Australia . I learned bow making from a Papua native and a chinaman who worked for my father. I've made Osage and yew bows, and some composites from Asian buffalo horn and bamboo. all locally available materials. The preferred woods in the tropics are Jitto , black palm , and yellow stripe bamboo. The black palm papuan style bows are beautiful, and shoot heavy arrows, at very long draws, with great speed. papua bows are most used for warfare, the bamboo string and shooting style is unique I think you would really enjoy a papua new guinea black palm bow.
I was with Jay Massey at his home in Alaska and Jay was laying out a self bow. He was having trouble establishing the bows center line. I suggested he use the shadow of a bowstring It worked great.
@robras2850
Жыл бұрын
Wow your so great you just had to let people know how clever you are, must be a sigh of relief, now people know.
@mdbryan9525
Жыл бұрын
Yeah and I didn’t even have to mention that my dad helped start the Pope and Young Club. Thanks for the reply. I totally forgot to mention that.
As someone living in Idaho this video was much appreciated! Could you do a pacific yew stave harvesting video by chance?
The best trick is the mug shining. Good bro....
One of the best step by step videos i've watched
Very formative. No bs background music. Your demeanor seems very calm. Thank you putting content like this out here. I doubt I'll ever make a bow, but I really enjoyed watching and learning from you. Cheers! I just subcribed!
amazing watching you make that and add the recurve to it.
I actually met the inventor of one of these benches at the glass buttes Knapp-in back in 2009. Very kind individual more than willing to answer questions and help people learn.
Wow so glad I clicked old time Archer here remember when recurved first hit the scene many many years ago you are fantastic appreciate
I’ve been making bows for close to 20 years and for some reason this is the first time I’ve heard that you don’t need to chase a single ring on Pacific yew. This would certainly speed up the process.
@roberttown2816
Жыл бұрын
I was thinking the same
@bonsaivlaamseardennen2269
Жыл бұрын
I've been making bows since 2019 and I heard it several times from several bowyers. Yew is a lot more forgiving for this, especially the tighter grained.
@NickWeissMusic
Жыл бұрын
I do some woodworking, and the sentence about following the growth ring, pretty much turned me off of bow making forever lol. all woodworking takes forever, I just can’t imagine, kudos to you legends who can do it!
Beautiful bow seemed to shoot really nice withbeavy arrows to! Thanks for the tips.
Some say yew is gods gift to the bowyer. I build myself a yew warbow a few years ago, a beast with 110 pounds of draw weight that needs superheavy arrows to reduce the massive handshock. I still have a lot of well dried yew bow staves in my garage, never been thinking about making a yew recurve bow. Thanks for the inspiration.
I really, really enjoyed this! You covered bow making so thoroughly that you've seriously sparked that, "I can do this now with this knowledge ". Now to find good wood and the tools to put this in action. I caught on to that Three Rivers mention for certain. Pulled it up while this was going on just to have it for later. It's on hold in the background for a bit till this is completely seen. Loved how you put an arrow rest on it. Thank you for a really great video. You're an excellent teacher!
Outstanding video and so inspiring! Thank you for sharing this vital skill and art and for showing the tricks of the trade you use in your build process and for keeping history alive! So needed in these times!
I’ve read your book and watched a lot of your videos. I’ve also been a fan of your work on Alone and was proud to see you win season 8. I have made several bows from vine maple and black locust based on your book but the two bows I’ve tried to make from pacific yew based on this video have both broken in three pieces. The last one I made was looking really good and I never thought it would break but it did on the tillering tree. I will keep trying but I wish I knew what I am doing wrong…
@jacobmacleod4054
8 ай бұрын
I'm no expert, but it sounds like they're breaking in tension. (Typical with a 3 piece break) Either you need to leave thicker sapwood (stronger tension) or reduce strain overall (wider and flatter, or longer, or decrease draw weight)
wow, you are very serious with your video, thank you for sharing how to make this bow
never seen this process. another dayum fine bow with impressive draw -absolutely fascinating I just wanna make one now THANKS CLAY ❤️
Another fine video! They just keep getting better and better!
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Glad you think so!
Work of art👌❤️
Great tutorial. Many questions answered about how to work with yew. Also, I needed to hear an expert say « take a chance » to tackle a neat yew stave in my projects pile. Thank you.
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
And have fun!
It looks awesome, so glad to see you building bows again.
Beautiful! Great idea with the hot nail, I’m gonna use that on my next! Never made a recurve but after this video I think I might have to give it a go. English long bows are all I’ve made with yew so far. Thanks for the inspiration 👊🔥🔥🔥
great video brother ,i have been making bows for some time and am new to the channel, you have outstanding tips and tricks this has fueled more projects for my bow making and has me considering options i may not have normally tried, i look forward to absorbing more information from binge watching your videos, thank you for the great content look forward to more -mike w NH
I've got a few Pacific Yew staves in various stages. Just the kick the pants I needed to get a couple tillered up! Great stuff, Clay.
Now that's a proper bow! Beautiful work.
Fantastic, Clay! Thank you. I picked up some great tips!
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
Very nice! Excellent video, thank you for sharing!
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Thank you very much!
Piękny wyrób ludzkich rąk Brawo
Incredibly good video! Thanks for putting this together Clay!
Great video and beautiful bow! Nail was a great idea. Also never thought to use a honing steel as a burnisher. If you're looking for quick content one day, a short video on how you care for all your tools and keep them sharp would be cool to see.
@jj4791
Жыл бұрын
He has some sharpening videos.
Excellent work ! I didn't realise how much time and effort a self bow required. I also like heavy arrows, mine are cedar and around 600 grains.
Wow! I have been thinking about building a bow forever. This video really lit a fire. Thanks Clay.
DANNNNGGGGG...This was the COOLEST BUILD EVER. Wow...Amazing. You've motivated me to go to the range and look into buying an Bow and taking lessons. So cool. Thank you.
Wow this is a piece of art Clay. Good job as always! This rasp seems to be working extremely well (the coarse one you used for the rough out) and the saw you used to shape the string grooves, did tou say it was a "tile saw"? It works really well too. If possible to share the brands and models or any info that could help me acquire them 😊 please.
So are you going to make this yew bow your go to bow for hunting now ?? That bow is way better then your old one look and power hope you do it would be a better choice in my opinion but I do like yew and iron wood kinda wood I have wanted to make bows for years now and never had the time I live In washington state and have access the yew and some of this good wood for bow building so watching your videos has thought me alot about building bows thank you for that
All I can say is that is pure beauty! I was brought up on the I call them stick bow's. Thank you very much for sharing your talents! Ray
WOW! FANTASTIC! Burned groves and wife’s hair dryer! Tips from a professional
great idea on the limb twisting tool. will be making one this weekend.
I built an Ash Flat Bow but getting a recurve into it was a bit beyond my skills i think at the time so kept it simple but this is interesting as i would like to build an English War Bow out of Yew..I loved how you heat up and form the recurve! Incredible that you can ' plasticise' it like that! A really interesting video cheers
@jamesmunden4607
Жыл бұрын
Hello I'm James. I enjoy watching your videos. I'm a 7'2 bow hunter. I'm looking for a long bow. My compound is 70 # pull with 33" draw.
Finally someone using a string to find the centerline. Kept thinking I was doing something wrong :)
Appreciate the narration/explanation on this one. It made my understanding a lot better.
Admiro muito esses trabalhos com arco recurvos tradicionais. Parabéns. Very good. Perfect bow recurve 👏👏🇧🇷
Hey Clay, can you perhaps put out a tracing of the recurve form as a PDF? That'd be pretty cool. Then we could trace it onto a big sandwich of plywood and cut it out.
@stevensmith2085
Жыл бұрын
Plywood is not making a bow though lol unless it's just for looks I guess
@StevenKeery
Жыл бұрын
@@stevensmith2085 : I assumed he meant to use it as a rough template of some kind, not to make the bow out of plywood.
@cretudavid8622
Жыл бұрын
@@StevenKeery still won't work that well you need to follow the grain and twists of the wood. Unless your wood is perfectly aligned with his bow wood you won't be able to make your own using his measures and curves and straights
So satisfying to see those curls come off the scraper
There may be a few of us needing this knowledge in the future to survive. Good video.
Hey Clay, amazing video as always! If you feel inclined to, I'd love to hear your thoughts on best wood to make bows with by region. I'm up near the Canadian border and have trouble finding anything other than pine and oak, and I know others I've talked to have said to just buy online. I'd rather make the bow 100% from harvest to stringing so any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all you do!
@whilomforge3402
Жыл бұрын
I’m not nearly as experienced as Clay, but I’d say that if you have access to hickory or locust, I’d start with one of them. Those are a fairly common species in most of North America.
@TheMasonator777
Жыл бұрын
Use Ash.
@saigevihle5118
Жыл бұрын
Red and white oak make pretty good bows, practice on not so good wood and save your good staves like hick or Osage till your skill is better.
@gregoryfugal4722
Жыл бұрын
Maple is an excellent bow wood.
What an awesome process. Your the best clay for giving out this info to everyone Question: if your bow broke on alone were you allowed to make another yourself?
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Sure, there's no restrictions on making things.
@jake4194
Жыл бұрын
Why would they not allow that??
@wjl2068
Жыл бұрын
@@jake4194 idk they don't allow alot of stuff lol Plus it's never been done before by any of the bowyers so I thought there might be restrictions on hunting with a bow you don't know the draw weight on
KEEP making Videos forever. Love the sound of a scraper and watching the craftsmanship. Thank you Clay and Team🎉
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
More to come
@jasonscoggins01
Жыл бұрын
@@clayhayeshunter Awesome Rock n Roll Thank you
I just finished watching Alone on Netflix really enjoyed and so did my Grandbabies. They are Clay Hayes fans👍
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
many thanks
Glad to see you post up a yew bow build. I watch a lot of build vids for ideas, but my brain seems to understand the way you communicate better than it understands other folks' instructional vids; I'd say 98% of what I do when I build my bows is based off your instruction. I love my osage bows, but yew has a different type of sexiness and appeal to me, and I will definitely be making one as soon as I can get a stave or get up to Oregon and harvest some, and get them cured out; having this vid will be most helpful. I noticed that you lay your handle out on this bow differently than you have been on your osage builds, You went 2" above and 2" below center which should result in equal limb lengths. Are you doing that on this bow because it is Yew, or is this a move you've transitioned to on Osage also? I still lay my osage out 1 to 1.25 above center and 3 to 2.75 below center to end up with a shorter bottom limb. I've tried to wrap my mind around the necessity for a shorter bottom limb, but I can't seem to understand why the benefits would outweigh the "eye-confusion" (for lack of a better term) that happens to me when tillering a bow with a longer top limb and a shorter, slightly stiffer lower limb. Since your nock and arrow will still be above the center point of the bow, I'm assuming that you still want to achieve a slightly positive tiller (?) when complete. Regardless, it seems like this small change in your handle layout would result in a bow that is easier (less eye confusion) to tiller. Can you please speak to why you chose to lay the handle out in this manner resulting in equal limb lengths and if it would translate well to Osage builds? Thanks for the content dood. You've been a tremendous asset to me over the years.
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Good catch. I usually still shift them down a little bit most out of habit. I don’t really see much difference in the bows performing or longevity when laid out symmetrical like this.
@ssrhythm6923
Жыл бұрын
That is good to hear. I look forward to trying it on my next build. Looking forward to your Alone assessment; my wife and I were hoping they’d remove them both at the saner one in a med-check, because they were/are both so amazing. Not taking anything away from you and your win, and I know they edit to show what they want, but those two had heart, conviction, and a tremendous positivity that is truly admirable.
@ssrhythm6923
Жыл бұрын
At the same time…
I live in WA and I've been looking for a good local pacific yew stave for my first bow build but I can only find English yew. Have you any experience with English yew, is it pretty must the same? Also why don't you have to follow the growth rings? Thanks!
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
I've never seen a piece of english yew.
@borisv.6503
Жыл бұрын
If you haven't built any bow before go with cheaper species, since most probably you are going to f up first 5 times. In America I know you have hickory, maple or red oak. They will do well but every wood species differs in abilities. Also Taxus baccata or so called English or European yew makes excellent bows since it is best European bow wood. Also you don't have to follow rings on hickory, ashes and elms. But be aware that Elm is hard to work with because of the interconnected grain. If I was you go with hickory.
@nathanphipps2312
Жыл бұрын
@@borisv.6503 I make furniture with mostly hand tools for a living so I'm very accustomed to working and shaping wood. I'm also a hard-headed turd who likes to dive head first into things haha.
@nathanphipps2312
Жыл бұрын
@@clayhayeshunter We have a lot of black locust in my neck of the woods I could probably get one of those, any wisdom on black locust?
@Helleuphoria
Жыл бұрын
Is the Yew Clay is working with here not poisonous then? The way English Yew is? I know you can still work with English Yew, just that you'd have to be careful and in a well ventilated area if you're sanding etc
I love the wood smoothing glass or mug technique
Fascinating watching you create, as usual!
Clay you make it look easy. Great video. Thanks
Comecei na arqueira vendo seus vídeos, também aprendi fazer arcos, hoje tenho um arco composto caseiro para caça, gratidão...
Very nice build. Thanks
This was very informative and clear. Helped me out alot in my recurve bow building. Thanks clay
Beautiful bow and arrows
Very thanks to this video Clay! Learn more about yew bow 😁😁
Another awesome video. Thanks for your generous sharing of knowledge. That hot nail trick is genius!
Beautiful bow. You make everything look too easy. Well done.
Ouah, my eyes enjoyed every minute of it! I love yew so much. I have several growing in my backyard in France, and some others are going to get cut soon to build a flat where used to be a neighboring house. I'm waiting to ask the owners get me some beautiful pieces that I would let to dry for a few years before making some English style longbows and for sure some recurves as well. Now I know to go back to this video when the time comes! Thanks again, amazing work!
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Awesome
This was one of the best videos I've seen. Thanks
Absolutely beautiful piece. Stunning! Simplicity is key for me. ❤
@clayhayeshunter
11 ай бұрын
Glad you like it
Mesmerizing process,true craftsman.
Been making bows for a while, but learned several new things in the first few minutes. I don't follow growth rings in general, at least not intentionally
absolutely beautiful craftsmanship
Well Done Clay!
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
thanks
Thankyou again for that educational video. I found a guy who cut an Osage on his property I should get it this weekend.I am hopeing it is bow worthy. If not the wood is beautiful to make other things.
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Nice 👍
Beautiful work. I wish I could have a hands on, in person build with you. That's the only way I could ever do what you make look easy.
Tile saw! Great idea thanks for sharing.
Great video Clay. Thanks - Nova Scotia.
Really enjoyable video. You know what you are doing, that's for sure. Thanks for allowing us to view.
Clay, your video skills have really improved. I thoroughly enjoyed this video and thank you for your efforts.
Another beautifull bow, and very much explains it all, the rest, do it yourself to learn in detail, thx Clay!!
Clay, you are legendary!
After watching the first 7 minutes I decided to purchase 4 of your books. 1 for me and 3 for gifts. I really like what your teaching! Good to keep traditional skills alive.
@clayhayeshunter
Жыл бұрын
Many thanks
WoW 😮 that’s some great skill in making that bow.. Thanks 👍👍👍🙏🏻
Great video Clay! I've learned a lot from them. Made my first flemish twist string without a jig from watching one of your videos. It turned out nice and shoots well. I hope to build a longbow soon. 👍
Very interesting. English long bows are made from Yew. Technology that changed the world...
Beautiful work sir!!!