I finished up a dozen arrows fletched with 5.5" RW.wild goose feathers..Raven Arrows ( thanks Jan & Tommy)

Shafts are 23/64 Maine white birch tapered last 12" to 11/32.. Yellow 4x dip of Rodda Porcelite cabinet paint.

Bow is 67" yew selfbow with horn nocks.. 77#@30".. One of many I have made from Oregon Cascades 2500' + elevation yew I hunted-selected years ago..

Bow's name is 'Anachronism'.. Has taken no set to the string..

The goose feathers are absolutely great.

Oil line all the way up 5/8".. Irridescent..Look black but they are really dark grey..

The old English archers with their fondness for the grey goose wing and the yew longbow knew what they wanted..what worked..:) Jim

Thank you for sharing the results of your efforts, Jim. They're inspiring.

67", 77# @ 30" deep cored with a stiff handle section... Wow. A testament to fine quality yew brought to string by a well-seasoned bowyer.... please don't take that the wrong way :)

That helps with what I've got going on now. Erases a doubt or two that may have been trying to creep in.

I like goose feathers too. I like the classic look and I appreciate the additional natural oils when I get caught out in wet weather. What do your arrows weigh in at?

And another pic..Jim

And the yew bow drawn with the 30.5" grey goose feathered shaft..Jim

what an awesome setup

Outstanding!

Outstanding!

Outstanding!

Outstanding!

Outstanding!

The yew bow is more reminiscient of Chet Stevenson's era.. Functionally shorter for hunting and roving..Not the fanciest horn nocks.

Not a stacked 'D' section..but 1.25" wide at the widest point on the limbs..

Has the 'Buchannon' style "dips"..

Doesn't bend thru the handsection.. (he was an English bowyer..:)

The yew tree that this bow came from was a bit over 500 years old..and barely 13" diameter..

I saved an angled piece of the stump and put a timeline on it for the youngsters..

A lot has happened in the 500+years this yew grew on the SW flank of Mount Hood..

I don't cut the yew except for salvage these days..Never did cut it to sell.

It is an ancient tree..

Sure makes a great selfbow tho if selected and handled and worked properly..:)..Jim

First rate as usual Jim. Gorgeous bow. You're kinda' pushin' the limit a little with 67" and 70lbs@30" aren't ya'? I like the dip on the arrows too. I've never heard of that paint though....what is it?

Absolutely beautiful! Outstanding pictures, thanks for sharing them!

I didn't realize yew took so long to grow though it does stand to reason

Jim, beautiful ... a bow to tackle Roving Marks if ever there was one !

What a Beaut!! Impressive brace and full draw pics Jim. I also like the arrow setup with the goose feathers which I should be using more of. I've got friends giving my turkey feathers and need to pass the word to my goose hunting buddy's down on the Platte.

I'm going to add this one to my favorites so that I can come back and look at your full draw photo when I'm tillering.>>>Fred

great looking set up Jim. Are you feeling up to elk hunting this year? I remember last year you had some issues and had to pack it in early. I am heading out to Colorado for my first elk hunt and will be joined by a fellow leatherwaller "scotsman" and a friend of his. Really looking forward to it.

Take care,

Randy

String angle right AT 90 degrees too... niccccccce :)

Thank you all for the kind comments..

Randy..Not going to hunt-arrow-kill elk this season..but I will get out and watch them a bit..:)

Don't think I could get thru the butchering-boning and pack out.. Low back and some other issues will keep me closer to home sad to say..Jim

Jeff, Finished arrows weight 730-740 grains with 160 grain steel blunts..Jim

That close up on the name really shows the beauty of the wood. Nice job on it. looks like a little blood would look great on those shafts too.

I like that. Very nice.

Fine set up indeed.

Great work on all.

Bloody lovely, Jim. Just bloody lovely.

Nice, Jim. You are an artist.

Jim

...that'a an absolutley beautiful bow. Now I hope you won't be too embarrassed by what I'm about to say, but I believe it to be true. You mention James Buchanan in your post. For those that don't know thw name, Buchanan was an English bowyer working in London between 1830 and 1870. He is widely acknowledged, by the archers of his day and by present artisans as the finest bowyer of his generation. There are those here in England who would describe your good self in the same way. You can count on the fingers of one hand the names of the bowyers world wide who know and understand the craft and art of building a true English Self Yew longbow, and you sir are in that elite group.

So thank you for constructing such a wonderful bow and for keeping the spirit and artistry of James Buchanan alive

Phil

That is a perfect example of beauty, simplicity and power of a traditional archery set. Great work Jim.

I agree Phil. After all the bows I"ve built, I don't think there is any way I would attempt a bow that length, at that draw weight and draw weight of that design. And don't personally know anyone else who could pull it off either.

They look great done by a master. Bows not to shabby either and good form too it all makes it look so easy. I been hoping to get me some goose also this year and save the feathers.

Great work Jim thanks for sharing.

Very, very, nice...thanks for sharing....hope you have your health back soon!

><>> Chief

When I first wanted to make a yew bow..( mid 70's) I was living in Arizona..:)

The magazines one could get then had nothing about stickbows or trad archery.. I found an archived bunch of old books and magazines from the last century..magazines from the 30's-40's. Matthews Lbrary at ASU..where I worked for a time.

So I discovered books like "The Archer's Craft"..Adrian Hodgkin..( English) "Hunting With the Bow and Arrow"..Saxton Pope..

"Bows and Arrows" James Duff( formerly English bowyer then in New York)

"The Witchery of Archery"..Maurice Thompson..

Plus many hundreds of articles and old advertisements in some very old archery magazines. The advertisements for yew staves were many..I sent postcards inquiring about wood to almost a dozen..tho the ads were 40 years old by then..:)( optimistic)..

Thru the old advertisements, I met Gilman Keasey, Earl Ullrich, Harry Hobson,Chet( Steve) Stevenson..

I found my own copies of many of the old archery books..including some newer ones..

I learned a bit about selecting, cutting and seasoning yew wood.. I had already made many bows from osage, hickory, dogwood, eastern red cedar,Dagame,Ironwood, mulberry, and assorted shovel and axe handles spliced up..:)

Of course I watched Richard Greene in the old TV series "Robin Hood"..:) Been a fun journey..but every journey starts with that first step..and a passion for something worthwhile one hopes to see and learn..:) Jim

Gilman Keasey.. Cut his share of yew wood , traded with Chet Stevenson..and bowmaker from Corvallis.. I have his book co authored by he and Ann Richardson..Mostly target archery but all good about form and shooting..

Gilman Made a BUNCH of yew bows for the archery students at O.S.U. Corvallis..when he was younger..

Two times National Champion with yew bows and POC arrows he made himself.. He also grew a bunch of Daffodils down on his property along the Alsea River..made all wood canoes..gunstocks..Drove a '54 Dodge Power Wagon..and tied up traffic a few times as it had a top speed of about 45 mph..:) I miss the old timers a lot..Jim

Jim - We'll never forget the sound of that shot by Robin Hood at the beginning of each show.

I'll certainly ditto what Phil told you. You have become a master bowyer. Good job.

Back in 1989, I think, I stayed in Corvallis, Oregon for a week or so and spent a couple of wonderful days in the library of OSU. Back in the storage shelves I found a treasure trove of old archery books and magazines and felt like a kid in a candy store. I copied as much as I could, feeding nickle after nickle into their old copy machine. Several years ago I sent a bunch of that stuff to my son, but I still have some. The advertisements alone are priceless. The gadgets being developed were as rediculous as the new stuff we see today, but the basics remain the same. A well made bow, well made arrows and good consistent shooting form. All else is an excuse.

This pic is of Earl Ullrich and his wife Kathryn.. Their last wedding anniversary..1980..

Earl loved growing pole beans..and cut more yew wood than most ever see..

Wanted to get more bowyers involvd with making laminated yew wood bows..but in the 40's..that wasn't happening..:(..

I made several bows from yew Earl cut and tapered (lams) he sent to Chet Stevenson.. Chet never did get around to glueing them up..Gilman ended up with them..I saw them in Gilman's shop rafters and he gave them to me..Jim

here's the picture..Jim

I used to write Earl Ullrich often..He always answered..His handwriting was a spidery scrawling script..:)

I called occasionally..Earl was pretty much deaf in his 80's so I'd talk to Kathryn and she'd relay to Earl..:)He told me much about the yew..and insisted it be seasoned properly.. He was a career forrester..and knew his wood..Jim

Jim,

Thanks for sharing. The bow is amazing, and the arrows WOW!!!! Thanks Again JR

Jim, you're fortunate to have known them and have done them proud. IMO

It's an important responsibility... carrying the torch that is the bowyer's craft, and you've done so as well as anyone I know. Thank you, and keep up the good work :)

By the way, I have Gilman and Ann's book as per your recommendation years ago. I'm due to sit down with it agsin. But I've got to read Arrowstorm first.

Off tomorrow... and plan to make many yew shavings.

I have a few 12-16 year seasoned yew bows 'in the works'.. Always some small project..:) Pic is of four staves..( the heavily backset one is a dbl fish splices sister pair that presntly is 78" long)

Not a knot or pin on any of the wood..All 70-80 years per inch..

Sorry the pic is a bit unfocused..Camera work is not one of my strong suits..:0Jim

Then there's a special pair of cow horn nocks I made up for a bow in the 70# range..:)

Ruffed grouse carved head for the top nock..a bit more ornate than normal for the bottom nock..Gotta put an india ink eyeball on the grouse but otherwise it's done..Jim

Then there's the beast..

Yew longbow fitted with almost finished horn nocks.. 72" NTN..

I put it on the scale yesterday with a taut tiering bowstring and bent it to about 6" approximate brace height..

It scaled when bent to approximate brace height that far at 102#s..

I don't think at my age I would shoot it being that heavy..

My experninces with yew selfbows done well from good wood show that the draw weight they show bending to brace height is about 70% of what they would draw at 28" or so..

This bow would be well over 140#@30"..IF I did the final fine tillering on it as is..

It's right--trimmed..and not an ounce of 'fat' on it as is..

I hate to reduce it..which is why I haven't yet done so..:)Jim

Here's a pic of the 'Beast' next to the finished 77#@30" 67" NTN yew bow I showed early on..Jim

And for you fellows thinking about maybe lighter weight wood longbows..This pic of "Powder Puff"..

It's a whopping 37#@28".. Made from Arizona Utah juniper for my wife..before she got pregnant ( again) and her frontal "stature" changed so she has trouble shooting the stickbow..:)

Bow is still a good shooter..Much like the eastern red cedar..a bit softer-fragile..with a lot of sapwood..but has some great cast when done properly into a longbow..Jim

Geez Dire wolf you have some dandies!!

and for Phil over in the UK..

You know this old time bowyer down Nottingham way?..:) It's not Pip B..:)Jim

JIM

WHERE ON EARTH DID YOU GET THAT FROM !!!!!!!!!

That's Fred Bentley, a genius at tillering bows

and Phil Rees..I know you know this other legendary bowyer..:)Jim

and of course..this curmudgeon..the Pipster hisself..:)

Phil,

I can't find the pic I had of Mark Stretton drawing and shooting the 140# yew longbow that Pip and his mob made from the Oregon Cascades yew I sent them years ago..

This pic is of more recent yew bows made by Fred and his sidekick..:)Jim

The second scallywag is Rich Warriner .. A brilliant stringmaker.

BTW Jim, if that's the Yew you sent over last year, that bow Fred's holding is the finest bow I ever shot.

I think Fred's bow is going to make one of it's rare public appearences at the FRAS shoot at Sandringham on Oct 27th. For those that don't know, Sandringham is the private estate of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Phil, yes that's some of the more recent yew I sent to Pip.

Fred and Rich did a fine job with the wood..and Rich is a fine bowyer in his own right also..tho a good bowstring-maker should be appreciated also..

Next you see them..give them all my regards from Oregon..Jim

Richard certainly is a superb bowyer. He's been developing a strange broard limb Holmegaard / longbow hybrid self bow ... they're sensational.

Well Jim, this is becoming one of the best threads on the Leatherwall ever.

I think you should go to Sandringham and shoot in these English Longbows and show the Queen how a Yank can do it.

CrossedArrows.. Lord I hate flying on airplanes..:( Used to carry a firearm, drink, smoke and have fun flying on the old DCV prop planes years ago..Times have changed..:(

I'd enjoy meeting the Queen, Kate and what's his name..:) but they'd have to come to Oregon..:)Jim

I'm not really up and fitting for the Queen anyhow..:)We don't get out much..

Jim, Your hand work on the bow's is really impressive, Wish I had your talent for the stick bow. Craig

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