ORIGINAL: bigcountry
I recommend a person starts with hickory. Might turn out a little sluggish, but it won't break very easily. It will teach you to tiller, and usually very easy to find staight staves with no twist. Once a person gets good with tillering a bow nice and even, move on to locust, or osage. I myself don't think i will build another yew bow.
That is what makes or breaks most people from building bows. Thats why I always suggest a nice easy wood to learn with, like hickory. Its heart breaking to seesaw tillering a nice peice of Osage to the point of no return and waste 60 bucks on the stave. Or if you cut it yourself, waste all the work and time to get a stave. Or even worst, have one snap while working on it.