Ok, since Russ is havin so much fun, I figured I would start a thread. But the difference is my thread is going to take 2 months or more. Not a weekend.

Ok, I got this piece yew from a friend in WA state. Its not great. Alot of windshake damage.

Rough looking stuff.

After removing most of the bark, and studying the thing for like weeks, I found a design I liked and a clear path to draw my layout.

The design I decided on was the one in Tradbowyers bible vol 1.

70" long, 1" handle with 4" to the fades, with 1.25" fades, and pyamid to 5/8" tips. Bascially a ELB with slight working handle with rounded belly. Maybe a semi flat belly. Well see.

Ok, bandsaw time. Had a mishap and since one side of the stave was rounded and other flat, it twisted on me before I knew it. Lessson learned, make 4-6 cuts on when cutting the profile, and don't try to do it in 2!!!!!!!!!1

Here's after cutting the belly.

If you guys notice that sapwood is a tad thick. Little over 3/8". Thinking of thinning it.

Ok, here is the boo boo. About 70% up the limb, is when the stave twisted on me and I cut into the profile. I think if I leave it thick there, it will work out.

One more of the bad. Here is the back side.

Next, I got to decide how much to take off the limbs. Stuff works horribly. So far I don't like it. I can't draw knife the belly. It will dig in (bevel down of course) but then the grain lifts up in front of the blade and splinters up. Quick way to ruin a bad situation. The belly heart wood laughs at my ferriers rasp. Only thing that is effective is the good ole nicholson 49 rasp. And scraping. So I might have to thin down my belly wood with careful, I mean careful use of the bandsaw. Figured make my safety lines 1/4" longer than the "back" width. So the tip is 5/8" wide, so cut down with bandsaw 7/8". The fade is 1.25" wide, so cut down to 1.5". And down the rest scraping with my draw knife and card scrapers. But the trick with the bandsaw is to cut with the profile of the back. In other words, I can't make a straight cut from the fades to the tip to thin teh belly. I have to stay with the humps and bumps and knots.

I thought this stuff worked easier than osage, but I was dead wrong.