Bowyer97

That's great thanks, I'll be in touch sooner or later.

Hello. Is there anyone who could supply or knows of a good supplier of British hardwoods in Cumbria, Lancashire or West Yorkshire? I'm after Yew, Hazel, Laburnum and fruitwoods for bows, Oak and limewood for carving and Birch / Oak logs for mushroom growing. Any help's much appreciated. All the best, Henry.

Yes. Can it be possible to add reflexes this way or do reflexes in self bows have to be naturally occuring? It's already proving fascinating despite the limited experience I've yet had. Certainly the kind of minefield I'm happy to throw myself into, I'll put it that way.

Thanks very much for your response. I'll bear it in mind. As for the website, I haven't come across it before but it's helpful to have as wide a list of options as possible so cheers once more.

That'd be great. I live in Halifax but I'm pretty much based in Lancaster as that's where my dad's workshop is and where I'd be able to store wood. Do you know where to source Spanish Yew? All the best, H.

This is some great advice. There's quite a lot of Ash and Wych Elm where I am. I'm intending to start on stone age style bows and move on to longbows gradually as I gain experience. However I'm looking to stockpile yew while I'm fairly well off and if getting it green, give it plenty of time to season while I gain experience. Thanks for your time.

I've heard off a few people that the Spanish/Italian stuff is largely hype but there's still a lot of people who insist it's the top yew. Advice from people might be quite highly affected by what they sell I suppose. I've read that the tightness of the grain isn't necessarily that important and the straightness of the tree the stave is taken from is important so there's no twisting grain. Also as knot free as possible is a must with a good proportion of latewood/earlywood. Ian Sturgeon for instance has a great reputation and offers English yew bows up to 150lb draw weight. Asides from that could you recommend any criteria for a good piece? - Also where have you come across Italian yew being sold? Thanks for reading. Much appreciate your advice.

Sounds like a potential treasure trove if it's got some clean shaded trees. Thanks for the heads up. I'm a bit too far away but I won't write it off.

Thanks a lot for all your responses. There's been a lot of good advice here. It's all much appreciated. H

I'm based in Lancashire, though in the case of very nice lumber I'm willing to pay for delivery.

Hello, if anyone has any bark- on pieces of yew (English is alright - Italian/high altitiude great if you have it), hornbeam or laburnum hanging about in knot free pieces / containing knot free sections 7ft long, please get in touch. I'm new to bow-making and I'm struggling to source suitable wood for self bows. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading my enquiry. All the best, H.