This entry was posted in timber on october 11, 2012 by tony. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees. Instead, its an arila large, single seed surrounded by a soft, fleshy, bright red pulp. Im working my way alphabetically by botanical name, so check out the latest added wood to see where im at in the queue. Bow woods from a mathematical perspective the wood. Read about science, photography, books, art, practice, and more all with a focus on trees. Includes botanical, habitat,pests, and disease information as well as commercial, native american and modern uses. It contains the physical properties and illustrations of more than 150 commercial species, reproduced from the popular trada red books and wood information sheets. Please fill our the form below to hold your stave we will send you an invoice with shipping. Lumber recovery from pacific yew logs an exploratory study. Yew is a common name given to various species of trees the name is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus taxus.
Hand split pacific yew bow staves worlds finest yew. Its better than most of the other reference books i have. Yew is a small genus of about eight species scattered across north america, europe, and asia. The wood of pacific yew is exceptionally hard and strong, and indians used it for tools, canoe paddles and weapons, especially bows. Wood database and searchable library lumber for woodworking thats packed professionally, shipped right to your door, and guaranteed 100%. Fortunately for the pacific yew, scientists soon discovered a way to produce taxol from needles and twigs of other cultivated yews. The wood of the yew, because of its toughness, has always been suited for abuseprone posts and furniture. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The formidable english military weapon of the middle agesthe longbowwas made of yew. It is a very slow growing and long lived tree that is highly adaptable and has superb regenerative properties. Wood database and searchable library woodworkers source. Explore 54 listings for yew wood for sale at best prices. Others would argue osage, and several of the densest tropical woodssay, ipe or heartwood.
Known as the witches wood and the wood of death, it draws off the element of water. Pacific yew is a fine turning wood that is reputed to take details well, perhaps due to the fine grain. Let me know if youve got something interesting that youd like to donate to the site. Rare and valuable, pacific yew fights cancer, but makes toxic. It has a distinctive whitecream sapwood, an attractive contrast to the heartwood. Books on the subject of wood usage and identifica tion have all come. Alternatively, find out whats trending across all of reddit on rpopular. The is an online wood encyclopedia database covering more than 1600 species from all around the world. They have been carefully sanded flat through the boere wide belt sander down to 150 grit and delivery is free. Yet, yew played a much more important role in history. Rare and valuable, pacific yew fights cancer, but makes toxic sawdust. Vintage wooden book stand hand carved bookstand foldable bible cookbook india himalayan wood book.
Yew wood was given priority as a material for weapon making the long bow. Note that short lumber pieces, even 2feet long, are worth developing into. Lowell,research forest products technologist pacific northwest research station, portland, oregon. Unlike any other material, the design properties for. This is a yew log suitable for woodturning 2 english yew woodturning log blanks logs are curved as shown in the photos. Pacific yews are a small component of coniferous forests, usually found as single occurrences. Acacia is a very large and diverse genus, containing several hundred species, ranging from woods weighing less than black cherry prunus serotinasuch as mangium acacia mangiumto some of the heaviest and hardest woods on earthsuch as waddywood acacia peuce. Most pieces have some very small knots as larger defects have been cut out. Clear cut logging, and the unchecked harvesting a decade ago for the bark to make taxol, is to blame. The name is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus taxus. The wood database may be accessed from the wood tab of the section sets spreadsheet by clicking in the shape field and then clicking, or by clicking the shape database button on the risa toolbar and clicking the wood tab. What this means is that the wood is extremely flexible, yet strong, making it ideally suited for use in archery bows. Jul 04, 2012 our local species is known as pacific yew, western yew, american yew, oregon yew, bowplant, mountain mahogany.
Yet perhaps yews greatest claim to fame is that of its mechanical properties. Taxus brevifolia, the pacific yew or western yew, is a conifer native to the pacific northwest of. The pacific yew is a small to mediumsized evergreen tree, growing 1015 m tall and with a trunk up to 50. Charles thunderbird 1953 classic recurve link classics in stock. I created and started writing this blog in may 2010, in celebration of 18 years working as a forest scientist or silvologist. Pacific northwest fiction i love living in seattle, almost as much as i love reading books about seattle. Additionally, nearly all parts of the yew tree are considered toxic and poisonous to humans, and care should be exercised when working with this wood species.
Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. Natural resources conservation service plants database. The introductory chapters about wood structure, etc, are really good. It is special acoustically, since it has an unusual characteristic it can resonate at many.
Other uses are furniture making, fences, gates, posts, chairs, doors, tables, rustic furniture and veneering which requires careful preparation as yew is so brittle. Most of the yew that ever has been harvested was for a small pile of its thin bark the rest left to rot on the forest floor. Selection of scottish hardwood boards for sale, oak, elm, yew, beech, etc. Yew trees were planted in graveyards to protect the spirits of the dead. Pacific yew is actually a softer wood that has coloring ranging from pink to amber which continue to develop as the wood ages. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. The database was created by eric meier, who originally began compiling specs on different types of wood for his own personal use, to use as a guide in selecting the appropriate wood for projects. Hand split pacific yew bow staves ravenbeak natureworks. Identifying and using hundreds of woods worldwide by. Loehnertz,research general engineer forest products laboratory, madison, wisconsin eini c. I hope to have freshly printed books back in stock in early june. Get a constantly updating feed of breaking news, fun stories, pics, memes, and videos just for you. The greatest plenty of them, as i believe in the west of england is at nunton ewetrees.
Yet perhaps yew s greatest claim to fame is that of its mechanical properties. European yew or common yew taxus baccatapacific yew or western yew taxus brevifoliacanadian yew taxus canadensischinese yew taxus chinensisjapanese yew taxus cuspidataflorida yew taxus. Pacific yew the wood database lumber identification softwood. The wood database may be accessed from the wood tab of the section sets spreadsheet by clicking in the shape field and then clicking, or by clicking the shape database button on the advanced tab of the ribbon and then clicking the wood tab of the shape database dialog wood materialshape selection. Amazons choice recommends highly rated, wellpriced products available to ship immediately. When tested using the industry standard janka hardness test, pacific yew receives a hardness rating of 1600, a ranking similar to that of oak or hickory. European yew or common yew taxus baccata pacific yew or western yew taxus brevifolia canadian yew taxus canadensis chinese yew taxus chinensis japanese yew taxus cuspidata.
It is technically a soft wood, but it is hard and tough, and can be worked very thin. If you cant find a book or video in the jwcc online catalog or ishare you can consult worldcat, a worldwide catalog of books and materials. The needles and bark of the yew also had various medicinal uses. Unlike any other material, the design properties for wood members depends both on the material. Additionally, nearly all parts of the yew tree are considered toxic and poisonous to. It contains the physical properties and illustrations of more than 150 commercial species, reproduced from the popular trada. Lumber recovery from pacific yew logs an exploratory study stephen p.
The yew tree hardcover june 1, 1990 by hal hartzell jr author 5. We have added some fantastic new planks of yew wood to our timber, selection packs. Contact us for more information about hiring yew woodshop. Maker of fine yew longbows and recurve bows for the archery community.
Reddit has thousands of vibrant communities with people that share your interests. Im slowly grinding my way through roughly 800 wood species that have still yet to be listed on the site. I have access to a good selection of yew wood pacific yew and i am wondering if it would be any good as a tone wood. Rare and valuable, pacific yew fights cancer, but makes. Hello, i am a small furniture maker and wood miller based in stirling. Often yew is associated with sorcery and dark magic. Eric meier, who ownsruns the wood database web site has now published a really good wood book, called wood. European yew the wood database lumber identification. Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet by jamie ford, whered you go, bernadette by maria semple, snow falling on cedars b. Pacific yew the yew familytaxaceae taxus brevifolia nutt. The yew tree, botanical name taxus, is well known in the myths and cultures of many areas of the world, its wood having been utilised by man for at least 150,000 years. Long associated with magic, death and rebirtheternal life.
Identifying and using hundreds of woods worldwide by eric meier 20151010 by isbn. Although considered a softwood because it is a conifer, yew s wood is hard and resilient. February 5, 2018 sold pacific yew classic longbow, rh, 62 52 lb. Hickory is easy, but is the most boring, poorperformance wood in the world next to selfbacked pacific yew. Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern europe, northwest africa, northern iran and southwest asia. They are considered a slow growing understory species and can live up to 400 years, although 200300 years is more common. Pacific yew taxus brevifolia click on each photo to enlarge image needles. Sapwood is usually a thin band of pale yellow or tan color, while the heartwood is an orangish brown, sometimes with a darker brown or purplish hue. Also has images of the trees for identification and links for further tree species education.
The wood database may be accessed from the wood tab of the section sets spreadsheet by clicking in the shape field and then clicking, or by clicking the shape database button on the risa toolbar and clicking the wood tab wood materialshape selection. While i expect to sell furniture over the coming months i do. Pacific yew takedown longbows maker of fine yew longbows. Although its grouped with the conifers because it has needlelike foliage, its fruit is not a cone.
The pacific yew is also called the western yew or sometimes the oregon yew. I created and started writing this blog in may 2010, in celebration of. The wiltshire antiquary john aubrey, who often came riding across the downs of cranborne chase was the first person to mention this yew wood, for in 1685 he wrote yew trees naturally grow in chalkie countrys. Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. The wood database may be accessed from the wood tab of the section sets spreadsheet by clicking in the shape field and then clicking, or by clicking the shape database button on the advanced tab of the ribbon and then clicking the wood tab of the shape database dialog. Even though i didnt glean my information from the audubons guide book, they also suggest that the pacific yew is poisonous. Yew wood is in steep decline on the planet, but its not the bowyer that is to blame.
Identifying and using hundreds of woods worldwide by eric meier 20151010 by the wood database. Wood species database the species database will help you choose the most suitable wood species for your project. An encyclopedia of the worlds wood varieties wood database. In fact the law decreed only royal longbowman could have yew bows.
The grain is straight but sometimes curly and irregular. Englishspanish european yew, followed extremely closely by the notalmostextinctyet pacific yew. Welcome to gabriel hemerys website and blog, with news, opinions, information and tips. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Magickal properties of wood from project fey for pagans. We would love to help you start your woodbased project. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. The woodworkers resource for practical information and research for all things wood. Charles thunderbird recurve anniversary edition details link. Multidisciplinary fulltext database from over 1,600 publications. Because of this great diversity within the genus, it is nearly impossible to typify a standard wood that is. Because it is rare, te wood is too valuable to cut in advance of an order in most cases. The tree grows in the northwest united states and tends to be gnarly with fluted edges and bark inclusions, making it a very difficult tree to cut into turning blanks. Pacific yew the wood database lumber identification.