Ravenbeak Rendezvous

​When I started first building yew selfbows over 10 years ago I was motivated entirely by my own interests in the yew tree and my desire to create a hunting bow using local natural materials. I set a personal goal to build my own gear and eventually harvest a deer with it, which still to date remains incomplete. At the time I did not know anyone else interested in this form of natural archery and my first teachers were the authors of the first volume of the Traditional Bowyers Bible (TBB). I read the book cover to cover and sucked up as much info and wisdom as I could. Over time I met two other local guys who were also playing around with yew wood bows and we we were happy to share our secrets around what has worked for us and what has not. Those get togethers were where I first tried out the farriers rasp, which changed my whole perspective on wood removal and I also picked up the tricks to the Flemish twist bow string. Looking back, they were my only in person teachers as I got started. I also picked up a lot of knowledge through the strong community support on the Primitive Archer forum boards, as well as the the 4 volumes of the Bowyers Bibles. All of my other techniques and theories have been hard earned through trial and error, with nearly as much error as trial. 

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