Yew

A friend is having a Yew tree pruned, and will save me any lengths he can salvage. I know that it’s a heavy softwood, and the most poisonous of English woods. What’s the view on seasoning it and using  for guitar making, or shall I keep it for turning?
Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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Comments

  • tone1tone1 Frets: 5112
    I thought they’d caught another one in the operation.... B)
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    edited January 2018
    I don't know about seasoning, but it's a nice wood to work and can produce a beautiful result.  

    My main gigging guitar has a yew top and it still looks, 6 years later, like this fresh-built shot:


    It is, on the other hand, highly poisonous (in terms of ingestion and respiratory risk) and you have to wear a dust mask for any sanding and routing, and be pretty scrupulous with your dust down and clean down to make sure you don't inadvertently end up chewing on any router or chiselling chips.

    I didn't personally notice any particularly issues with skin sensitivity but you should check it out on one of the many databases before using it and, clearly, stop immediately if you suffer any reaction.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    @Andyjr1515 I presume you made that yourself? How much does it weigh? Several sites I’ve looked at suggest that Yew turns out quite heavy.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27580
    There was a guy on the UKGB forum who did a lot with yew - some lovely bits of wood, but as Andy says, be very careful working with it.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Roland said:
    @Andyjr1515 I presume you made that yourself? How much does it weigh? Several sites I’ve looked at suggest that Yew turns out quite heavy.
    Medium weight, in my experience.  Just weighed this one and it is 7.5lbs ready to play.  Can't remember if there is any chambering in it (don't think so) and it is pretty much strat thickness and size and sapele back so no great weight-saving tricks in the build.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Roland said:
    @Andyjr1515 I presume you made that yourself? How much does it weigh? Several sites I’ve looked at suggest that Yew turns out quite heavy.
    Medium weight, in my experience.  Just weighed this one and it is 7.5lbs ready to play.  Can't remember if there is any chambering in it (don't think so) and it is pretty much strat thickness and size and sapele back so no great weight-saving tricks in the build.
    Just found my old build photos.  There's a shallow chamber in the sapele back, about the size of a control chamber on the rear upper bout.  The yew doesn't have any chambering in it.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    I feel a Yew faced guitar coming in 2019. It will take that long at least to season a panel, longer if I go for a solid block body. Maybe I’ll do a hollowbody with a Yew top.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    The first batch of logs have arrived:



    ... and had their end grain painted to reduce the risk of splitting:


    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • Andyjr1515Andyjr1515 Frets: 3127
    Excellent .  I suspect there's some wonderful figuring lurking inside those logs :)
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27344
    How many body blanks / tops will you get out of those?
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    With wastage I’ll be lucky to get one body blank per log, and it would be a three piece blank. Instead I was thinking of figured tops, with cedar for the main blank.
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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  • JayceeJaycee Frets: 287
    Sporky said:
    There was a guy on the UKGB forum who did a lot with yew - some lovely bits of wood, but as Andy says, be very careful working with it.
    I remember those builds. Beautiful timber, it just reminds me of a country kitchen table....
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  • If you decide it's not going to fly for a guitar body, you could get a couple of decent longbows out of those.
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  • RolandRoland Frets: 8590
    Sporky said:
    ... be very careful working with it.
    For those people who don’t realise the danger of dust:



    This morning I was resurfacing a pine body. My sander has dust extraction at source. I also had a vacuum hose running to pick up stray dust in the sanding area, and an air filter at ceiling level. When I went back after a break and my iPad looked like this. Now it’s pine dust, which isn’t too dangerous, and my mask should keep it out. Yew is classified as poisonous, even from skin contact, let alone inhalation. It kills livestock that eat it, which is why it is only found in churchyards and gardens. When I cut it I’ll need to wear a mask, and dust my clothes down before entering the house
    Tree recycler, and guitarist with  https://www.undercoversband.com/.
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