Weight: 48

Grain: Straight to slightly wavy. It is comman for Yew to have very small knots.

Figure: When freshly cut, the wood is a bright orange but, when exposed to air and sun the wood turns to a warm amber color. There are fine brown streaks from the grain pattern.

Texture: The close grain gives the wood a very fine and even texture.

Properties: For an evergreen tree, Yew is quite heavy, dense and hard. Yew works very well with hand and power tools. The wood can be worked to a highly polished surface. Yew's claim to fame is its strength and elasticity, being used as long bows in England and manufactured as archery bows in the U.S.. The durability of the wood is a very high and resistant to insect and fungal attacks. There are chairs made of Yew in the Hornby Castle dating back to 1550. The Yew tree is small, reaching a height of 20 feet, with a short trunk of 8 to 12 inch diameter. This makes the lumber rare and available only in small pieces. Applying an oil finish reacts with the wood turning it to an amber color.

Uses: Because the wood is so flexible and takes extreme bending, it makes a perfect hull planking, the thick timbers of the wales and bent frame construction. Grain and texture are so fine the wood can be carved or turned into the most delicate fittings.