Bow making

[Strichev]

Every good gaming forum needs a bow making thread. So, here's one. Everyone who's into it should post here. What type wood do you use? How long do you let the wood dry? Describe the process. Whatever comes to your mind - post it.
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First one needs to select a nice tree to chop down. Unfortunately the yew is nigh extinct and highly protected in the area where I live. That doesn't stop local hunters from using it as a trophy holder though...

I know the location of a couple of yews, including a nice 15m tall one. plus several thousand ash trees and hazels. Material is not aproblem in Slovenia. Conveniently the nearest forest is 500m from my home and 20m from the workshop. Eventually, when I get comfortable enough in making bows, I'll sacrifice a small yew.

A couple of hazel and ash saplings have been drying for 3 months or so. Some people say that the wood need to be dried for 10 years. That's along time...what do you think? Half a year should do the trick for a sapling, shouldn't it?

However I'm in no rush to start shaping the bow; my previous attempt ended in disaster as the wood wasn't dry enough and an almost completed bow began twisting and curving to the point of being useless. Perhaps next month.

The string. In the old days strings for longbows were made of hemp or linen. Growing hemp in quantities required for a string is out of the question due to obvious reasons. So, I bought this and turned it into this: (warning, photobucket image ahead)

Failing to get the length right I'll have to shorten it a bit. That shouldn't be a problem. Even a bow string made of an already made hemp string hold together surprisingly well. Beeswax does wonders.

When I get to work on the actual bow, I'll post a few images.

So, post away!