It is possible to use Yew for quality furniture and woodworking projects as if it were a hardwood because Yew is one of the few conifers which has a timber hard and dense enough.     Its annual growth rings are so tight that it is usually harder and heavier than your average hardwood.

It planes, sands and polishes easily, furthermore.

Additionally, yew is very stable, thus it doesn’t distort much with moisture content changes.

Yew trees often contort in their growth pattern, particularly common with older trees. Hence sometimes there are internal stresses remaining. Cutting boards down the middle or  resizing into narrow components can lead to boards springing considerably.

The warm orange hue will gradually mature over the years to a considerably darker colour more like american cherry or a medium mahogany.  Please take note of this if you are drawn to the fresh young pale orange tones.

Knots and splits are typical, hence we usually offer yew with waney edges, as suits a character timber.
Pipp (small cats paw arrangements of burr) is common and an attractive feature. Sometimes we class very extensive pipp as ‘Burr’ or ‘Burry’ but this is exceptionally rare in Yew.