I once had a mulberry stave that gave me 2 years of fits. I got thru the sapwood and bark to yellow wood easy enough, but then had a pile of pin knots to deal with. I screwed up hitting a single growth ring 6 separate times.
One day I was out at a local picnic area up on Nemo Road in the hills. Nice place to work on bows, shady, nice creek running through, plenty of fresh air. I screwed up the growth ring yet again and was so mad I threw the whole stave into Boxelder Creek, packed my stuff, and got ready to leave. Not good enough. I waded into the creek, grabbed the stave and beat it on a big ol' pine tree to break it. Wouldn't break. Threw it back in the creek and drove off. Got halfway home, turned around and went back to get it outa the creek so I wouldn't be fined for littering or leaving trash. Started on it again a few months later, screwed up a couple more growth rings and pitched it in a ditch by my house. Went back a few weeks later and dug it out...been hit by the hiway department while mowing.
Eventually got it to a single growth ring and drew out the shape of the bow. Ended up with 22 pin knots in the two limbs. It tillered really easy and I ended up giving it to a 15 yr old kid from Nebraska that I knew from Rendezvous. Since nearly every pin knot was paired with another and all the pin knots were raised, it was referred to as the "T*tty Bow". Poor kid blushed for weeks over that bow.
Yup. Fits. Had'em.
