First hickory Bow Questions

[Paul F]

So I have started laying out my Hickory bow and I have a few questions........let's be real, I have a lot of questions lol.

I posted pictures of the stave here.  http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,39601.0.html

1.  Do I need to save any of the heart wood or is the sap wood strong enough without a backing?
     I think most of it will come off when I remove wood to get to floor tiller.

2.  I have started laying out the bow and one end is 1 3/4" and the other is 1 7/8".  I found center on both ends and then ran a string from center to center and used that center to mark out my bow.  Is this correct or is there a different way of doing this?
     This is because both ends are a little bit twisted.

3.  Being that the stave is roughly 1 3/4" wide, I don't think that I need to remove any from the side's other than when I get to the last
     6" for the fade out and the fade from the handle.  Is this going to be wide enough for a rigid handle bow?

4.  The bark has been removed and the stave was sealed but there are still rough spots on the back of the bow.  Can I sand these down without having to back the bow or will that depend on if I violate a ring while sanding?

This is all I can thing of at this time.  Thank you very much for your help and reply's and I am sure I will have a TON more as I start getting it roughed out.

Paul F.

[Hrothgar]

Your stave looks fine, although a little twisted which you might want to heat out. The sapwood is good for the backing. If its still drying out don't worry about the knots or rough places now IMO. 1 3/4" is wide enough for a bow but I would probably turn it into more of a pyramid design. You will probably need most of that heartwood for your handle area and maybe some at the beginning of the fades.

[Paul F]

Thank you very much.  The stave is totally dry as it has been drying for over 3 years.  I will have to research some on pyramid bow's as Im not familiar with them.  Thanks again.

Paul F.