Hey folks,
This piece of yew has some issues. It was a secondary bole that was in the way of the nice piece I wanted. It was ackward to harvest as it was on the edge of a rockface about 20m high above a big gully creek. There was a few wayward hatchet swings that caused some damage on the back. (As seen in pics). The nick goes through 3 growth rings.
Here's the question: Do I reduce the sapwood and take it down to an intact ring? Or glue it, clamp it and back it with a bit of cherry bark, Or do I sand and feather out the damage?
The stave is 62" about 1 3/4" wide at the damage and just under 1 1/2" thick about 6" from handle. Nearly equal in sap to heartwood thickness. I'm hoping for #50+ @ 28" bendy handle. It's almost a blank now, with MC around 10% so it'll be a while before I start bending it.
I'm thinking reducing the sapwood is the best bet, but I'm open to suggestions.
