Second stave roughed out, greased up and lashed to form. This stave, at 42", is slightly shorter than the former of 44" but both remain within the typical range of length for Northern-Plains bows. Note: The lashing is done by first binding the center of the bow (handle-to-be). I then insert a hard object (an antler tine, in this case) into the 2 center lashings and begin twisting to apply pressure in a tourniquet-like fashion. This creates an immense amount of pressure, and at this point I sit on the stave at the center of the form (securing the antler and all the stored tension with it) and lift the tip of one limb up gradually while wedging a hard object (section of wood, stone, antler, whatever) under the limb. This is done on both sides and then the tips are finally lashed down. For all of this to work it is important that A. Your stave is still moist B. It must be brought to a relative floor-tiller before lashing to form, otherwise it will explode when applying the tourniquet technique.
I now use this time to clean, dry, and process some sinew for strings, bindings, and bow backings.
