Wild curving twisting dogwood stave

[Whiskeyjet]

So I've got this dogwood stave that came from a trunk log in front of my house. It has a wild amount of reflex, but not even remotely symmetrical. About 12 inches one side, 4 inches on the other tip. Oh and the less reflexes tip has 90ish degrees of twist. Stave is 65" long. 2 inches wide at tips, 4 in the middle. I'm thinking of roughing it out somewhat, following the grain and twist best I can, then steaming out the twist when it's a manageable thickness.  Should I let it finish seasoning before I remove the twist? Try to tie it down instead? IDK folks this is my first attempt at making anything from a stave so if my plan is stupid, my feelings aren't gonna be hurt if you say so 😉. 

As far as the reflex, should I take it out of the left side or add more to the right side? Neither? Both?

I'm not afraid to fail so if you have a challenging suggestion I'm still game.

[DC]

Do it while it's green, it works better. Reducing it first is a good idea but keep it the same dimensions full length, except for the handle. 2"x1" would work. If you put any taper or change of dimension in it, when you try to untwist it all the untwisting will happen in the thinner areas. Determine where the bulk of the twist is happening and steam that area. Expect it to crack lengthwise from untwisting. Making the area as long as possible helps. Steam it for an hour or so. If the twisted limb is also the reflexed limb figure out a way of tying it both ways so you can get rid of the twist and reflex in one go. Once you've got it in shape clamp it to a 2x4. I would go with the 4" reflex in both limbs. And yes, this is a little stupid but you'll learn a lot about wood. It would be smarter to find a better stave but what the heck. Look at this link. http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,60033.0.html

You're not the only one that can do stupid

PS don't go in expecting it to work well

[Whiskeyjet]

Do it while it's green, it works better. Reducing it first is a good idea but keep it the same dimensions full length, except for the handle. 2"x1" would work. If you put any taper or change of dimension in it, when you try to untwist it all the untwisting will happen in the thinner areas.

So make the limbs 2x1" and leave the handle area thicker? Am I understanding you right? So rough it out minus any tapering on either axis?  Looks like yours is a lot of fun too.  I'm not expecting success, I just want to learn aomething out of the whole thing.  I notice you really clamped your stave down all the way. Are you aiming to remove all of your reflex? I Thought reflex was mostly a good thing. 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Its going to get a lot worse as it dries. Honestly? Id find another chunk to play with. I've not had good luck heating green wood without making a lot of checks.

[bjrogg]

It's probably not ideal stave to start with. Might be one you put off for later, might not. Might get a bow out of it, but it'll take some looking for it.
Bjrogg

[Whiskeyjet]

It's probably not ideal stave to start with. Might be one you put off for later, might not. Might get a bow out of it, but it'll take some looking for it.
Bjrogg

Yeah it's far from ideal. But I'm gonna give it a go, doomed though it may well be.  Any opportunity to practice my woodworking skills is needed. As long as I don't lose an eye it's all fun and games.

[bradsmith2010]

looks like that one end is kinked, maybe cut that off, and go with 60 inch bow,,
cut to shape, and clamp while green,,
yes it could check if you heat it,,  maybe just some slow clamping while green could get you there without the heat,,
or just a little heat,,

[BowEd]

Whiskeyjet....Steaming won't crack the wood much but don't know if it'll hold that well drying.Almost steaming the whole bow really after reducing it of course.Forms/Big C clams etc.and then it's a maybe holding because you would almost have to twist past what you want it to be.How much is an educated guess.Interlocking woods like hickory and elm have a way of doing what they want yet while drying or being bent later making a bow from them.Can't say exactly about dogwood but I imagine it is'nt much different.I'd say to do the best you can with it to put it in a drying position.After making a bunch of other bows solving numerous different problems or so you might want to grab this one then.Study it for a while with experiences from the past helping you solve this one.I know I've had staves that sat around thinking the word firewood was on them but all of a sudden seen a good bow in them.After drying getting after it with dry heat correcting then I think it will hold better and not be so difficult.
It would be a challenge for the most experienced bowyer to make a bow out of,but as said before it's your wood and your bow you do what you want.If future bow wood is available good around you.

[Whiskeyjet]

looks like that one end is kinked, maybe cut that off, and go with 60 inch bow,,
cut to shape, and clamp while green,,
yes it could check if you heat it,,  maybe just some slow clamping while green could get you there without the heat,,
or just a little heat,,

I cut that kink off, and shaved a little wood to try to get a better look at it.   The  twist is about 45 degrees, all in the last 15" or so on one side. Was considering making a Mollegabet style to mitigate the effect of the twist. Not sure if that works but the outer limb of that design doesn't bend, right? So if the string stays on the twist shouldn't be as big of a deal, right?  It has dried a little and has become very hard and difficult to work with my drawknife.