Removing bark from 3 year old stave

[cutty]

I have a birch stave thats 3 years old, what’s the best way to remove without damaging the back?
I have drawknifed close to the back, should I just use scrapers gently? I usually peel bark when splitting g staves.

[Santanasaur]

I drawknife the outer bark first and then the cambium until it gets almost translucent and you can see the color of wood underneath, then I scrape the rest. I like a beater drawknife for outer bark since all the dirt and minerals are tough on the tool. On more flawless staves I like  a very sharp knife but if there are a lot of bumps and wiggles I like a duller one that can ride the curves without digging.

[PatM]

 You can also just bend the stave and see if the bark wants to pop off.

[Del the cat]

No need to get it right down to the wood in one go... a little and often and by the time bow is virtually finished you'll have most of it off.
There is less on a finished bow than on a stave... as long as you get a clean enough surface to mark out the bow, the finish can wait until the finish...
Del

[Bryce]

I’ve never worked this wood. But there are a few species that I do work that have to have the bark left on to season. I used to remove it all with a dull drawknife and then clean and burnish the back of the stave. Nowadays I just make the bow with the bark on and what doesn’t pop off during tillering I can usually get with my fingers or a small knife. It’s also a great tillering guide. Wherever the bark isn’t popping off is usually a still point. Not always, but most of the time. With thick barked stave of Osage and stuff I will just thin the bark down so I can draw out my lines and follow the grain.
With woods like yew, and vine maple usually all the bark comes off in its own leaving behind a perfect untouched back. As for birch I’m sure you could just get after it by peeling it off and cleaning it up a bit.

[willie]

cutty
another alaskan once commented that dried birch inner bark was like concrete when dry. I agree and try to always remove the bark when fresh cut, and only cut when the sap is up just before the buds turn from red to green in the spring.

My best results with dried staves has been to remove the outer paper bark and soak the inner bark until its scrapable soft

btw, I have never had any problems with staves checking from drying to fast with the bark removed. I do split (saw actually), or quarter and seal the ends with glue. I would be leery of any stave that dried with the bark on that was not halved or quartered. the bark just keeps in too much moisture, and the wood starts decaying fast.

[Msturm]

In my experience a lot of that pithy under bark will pop off in the floor tillering process. the rest can be scraped off carefully.

[Santanasaur]

I haven’t been able to pop the bark off of birch like you would with yew. That would definitely be easier but that cambium is very tough and almost flexible. On an early bow that was cherry birch, I confused the cambium for wood and left it on full thickness. On the tillering tree it cracked and the crack travelled into the back. I think the cambium was thick enough to take on some actual tension work because it happened another time and since then I’ve stopped treating many species like yew. All my other attempts from the same tree (all with the cambium substantially thinned) took a lot of set without ever failing in tension,except for the only two where I left the cambium full thickness. Not saying others can’t get birch to pop off the bark, I just couldn’t seem to without risking the back.

[bassman]

Most bows that I make now are with green staves. No problems with bark removal.No shellac, no paint , no glue involved ,and no stock of staves. Reduce stave enough to bend on a form ,and make all the corrections.Dry time is shortened significantly that way. They dry natural in my basement. It is what works best for me. That being said, if you can chase a ring on Osage, Black Locust, even White oak you can carefully remove 3 year old Birch bark using a draw knife ,and a scraper of your choice, and sand paper if need be.