Am I thinking correctly

[stuckinthemud]

Sorting through my wood-pile I found an apple billet about 60" long, 3.5" diameter (at centre) that I had halved and sealed (4" along each end with a thick coating of PVA) and ignored for the last  4 years. Anyway, fully along the length of the pith a deep split has opened up, I can poke a screwdriver a half inch into the split, so it likely extends a lot deeper.  My thought is to cleave the billet aling the split and try to get two narrow billets from it - if the split went perfectly I would get two 1 3/4" wide billets.

[bownarra]

Sounds good. Or cut it along the split to be sure. Apple has very interlocking grain and doesn't split the best, especially after drying for 4 years!
For future reference apple checks like a good 'un and is best roughed out into floor tiller limb thickness to dry without checking too bad.

[Pat B]

How thick are the billets? I would go ahead and shape the bow and get it down to floor tiller stage and see what you have. You may be able to eliminate the split(check) by reducing the belly. Even if it is still there it isn't necessarily fatal. Fill it with super glue and get it done. Cracks and checks in the belly aren't necessarily deadly. Generally a stave will check along a pith as it dries so when splitting small diameter shoots or poles it's a good idea to take the belly side down below the pith.

[stuckinthemud]

The tip of the knife pushes 10mm into the shake, billet is 2 l/4 " thick at centre

[Pat B]

Looks to me that you have plenty of "meat" there so most if not all of the pith check will be eliminated when you get the limbs reduced.

[Del the cat]

To ensure you are thinking correctly you should frown slightly and either scratch your head or stoke your chin
Del 

[stuckinthemud]

The baldness of my head and silky greyness of my beard shows I spend much time thinking but my confused expression suggests most of that time my thinking is circular

[Pat B]

Arc of a circle?   

[stuckinthemud]

Nope, chasing my tail, around and around and around and around

[willie]

the bottom pic shows a check under the bark, at least on the end. wouldn't you want to uncover it to see how extensive it is on the rest of the stave before deciding what to do?

[stuckinthemud]

Agreed, as the vote is 1 for and 1 against then stripping the bark seems the best way forward

[Pat B]

Post pics when you're done.

[stuckinthemud]

The split only goes about 6 inches .  The length of the billet is 54 inches.  Would you halve it and splice in a handle, or splice in some hooks, or cut it in half along the length and go for an elb?

[Pat B]

How wide is it across the belly? Looks to me that you could split it lengthwise and splice the billets together.  At 54" you could also cut off the checked ends and make spliced billets. Before you do anything else remove the bark and establish a good clean back so you can see exactly what you have to work with.

[bjrogg]

To ensure you are thinking correctly you should frown slightly and either scratch your head or stoke your chin
Del 

 
Gotta love that way of thinking Del. Should really have a good emoji for that. I agree. Clean up the back first see what’s under there. Then frown slightly and either scratch your head or stroke your chin.
Bjrogg