Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: dmenzies1950 on August 15, 2012, 06:45:20 pm

Title: spiraling staves ?
Post by: dmenzies1950 on August 15, 2012, 06:45:20 pm

I just cut down a truckload of beautiful cascara staves. Boy was I excited! Then I split the first one and it spiraled 90 degrees. I tried the next one and it did the same thing! I just moved to Washington State from Montana where I built a million bows out of mountain maple. All of them spiraled. All I did with those was draw the design of a bow on the back, corner to corner ,so to speak, and started flinging arrows, never even backed one! I'm sure cascara would never hold up to that. I planned on backing most of these bows with rawhide anyway. Will Backing them keep them from exploding the first time I come to full draw?  Does anyone out there have suggestions for what I might do short of having a really big bonfire this winter? Any suggestions will be most appreciated. 

Title: Re: spiraling staves ?
Post by: toomanyknots on August 15, 2012, 07:07:19 pm

I hate when that happens.

Title: Re: spiraling staves ?
Post by: JW_Halverson on August 15, 2012, 09:58:33 pm

Have you ever tried taking the stave down to bow dimensions and then using heat to straighten and take out the twist?  I have removed upwards of 120 degrees from a particularly nasty piece of osage before.  Just heat 6-8 inches at a time and take out a few degrees of twist. 

Title: Re: spiraling staves ?
Post by: dmenzies1950 on August 15, 2012, 10:56:47 pm

yeah, I have done that, but I dread doing that to my next 100 bows. Thanks for the imput, thats probably what I'll have to do.
                                                    Dale 

Title: Re: spiraling staves ?
Post by: toomanyknots on August 16, 2012, 01:21:52 am

When this happens I typically just make a "corner to corner" bow too, no matter what wood it is. I have never had a problem yet.

Title: Re: spiraling staves ?
Post by: Pat B on August 16, 2012, 01:30:34 am

By studying the bark of the tree you can tell if the tree is growing in a spiral. With some trees it is very easy to see and with others you really have to look but the bark tells the story.
 I did the same with a 20" sassafras I cut a few years ago. I got three straight 7' logs from that tree. When I split it out it was all spiraled. It made a very nice split rail fence.  ;)

Title: Re: spiraling staves ?
Post by: dmenzies1950 on August 16, 2012, 02:15:08 am

Toomanyknots,

I'm pretty sure I'll try corner to corner and back with rawhide. See what happens!

Pat,

I checked out the bark before I cut the trees, but there was no indication from the bark that there would be a problem. Cascara has very smooth bark, and doesn't give away secrets about the nature of the wood.

Thanks for the input guys,  Dale

Title: Re: spiraling staves ?
Post by: deerhunter97370 on August 16, 2012, 02:25:51 am

I usually end up with staves that are straight for 3/4 of the wood then the only knot gives it a 90 degree turn for the rest of the bow.