Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Accipiter on January 02, 2013, 05:18:31 pm
-
So I recently harvested a dew staves and have been working to get them roughed out before I leave for a trip to Ecuador. hopefully by the time I get back in march they'll be ready to go. Unfortunately, due to some overzealousness on my part, I didn't cut the cleanest staves, and 2 split spirally. Being a novice, I'm not quite sure what to do at this point, so I'd like to see what your opinions on these three are:
(http://i.imgur.com/eqJkp.jpg)
From top to bottom: Serviceberry with moderate limb twist, ocean spray with a side limb (the pictures below have some details on that) and vine maple with fairly severe limb twist.
(http://i.imgur.com/A1CdM.jpg)
Heres the limb that used to be attached. I cut this one out of a thicket so I didn't even see it until after I'd cut the bottom. :-\ Side note, this limb split cleanly up from the main split on the ocean spray without me even coming close to it with the wedge, OS is crazy stuff .
(http://i.imgur.com/5050V.jpg?1)
Close-up of the grain, seems to run fairly strait once you get towards the center.
All three of these staves are ideally going to become short-ish bendy handle bows, if I can get them laid out correctly. Is it possible to fix the limb twist of the serviceberry and VM by steaming and/or clamping? Ignore it? Also, how safe do you think that OS stave will be? I'm planning on keeping lots of wood in that spot, but should I back it as well, or just scrap it? Thanks for your ideas, I'd love to have some bows instead of some firewood!
-
The tree grew in a twist and there is no way to split a stave like that without it splitting twisted.
-
Bummer. Is there any way to 'un-twist' splitting?
-
jawge has a good method in his build along site.
-
Oh, wow, that is a super useful site! Thanks for the tip.