Stepping back to punt

[hedgeapple]

Sometimes, you just got to step back and punt.  After splitting a black locust and selecting a stave to work, I set forth on what I thought would not be task beyond my capability, that being chasing a ring.  Seemed like a simple enough task--remove the sapwood and there you are.  Well, I was wrong.  I didn't foresee all the dips and dives and streaks of lighter wood under the sapwood.  After a week of working with it and noticing today that the belly has a check in it from hanging out in my dry heat house, I've gone to plan B.  I shellaced the stave and stored it in the greenhouse to dry, which will give me time to find someone nearby to demostrate the finer art of ring chasing. Any volunteers?   

I'm disappointe, but not discouraged.  I'm going to cut a hickory, remove the bark, rough it out, let it dry for a 2 or 3 weeks, then force dry so I can start building a bow without needing the ability to chase a ring.  Oh, I'll learn that art someday soon, just not this month.     And, when I ready for the challenge my locust stave will be waiting for me.

[FlintWalker]

Don't get discouraged Dave.  Don't pay attention to the color of the wood...it's the texture that tells you where your going.

 Wax on...wax off, Grasshopper

[Cromm]

Best of luck!!!

[hedgeapple]

Thanks Saw Filer.  When I scaped through the "sap wood" I hit a chocolate brown patch that would peel up like cork, then the wood would get real solid.  But I couldn't find that cork wood consistantly on the stave.  Then I would have light patch that feathered out like the end of a ring.  I'd scrape and scape and nothing changed.  The growth rings looking at the end of stave are easily an 1/2 inch thick.  

I'm not giving up.  Just taking a step away until I can gain more knowledge.  Heck, I have 2 or 3 more locust staves and 3 or 4 osage staves I want to work.  

[nickf]

hey Dave!
good thing to cut a hickory tree man, never give up!
when you rough it out, start bending it when green (not more than 5" or so) you'll get it dried within those 3weeks, if you lay it in the warmest, driest place in your house!

you might want to get a ash stave first, or just a wasted piece of a log, and try ringchasing on the stave. ash is really easy to chase. start from one end to another, first get 1-5rings down, and work slowly to the end of the stave, untill all of them are gone. it's important to start from one side and not to chase more than 5rings, you'll get confused

Nick

[hedgeapple]

Nickf, thanks for the advice.  I have very few large trees on my farm.  Some of them are ash.  But, I hate to cut any large trees because of their scarcity.  I do however have hundreds of ash saplings that have grown up in the last 10 years.  Some might be up to 4 inch in diameter.  I don't know if there are ash on my mothers farm.  I've never looked for ash there.  I do know there is a lot of hickory at my mother's.  I'll have to look around.

[Pat B]

If you are going to cut a hickory, wait until the leaves are out to insure you can in fact just peel the bark off. If the cambium has not begun to develop for this coming year's growth, the bark will not just peel off.
   You said you sealed the locust with shellac. Hopefully only the back and ends. You must leave the belly unsealed so the moisture will have a place to escape.  Generally belly cracks at this stage will not effect your ultimate bow. Removing wood from the back until you have a good back ring should be the first thing you do before you draw out your profile on the back or reduce the belly side of your stave. You never know, until you remove back wood, what you are dealing with as far as bow design goes or what "things of interest" you are apt to find when you remove each back ring.
   I have quite a few staves I set aside until later. Generally when I do get back to them my mind has cleared as to that stave and fresh thoughts and ideas emerge...and that's a good thing. If you screw it up, it's shot. If you set it aside you can always come back later.

[hedgeapple]

Pat, yes, I did just seal the back and the ends with shellac.  The check was on the belly side about where the handle will be.  And, is wasn't deep.  I put some super glue in the crack for good measure.  I did flatten the belly down a couple growth rings when I started working on the stave, just to give me a flat surface to clamp it to the bench.  The stave is still over 1 1/2 thick with about 9 growth rings.  So I should still have room for some errors.     Sometimes, retreat is the better part of valour.  I think I made the right decission by putting it aside.

[Ryano]

I have found it to be very dificult to chase a ring on black locust when its green. Its not just you! Also it tends to have rings that are made up of both heart and sapwood near the top of the stave. It gets much easier to chase a ring when its dry.

[nickf]

hedge, the good thing about ash is the rings are clearly visible, but actually any kind of wood with good visible yearrings are a good candidate to learn ringchasing on. but remember, always work from one side to the other one, and don't take too much rings at once

ash itself is also a nice bowwood, and it doesn't need ringchasing either, so you may not want to start it. I just thought about some kind of pine or so as another great 'teacher'.

Nick

[Pat B]

The best teacher is the wood you will be using. I find osage to be one of the easiest to chase and found, in the past,locust to be similar. I believe I could do it blindfolded by sound and feel alone. By easy I don't mean without considerable effort, either!

[Hickoryswitch]

I have a hick stave or two if you you'd like to give one a try. I wish I could help with chasin a ring but I just chased my first and would be little help. I can be a little help with hick it's what I have worked with the most.

[hedgeapple]

Hickoryswitch, that sounds great.  I have a couple osage and about 8 locust.  I'd be interested in trading one for a hickory clean hickory stave.  I'll PM you.

[nickf]

why ringchase hickory if not practising for other woods?
leave the hickory stave as it is... use some crappy staves ,broken bows, too-short staves/boards for practicing...

[George Tsoukalas]

You need a curved scraper for the dips and waves. Jawge