saw or split and what do put on the ends?

[onespeed]

Hi , new to the forum and have a few ?'s about pacific yew... got a 12'' log recently that is 8' in length that has been split with a chainsaw already should I saw out my staves or split them how many can I try to get? also what to do for the ends I would like something cheap and easy available from the hardware store if possible also any body try locust? I have a chunk of that
thanks for any and all help and i look forward to spending some time here and hope to contribute at some level
Robert

[sailordad]

glue will work to seal the ends
as far as locust,yup lots have tried it(i havent yet)
it supposed to make a good bow
which kind of locust do you have?

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

   I recently took my first go at splitting some staves, and I have to say it is a real pain in the butt! But also rewarding. I would say that if you want to get really good staves then saw them for sure, but if you want to be more traditional then the question is moot. (You should be splitting them if you want to be trad.)

   I don't know how well this will work, perhaps someone else could comment, but I used some paint we had laying around from painting the house. I just dipped the end right in the paint a couple of inches, let it drip off, and boom, sealed end. I think that you could get some mismatched paints about anywhere pretty cheap. I have also heard of people using polyurethane.

[Pat B]

It all depends on how the tree grew. It is always better to split out a stave so it follows the grain.
Locust makes excellent bows but can be a little finicky if the tillering process is rushed. You will have to remove the bark and sapwood from the locust and make a bow only from thew heartwood. With yew, only the bark has to be removed.
  To seal the ends of staves any carpenters glue will work as will shellac or even melted paraffin wax.

[karrow]

onespeed,
              wax the ends works great cheap and easy too