Mulberry bark, treating ends, splitting with froe

[kiltedcelt]

Okay, so I got the mulberry home and stripped the bark, and man is it wet under there! I'm going to treat the ends with sealer and I'm guessing it's okay to leave the rest un-sealed since that's where the moisture is going to be leaving? Pardon the newb question as this is the first time I've cut and stripped mulberry. The other woods I've done have been nowhere near as green. Also, any idea where I can get a froe? I don't exactly have access to a black smith so if I can buy one that would be best. I don't think on this small size stuff that my traditional sledgehammer and wedges will work very well. Finally, the bark has got me wondering if there's something I can do with it. A lot of it came off in pretty long strips so I'm thinking maybe it could be cut into thinner strips and maybe woven to make a basket or quiver or something? Any suggestions?

[yazoo]

you must seal the back of the staves or they will crack,,and you cant do this fast enough,,better to remove the sapwood and then seal the heart wood,,its not that this spring cut wood is greener,, any fresh cut wood is green,, has to do with the sap is up in the spring and summer and down,,more sap that needs a place to exit,,if it exits through the sapwood it WILL CRACK,, the sap will look for the place of least resistance which will be the back of stave,, no; need to buy a froe just use a hatchet to drive in the staves to start the then use your wedges as normal,,when a stave is drying the mosture needs to exit the pie shaped heart wood,, to prevent checks in back,,the ends need to be sealed really good, with 3 coats of good wood glue to be sure,,,mike

[james parker]

try splitting from the center of the length of the stave..start with a hatchet, then insert a wedge,,keep it in the center till pass through ,as the stave splits move down a foot or so on both sides of the center wedge and put two more  wedges in-  drive them in slowly..it should split dead in two..practice on another pc before you try the good stave......also you can make wood wedges with a fast taper  to them and they will work fine......james

[gstoneberg]

I have always let my mulberry dry with the bark on.  I would definitely seal the stave's ends immediately.  You may need to let the back dry for a few hours but you'll want to seal that as soon as you can.  Mulberry has a thick sapwood layer that I've always removed so I treat it much like osage, going down to the first good heartwood ring for the bow's back, and it will look quite a bit like osage as you work it.  If the tree grew where it was wet the rings should be very thick. I've seen mulberry bows made with a single growth ring, but mine always had at least 2.

I can't help you with your froe and bark questions, but I've always split mulberry with a wedge and sledge.  The last tree I cut and split was about 2' in diameter though.

Good luck,
George