Calling all ironwood bowyers

[PatM]

Just leave the back as the first ring and let the belly be whatever it ends up.
 The heartwood tends to be a bit more brittle but certainly still works. I rarely see much heartwood at all in HHB unless it's an older tree from a swampy area.

[jasonoflivingston]

Thanks for the info.  I was a bit surprised as well to see that much heartwood.  The area wasn't too swampy, but it does receive a fair bit of runoff every spring (in a bit of a gully that travels down to the swamps).