tillering an ash stave with uneven sides

[luke the drifter]

hey folks,

how are y'all doing out there?  after you de-bark a bowstave and you have one side higher than the other,  is it difficult to tiller a stave like that?  or can you shave off the higher side to match the lower side and then start tillering.  the stave lengthis 80x2.5x1.25(short side).  i plan to put a sinew backing on this bow after i get it to the standard 6 inch brace height.  my plan is to make a warbow out of this stave but i can be convinced with valid reason to go more toward the english longbow draw weight.  it all depends.

[Dauntless]

The belly should be parallel to the back.  By all means reduce the thicker side so things are even, you'll get twist otherwise.

Other than that, sinew backing an ash stave isn't necessary because the wood is so strong in tension.  On such a long stave, sinew will just make the bow sluggish.  Save your sinew for short recurves instead.

If your stave has little early wood/if it is very dense, you can definitely make a 100# + bow out of it.  There are some people who have made very serious warbows out of Ash.

[luke the drifter]

thanks for the information.  would it be easier to work with after it has dried out more or would it be safe to go ahead and start roughing/tillering?

[Pappy]

You can rough it out to close to bow dimensions and it will dry quicker,be sure to seal it good so it don't check as it dries. You may want to clamp it to something straight like a board to keep it from warping as it dries. I'm with Dauntless on the sinew.
   Pappy

[GregB]

Make sure when you reduce the thicker side that you're removing the material from the belly, the back must remain in one grain full length of the bow.

[George Tsoukalas]

A war bow is way too long for sinew. IMHO. Sinew is meant for shorter bows to keep them together and give them additional cast. Jawge

[Gordon]

Take more wood off the thicker side as you tiller.