Handling twist (w/ Pics) Dogwood

[Scrub_buck]

I split the larger log of that dogwood today.  Used D. Torges method of sawing a kerf in the log with a skil saw to help initiate a straight split.  The wood had some twist to it and two of the staves are twisted (middle of crown to middle of crown).

The stave I am holding has the crown perfect at the floor and at my hand its maybe 30 degrees off to the left.  I am green at this business, but this twist is probably going to be too much.  I have a steam chamber that I can use. 

Would it hurt white wood to reduce it to near bow dimentions then steam it and fix the twist?  I might would even clamp it in a form to put in some reflex. 

Give me some recommendations.  These dogwood staves are really to nice not to try and correct.

Thanks,

Scrub_buck

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[radius]

if you make flat limbed bows, just shape them out as is, and then heat-temper them while clamping the limbs backwards onto a form a la Marc St Louis.  That will help.  If you plan to make d-shaped bows, you can just keep eyeballing the staves as you rasp them out, looking down the length of the limbs from tip to tip, frequently, and simply try to carve the twist out.  However, some twist is usually not such a big problem...looks like a problem, but in practice it doesn't affect shooting too badly unless it's very severe.

[Timo]

Even with Deans method, the staves will probly revert back to a twist after they finish drying,but hey,it's worth a try?

[El Destructo]

Yep....what Timo said......I just split them...and then try to deal with the Twist once they dry...or you could reduce them...and clap them to dry...either way...the ones that have been Kerf Cut...will twist too...if thats what they want to do........

[Del the cat]

A little twist is ok if you can lay the bow out sort of very slightly on the diagonal to minimise it, or allow the rings at each tip to skew by a few degrees.
I've done a couple of Yew longbows where the heart/sap boundary at one tip is at quite an angle.
I'd say anymore than 45degees is too much.
As long as the grain runs pretty straight down the bow you'll just end up with pretty line of grain (ring violations) running straight down the limbs on one side of the final third.
Hope that makes sense.
All the 'ring violation' 'follow a ring' stuff is fine for a perfect log, you have to be a bit flexible and bent the rules to fit the wood.
Obviously some wood is more forgiving than others, but giv it a go...that's how we learn.
(BTW, don't believe anything I say ... I one baaad kitty )
Del

[Eric Krewson]

Reduce your stave to a bow blank, let it dry, use the pipe wrench, heat gun and 5 gallon bucket with about 50lbs of weight in it to remove your twist. I use a piece of course grit sanding belt between the wrench and the wood, the belt grips well and the won't let the wrench mar the wood.

[yazoo]

better to just split them out normal,,do not saw kerfs,,violates the longitutal grain,,and they will twist anyway,, better to have followed longitutal when you start removing the twist,,much less likely to split off the sides while heat straighten,,just remember with anytype wood just split it does not matter it it is straight , twisted , crooked by following the grain you can take any type of problem out with a heat gun,,,if you saw out you can run in to problems,,

[Hillbilly]

I agree with yazoo. I never kerf anything, because the stave will split with the grain. If the grain's crooked, I want the stave to follow it, and I can deal with straightening it later and the grain won't be violated. Doesn't look like too much twist, some twist won't hurt a bow anyway unless it's a static recurve. I've made a couple of good-shooting bows that looked like airplane propellors unstrung. I removed more twist than that in a dogwood stave a while back by clamping it onto a form and heating it with a heat gun. Added reflex, heat-treated the belly, and took the twist out all in one shot. I would rough out a stave to near-floor tiller dimensions and let it dry a few weeks before I tried to heat it, though. Too much heat on green wood =checks and splits.