new bowyer with some questions about wood

[Pat B]

From the looks of that log it has some twist in it. You can see how the ridges of the bark barber pole around the log from left to right. Did the other wood split straight?
  Also, the bark should just peel off easily and the cambium should come off with it. Be sure to seal the back!

[cryostallion]

From the looks of that log it has some twist in it. You can see how the ridges of the bark barber pole around the log from left to right. Did the other wood split straight?

hi pat,
some of the staves have a little twist, but it didn't seem too bad to me, or at least not bad enough to render it un-useable...BUT what do i know?
what do you think i should do with one that has a little twist in it?

i just finished up for the day; all of a sudden it was as if someone rang the mosquito dinner bell. 

i got hasty with the hatchet and gouged into the next growth ring on a couple staves.  good staves too, as far as i can tell, with some reflex.  is there anything i can do about that?  also i pulled some bark and it pulled a strip up from the next ring down, which was really strange.  i've attached pictures of both.

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[0209]

My dear, you've hit gold.  Thats a wonderful haul of wood you've got there and I've no doubt that you'll make plenty of fine bows from them.  About the ring situation, you could probably work on chasing the next ring, but I aint the best to be taking advice from seeing as I've never actually successfully chased a ring .  But look on the bright side, you've got plenty and I mean plenty of wood to play with.  I'm actually quite jealous, never worked with ash before.  Best of luck and remember, patience is KEY.
-Ian

[cryostallion]

thanks ian
storing up for the winter, hehe.

on closer inspection, a few of these staves have a little twist or a turn towards one end, so i guess i'll cut em up for billets?  they will definitely be useable in that form! 
i am bummed about the one with the long thin gash pictured above, because it's so nice and straight and perfect otherwise.  i'm really confused about how that happened because by that point i had stopped using my hatchet to remove the outer bark and was just using my knife, which couldn't have made a cut like that!  i know i never put the point in the stave! 
i was hoping i wouldn't have to chase the next ring     but if there's no other choice then so be it!

[Pappy]

Looks like a nice haul and also looks like you done a new job getting them ready to store.I wouldn't
worry about the twist,you can take that out with dry heat when you get them down closer to bow size. You can also split the belly off right where the heart wood starts to help it dry quicker.I usually leave them a few months then split them smaller.With wood with straight grain like that I pop a line and cut them with a bandsaw about 2 inches wide,You can save a lot of wood that way.
   Pappy

[Pappy]

OOPs don't see any heart wood after looking again but you can still take a belly split off the thicker ones,they will usually split right down the growth ring,and don't need anything but a little cleaning up of the ring. That is what we call the greed factor.
   Pappy

[cryostallion]

Looks like a nice haul and also looks like you done a new job getting them ready to store.I wouldn't
worry about the twist,you can take that out with dry heat when you get them down closer to bow size. You can also split the belly off right where the heart wood starts to help it dry quicker.I usually leave them a few months then split them smaller.With wood with straight grain like that I pop a line and cut them with a bandsaw about 2 inches wide,You can save a lot of wood that way.
   Pappy

dry heat, huh?  i'll have to look into that.
when you say you wait a few months to split smaller, do you mean before you split to this size?

if anyone has a solution for those gouges i pictured besides cutting it down to that ring, i'm all ears. 

oh and i think i figured out why that long strip came off with the bark.  when ii woke this morning and went to finish debarking, the staves had been sitting in the barn all night where the temp got down to the 50s.  i started on another log and the bark was a lot harder to get off, and as a result i pulled up 2 more strips like the one pictured
live and learn, as they say.
had to leave for the weekend, but when i get back home to finish the debarking, i'm sticking them in the hot shower for awhile first!

[youngbowyer33]

You can always back them with linen or something like that, maybe rawhide.

[cryostallion]

You can always back them with linen or something like that, maybe rawhide.

i was wondering that, but was unsure if that was sufficient to make it not break. 

[tombo]

Don't feel bad, trees are a renewable resource. They eventually rot away.

[denny]

All this worry about a gouge ? Not too worry tho, just work that growth ring down the entire length. A( draw shave) or spoke shave would be in order at this point. I would seal the ends with paraffin or shellac and cheap white glue on the back side of the staves.  I Like your choice of wood and what you have done so far. Be patient , you will have some nice bows. Denny

[cryostallion]

Don't feel bad, trees are a renewable resource. They eventually rot away.

all of this does, doesn't it?

[cryostallion]

All this worry about a gouge ? Not too worry tho, just work that growth ring down the entire length. A( draw shave) or spoke shave would be in order at this point. I would seal the ends with paraffin or shellac and cheap white glue on the back side of the staves.  I Like your choice of wood and what you have done so far. Be patient , you will have some nice bows. Denny

just wondering if anyone had any bright solutions BESIDES cutting down another ring.
you know, ancient chinese secrets, things like that.

the ends were sealed right after i bucked it to length, and the backs sealed as soon as the bark was off, thanks.

i did just read another thread where a dude said DON'T use white glue on the backs because it's a pain to get off later.  alas, too late for me.

[walkabout]

the reflex they gain drying will probably pull out while tillering anyway. when i quick dry i set 2" blocks under the tips and clamp the handle down, it helps to keep them from twisting during drying. lots of people dont find a need to do this but it will help minimize what you have to heat correct later. in TBB they said"staves that take on this type of reflex during drying are simply"pretending"."

[denny]

Chryo, I have about 60 staves sealed with white glue and a light scraper removes the glue quite easily. I use elmers and others. Now shellac would be a different story. As to cheat mother nature not chasing another growth ring , good luck. I tried, It didn't work for me, but maybe it will work for you, Dean Torges said that to me once. I was asking if red oak would work for backing material. He was right.Denny