Yea OO, I wasn't saying what you're doing isn't the right way, it surely works and works well too I would think. I'm just a procrastinator so I put off what I can. Around here the land is flat and usually dry enough to get right to the tree with a pickup or trailer. Sadly, we have borers terrible. Up north I never treated the bark, never removed it, and never saw a borer. Life was easier ... Anyway, each of us that's been doing it awhile have a method that works. None of them are wrong. Some are better than the way I do it for sure. It's good to hear the different approaches. Gives us ideas on how to streamline the process. Good dialogue.
I've gotten so I run my draw knife back against the rings and remove as much of the sapwood as I can in one pass. It works better with seasoned wood than green, the wet wood likes to tear and doesn't split along the rings as well.
Where are you in north Texas BowJunkie? How far from Dallas? Maybe we can meet up. Not surprised that you have wood access, it's a thorny weed down here (like half of the rest of the vegetation). The longer you let a stave season, the better it works. You can work a green stave down to near bow dimensions, seal the back and let it season that way. But, if you're close enough to Dallas, just drive over and you can have any stave in my stack you want. A word of warning, my staves are known to be a touch crooked.
George
