Advice needed on grain on a white ash board

[Len]

Hi guys, have just got a white ash board of approx 38mmx160mm wide and it has a sort of wavey pattern on the wide faces and on the edges the grain runs in long straight parrarell lines. Can I make the narrow edge (38mm) the back of the bow or do I have to remove wood off the wider face down till I get straight  grain lines to be the back of the bow ?

[gpw]

You might want to use a wider bow than 38mm with ash(perhaps 2" Wide) ... just use the flat side , and back it with something ...we use polyester Camo net ... works great ,and  don't scare the game , safer than catching rattlers...hahahaha

[tom sawyer]

Sounds like the board is either plain-sawn or rift-sawn, probably the former from your description of the wavbiness on the wide side.  You could make bows out of the narrow side, I would make them pretty long though, like 68" for a 28" draw, and I wouldn't make them over 50lb either.  50mm wide would be better as was said already.

As for backing, it is tough to tell if your board has violations of the fibers.  You really have to evaluate that yourself, or provide us with some pictures.  You know the grain is running straight as far as the narrow side, but waviness on the wide side suggests that the grain is running out some there.  So I would suggest backing the bows to be safe.  Linen isn't too heavy and is good insurance.

[George Tsoukalas]

Len, can you show some pictures? The edge grain sounds good. The wavy lines on the face aren't bad unless they run off the sides. A backing is good until you get some experience. There's board info on my site. Jawge

[Len]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was hoping to make an Elb of around 75-77 " long and drawing around 60 lb . I might try making one un-backed from the edge and if it fails then try one from the face with a backing, wish me luck !