Chasing rings on ash?

[owlbait]

I'm working on an ash stave, from a dead standing tree. Under the bark it was a bit "soft" so I tried to clean it up. Every time I think I have a ring going I dig into 2 more. Can I save the back without sinew or rawhide(I don't have either one)? Thanks. Blackhawk, I hope this is good practice for my osage!

[Badly Bent]

I'd be afraid to make it unbacked if rings are violated. Chasing rings on ash, hickory, hackberry, etc is difficult but not impossible. You need to view it with the light from just the right direction and angle to see where your rings lay as you go. It helps me to mark the edge of the
ring once in a while with a pencil, If you put it down for a break mark the ring edge so when you come back to work on it there is no question where you left off. It is a slow and troublesome task to chase those rings but doable. Hope this helps.
Greg

[owlbait]

Thanks Greg. I had it out in the sunshine, and that helped. I'll try the pencil line suggestion. Would a cloth backing help? Does it need to be a certain kind of cloth? My wife has yards of material.

[JW_Halverson]

I have my best luck working with a light down low on the far end of the stave shining toward me. 

Ring porous woods like ash are much more easy than stuff like maple and hackberry where the rings are diffuse.  Sometimes when it's really hard to determine where one ring ends I wipe a little stain across the area.  The early growth sucks it up quickly and darkens. 

[lostarrow]

Standing dead wood? Usually cause for frustration and heart ache. I don't want to discourage you but .........how long was it dead? Some species just rot from the top down and don't fall over until they are nothing but mush inside, Ash being one of them. If there is any stain or musty smell your hard work may be in vain. If you think it's good though, giv'er.I don't mind being proved wrong if it means you get a shooter out of it. Keep us posted!

[owlbait]

Thanks for the lighting and stain idea JW. I know I need to learn to use my scrapers a bit better too. How in the world does PD work so fast? The wood seems real sound. Just a very thin layer of mushy stuff.

[Pappy]

What lostarrow said. Good advice on chasing the ring above. 
   Pappy

[KHalverson]

this ash came from my back yard
i believe its only been dead for a year
other than the 3/16-1/4 of soft stuff around the outside  it's solid as sears
another question
would decrowning and making a HBA be a decent option?
KEVIN

[blackhawk]

Sure it'll be good practice,but that's all it might be. I won't mess with dead whitewoods,and if I have to chase a ring on a whitewood then I don't even wanna mess with it. I'm not as crazy as PD  the beauty of whitewoods is slipping the bark when the sap is up and you get an easy instant back to your intended bow. But there's only one king. 

[PEARL DRUMS]

Burn it Mike and Kevin! Ash is tough enough to get a bow from, dead ash wont help you guys.

[owlbait]

On to my next project! My backyard is looking like a semi-finished bowstave graveyard!