Splitting out staves from a Unique Hackberry tree

[BowJunkie]

Well I was out in the woods scouting for bow woods and I found a 25' tall Hack Berry that grew to 18' tall before it ever sprouted a limb.
This tree has a 10'' diameter base and tapers to 8'' diameter where the first limb sprouted. 
Armed with my 36'' bow saw and a large bottle of TBIII I went to cutting. Several hours latter, I managed to fell the tree and cut the trunk into three, 72'' lengths. This tree appears to be very straight grained, based on the bark. I would love to cut the staves out with a skill saw to minimize waste, but given the location I will have to split them out manually and then haul them out over my shoulder.
Needles to say, I don't think I will need to look for bow wood for a while. 
My question are, assuming the staves split out nicely,
1. How many stave should I be able to get out of three - 72'' lengths logs that vary from 8 to 10'' diameters?
2. Should I debark them as soon as I split them ?
 Any and all pointers given would be greatly appreciated.
Sorry about the crappy pictures due to my camera and lighting at the time.

[RyanY]

After having just split a white oak log of similar dimensions I'd say you can get six staves from each if you're careful. I chose to be safe and get four but there was a lot of scrap wood left over. Depends on what kind of bows you're wanting to make. Maybe split a few to have some wide staves and keep others for narrower designs.

[Zion]

how are you going to split anything from that gnarly tree?  never seen hackberry but i bet thats a lucky find

[toomanyknots]

You totally should of cut that tree sooner this year when the bark was peeling, .  I don't even know if I would call that a unique hackberry tree, it often grows just like that! It's awesome how it does that,  . I usually quarter a tree like that, unless it is splitting very straight. I would probably debark it as soon as I can, just in case of bugs. You don't need to seal the back on hackberry, just the ends.

[BowJunkie]

The reason I say Unique, is because in Texas they usually do not grow that tall and to be so straight.
Usually they have limbs sprouting out everywhere. I have never seen a Hack Berry this tall and this straight, with so few limbs.
So,,,, does anyone have some dimensions for Hack Berry Bows? I know Rich posted one last year maybe longer  that was very nice looking, but I cant seem to find the thread. I did not cut this tree earlier in the year because I just found it, and did not want to wait till next spring.

[Zion]

I never worked Hack but i would say start with a nice flat bow design. (that works every time.) If it's sluggish, reduce width, and if it cracks all over the place make the next bow wider /longer. With that many staves you don't have to worry about running out of wood lol. The only trees around my place that grow like that are pine and fir trees!!! Well i guess Fir does make an ok bow... 

[SLIMBOB]

Right there with Bow Junkie.  I'm in the Hill Country and most are not that tall before branching.  Nice find.  Love Hackberry!  Temper the belly well.  2 inches wide 62-66 inches long should get you there for 50ish lbs, 27-28 inch draw.

[BowJunkie]

Thanks for the input guys, I think once the staves cure, " not sure how long that will take" this would be an opportunity to make different types of bow designs to see how they perform, and see what design Hack Berry likes the best.
I will try to keep the weight around 50 lbs and draw length at 28''

[toomanyknots]

The reason I say Unique, is because in Texas they usually do not grow that tall and to be so straight.

That sucks. Here every other hackberry is like that.

[okie64]

That is a nice score! We have quite a bit of hackberry like that around here if you get in the woods where there is a nice canopy so they have to grow straight up. If theyre out in the open they usually fork out fairly quick and arent very usable for bow wood. You wont have much waste as hackberry usually has very straight grain and splits like a dream. If it were me I would split them in half and let them sit for a couple of months and then split them into staves. You will have a lot less warping doing it that way. If you do go ahead and split them into staves immediately it would help to tie them down to something so they dont warp and twist all over the place. Take the bark off as soon as you can to keep fungus and bugs from getting to it. The hackberry bows Ive built were all flatbows in the 60"-66" length and 1-3/4" wide range and they all shoot great. It does need to be heat treated or it will usually take a lot of set. You're gonna love hackberry, its very easy to work, smells great, heat bends like a noodle and shoots hard with no handshock. Guess I just talked myself into makin another one.

[blackhawk]

Yeah...all the hackberry I've run into too grows exactly like that..a lot of it. Slimbob got ya covered to start...it also makes nice bend in the handle bows of any length for the most part,ya just have to adjust width to how long ya make em. And heat treat them all no matter what type of design you make with it.

[toomanyknots]

If it were me I would split them in half and let them sit for a couple of months and then split them into staves. You will have a lot less warping doing it that way.

This is a good point. It can warp all crazy like if split too small when fresh.

[BowJunkie]

Well, I finally got time today to start splitting out these logs with hand axes and wedges and hauling them out of the woods to the truck.
The first log I split in half and then split those into halves. This log is splitting out very straight.
Each section  on average is from 5 to 7 inches around the bark side.
I think with this first load I could possibly get 8 to 12 staves if I make skill saw cuts to minimize waste.
I still have 2 more logs left to haul out, Then the real work begins.
I will start removing bark 
 

[Zion]

Never used anything that straight lol. Looks like you have some work to do, but it'll be worth it when those r all bows 

[Pappy]

Nice haul,It usually splits nice and looks like your's did.You can work it about like Hickory ,just maybe a little wider. I split one Saturday,wedge in the end and one hit and it spilt right down the middle. I usually leave the bark on if it cut in the winter until I am ready to make a bow from it. Also leave it in 1/4 splits till it settles a bit so it don't warp.  Lots of bows in that pile.
   Pappy