Geometry lesson

[bow101]

Ok so we have a log or better yet a stave to make a bow out of. Excuse the picture but kind of hard to make one in Paint Program.
So down to business how do you know where to start cutting, narrowing and working a stave to bow form, from which side (face).  Do you balance it on the floor holding it by one hand see where it lays or swings.? Which ever side is facing up, I would make it the bow belly.! Basically the heavy side would face down. Yes or No..??

[TacticalFate]

I'd choose the back based on knot placement, reflex or deflex of the stave, twist, etc. Since it seems like you have a log that's curved, I'd split it so one half is reflex and the other half deflex, so you don't have to do any heat correcting later, and you can always recurve the tips on the deflexed stave. That depends how big the log is though, what's the diameter on yours?

[bow101]

If it is a slight deflex why not go with the flow..?

[Jodocus]

If so, I'd choose the side with the slight reflex!

[Del the cat]

Yea and No
It's called experience. I look for the best line clear of knots and a curve reflex/deflex rather than side to side.
Your balance between floor and hand is exactly what I do
I also work on the 'bad' half first, 'cos it gives me a feel for the particular log before I get into the 'good' half. Mind, sometimes the bad half ands up as the best bow.
Del

[artcher1]

Your log (in this case, a picture), with it's heart off center, will have tension/compression issues. So you would want your first split made from B to F. In a situation like this you would only want to take 1 stave from the center of the compression side and one stave from the center of the tension side. Any stave taken from the sides with have both compression and tension rings and will crook laterally...............Art B

[scp]

All good points. I would start with C-G split to quarter the log, minding the knots, of course.