Suggestions & recomendations on an orange limb bow

[Fred Arnold]

I received this with the bark intact, ends never sealed until I acquired it. Following pictures show limb after removing the bark. As you can see there was only a very thin layer of sapwood and virtually none on some sections after debarking.

Small end where the majority of the checks are measures 1 1/2" tapering up to around 1 3/4" on the large end. 71" L.

I have  other similar that were worked down with hand tools instead of trying to split. This is the longest of the 3 with the fewest amount of knots.

What are the best chances of getting a bow out of this one with all the drying checks?

With exception of the ends which are now sealed how would you seal the remainder and if I do how will it proceed with drying?

[Pat B]

Fred, you need to at least split the limb in half, maybe using the biggest of the checks.

[Joec123able]

Should be able to easily get a bow out of it

[Fred Arnold]

Pat, maybe if I remove the sapwood I will be able to follow the grain with a marker and then score along those lines with a sharp blade before trying a split. Does that sound feasible? Or should I draw knife it down to bow dimensions?

[steve b.]

The checks are on either side of the log, right?  So don't lay out your bow so that the check is in the bow.  Lay it out 90 degrees from the checks, where is should be anyway.  Personally I would de-sapwood it and have another look at it, before you split it.  IN that first picture I would want the right side of the log to be the back of the bow, with a relexed tip, eliminating the possibility of that knot on the left and including those big rings.  And personally I would decrown and back it anyway.

[Pat B]

I split an osage sucker today that was 3" to 4" in diameter that Clint gave me. I determined where I wanted the split and drove an ax along that line starting in the middle of the sucker lengthwise. I then drove wedges in where the ax began the split and worked out each end until it was in half.
 Those checks run along the grain and are where the split should follow along the grain.

[chamookman]

Fred - I'd split it from the fat end and leave the sapwood on. Unless it splits "funny" You should have two staves there ! Bob

[Fred Arnold]

I'm seeing quite a few differing opinions on how to proceed and quite frankly that is exactly what I was hoping to accomplish.  All of your thoughts, opinions, and guidance are greatly appreciated.

What are your thoughts on the theory that when working on a branch bow that the back should be established on the tension side? This advice was given to me from a member on LW. Although I had read about it before it had completely slipped my mind until someone else mentioned it.

streve b, I took your advice, removed the sapwood last night before dark and found a few defects that couldn't be seen earlier, Thanks!~

Pat B, I'm going to proceed with splitting this morning outside after sunup. Since the widest  checks run from the small end  to about  2/5ths of the length I'll start as close to the middle as possible.

chamookman, Hopefully I'll get a good enough split to yield 2. Even if one ends up so so I've got grandkids that need bows.

Pics will be posted after the splitting ceremony.

[steve b.]

Fred, in this case,  the differing opinions are not opinions that are more right, or wrong, than the other opinions expressed but are really different approaches to the same problem.  They are all right. 
You could clamped that log down and go at it with the draw knife just the way it is and make a great bow, or a bow that would break, or you could split it with wedges or a bandsaw and throw away the "worse" side and work the other, or work both sides and make two bows and put superglue in those checks and maybe the bow will stay together or maybe it won't. 
Its not an exact science--that's actually the beauty of this craft.  With your piece of wood there's alot of just good ole common sense involved in dealing with it.  So go for it.  Because nobody really knows if their approach is going to be the best approach for that piece of wood. 

The same goes for your question regarding the tension side of a limb.  It doesn't matter if its the tension side of the limb if, when that piece of wood dries and is ready to make into a bow, its not very reflexed or deflexed.  The limb or trunk might look curved with all the weight of branches and foliage pulling it down but what really matters is what it looks like when all that is cut off and its laying there, dry, and ready to work.  Its then that you decide what is under tension and then cut accordingly.

[Fred Arnold]

After splitting I ended up with 1    good piece and 1  for the grandkids. Thinking 48" 18@20.

I started with an axe and small wedge and things looked so good and then about halfway through I decided    to grab the larger wedge. At that point  life decided to teach me another lesson.

[toomanyknots]

Looks nice! Just for future reference, these suckers and saplings / limbs can have a huge amount of twist or built up tension that causes em to warp when split. If it were me, I would resist the temptation of splitting it to get two staves. Instead I would get the hatchet out and reduce the belly side of the stave after I layed out a bow, and let it dry out a bit more. Than after a month or two, rough out the full bow, and let it dry some more. I've had osage suckers and saplings with perfect grain twist like a barbors pole when split, not from grain, but from hidden tension in the tree, essentially giving me no staves from what was potentially a perfect stave?  Looks real good right there though, nice. Should make a couple really nice bows!

[Fred Arnold]

tmk, thanks. I remember a sapling bow build along by Bernie (his handle was Ber followed by some numbers), where he ratcheted the stave down outdoors to a straight growing tree and covered it with plastic to protect it from the elements. As it dried outdoors in the heat it cured with very little twist. When it was dry enough he brought it indoors to finish.

I'm sure someone here remembers it although it's been a few years. It was an excellent tutorial. Maybe someone who remembers can find and post a link.

I'd forgotten about it until your reply set of a light bulb  . As I get older I've come to realize my attention span and retention ability seem to be dwindling. 

[Pat B]

There is another option if the grain is straight and that is to saw it in half, down the middle. I've done this on a few poles and after cutting I bound it back together with spacers between the two halves to allow air circulation. You won't get any reflex this way but you can add that later with a little heat.