Twisty Staves

[Don Case]

I think I need some help. I have collected a bunch of staves. RO Dogwood, Pacific Dogwood, Pacific Crabapple, Pacific Yew, Douglas Maple and English Holly. Every one of them has had at least 90 degrees of twist when I split them, most were closer to 180 degrees in six feet. They were all in the 3-4" dia range and I split them green. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if I'm just unlucky so far. I really don't want to continue cutting down trees that I have no use for. Any hints to get me some decent staves?
Thanks
Don 

[sleek]

I would be willing to bet they aren't useless and that you can untwist them with heat.

[dwardo]

Twisting is usually due to the tree either turning to the light or being blown in a certain direction by the wind.
It is pretty unlucky to get a twist in all of your staves.
I try to make a short a bow as I can with the twisted ones as this tends to avoid "some" of the twist. Then just lay our your bow following the twist and heat it out. The less thickness you have the easier it will be to remove the twist.
I am personally a bit of a coward when it comes to too much twist and 180 would be pushing it for me to be honest.

[sleek]

Well to add to this, I want to say that there is no rule saying you have to remove twist. I have made a few propeller bows and they do just fine

[BowEd]

Look at the bark lines good first off.Sometimes even though the lines are straight it will still split on a twist.Depending on the type of wood.What appears  to be happening on the bark is exaggerated in the grain of wood underneath.On the straight looking ones I've had good success ripping them on the bandsaw leaving them wider on the back than they are depth wise with minimal warping or twisting.

[Don Case]

Thanks for the help. I can't imagine a bow working with the tips parallel to the arrow but what do I know If I decide to try this do I just rough out the bow staying parallel to the grain so I wind up with a twisted blank and then steam or heat that?
As for collecting is there any more tips? I found(after cutting it) with the yew that if you peel a little strip of bark off it seems to follow the grain. I will test that next time. That doesn't work with Dogwood or Maple, the bark just breaks off in chips. I read somewhere that sometimes you can spot twist by lining up the branches. Can anyone elaborate on that?
Thanks
Don

[PEARL DRUMS]

Next time try to split them in halves only and let them stabilize a few months, then break them down to usable staves. This will help some.

[Don Case]

Next time try to split them in halves only and let them stabilize a few months, then break them down to usable staves. This will help some.

They are just in halves. In some the twist is tightening up as they dry.
Don

[PEARL DRUMS]

In my experience smaller stuff, like 2"-5" will often twist up more than larger 8-10" stuff. You may have to look for a bit larger stuff and watch that bark pattern, it rarely lies.

 You can heat the twist out of almost any woods if you take your time. Plenty of heat and plenty of over bend.

[Don Case]

Thanks PD.
Does anyone have some pictures of a working twisted bow? I would love to see what I'm working toward.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Twist never matters unless its so far around the bow cant stay braced. If its 75 degrees or less, you should be good. Just heat it up and take some out if you think it will flip on itself.

[Don Case]

75 total or per limb?

[rossfactor]

If the stave is less than 3" I usually don't split (just rough out the bow). If I split a stave and the twist is more than 45 degrees I usually don't try to fix it (e.g. firewood) BUT it can sometimes be done if you have the time and patience.


Gabe

[George Tsoukalas]

30 degrees of twist won't matter. Anymore than that should be removed. Check my site.
Before you cut a tree take a good look at the bark and see if there is a twist there. Avoid that tree. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/fixtwist.html

[Gus]

You can also clamp your green sapling/limb splits down on 2x6 or 2x4 forms.
Let em dry for a few weeks then unclamp to continue to season.
Or leave em clamped up if you have the space.
Reflex can be induced at the same time.

Or you can clamp the two splits back together with a 2x2 spacer inserted at each end.
Clamping them together will help reduce new warp/twist.
The 2x2's will allow you to induce reflex at the same time.

-gus