I have some beautiful ERC staves and am excited to get started on them, but my couple of earlier tries ended badly, i think, because I am not used to the wood. They have a sapwood and hardwood layer, several knots and a lot of wood to work with. My questions are:
If backing with rawhide, how crucial is finding a single growth ring in the sapwood (The rings are REALLY small)?
Is there a better bow design for this type of wood over another (Flatbow vs. rounded belly)?
Should this bow be kept longer or the limbs wider to help distribute the forces over a greater area?
Any other helpful hints about working with this kind of wood would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance guys!!!