Re questioning

[jayman448]

I asked this in a post and it was never answered:
there is a nice chute I found of ash, as I recall dead strait and clear as clear can be for maybe six feet. its real small though, maybe two inches across. is it worth it to cut er down? I hate chopping trees senselessly. will a very D backed sapling type bow out of ash be any good ? also what are suggestions on making sapling bows? how long to dry? do I do rough shaping right away? (I am a total noob to all this. ive only made one board bow) many thanks. Jay

[wizardgoat]

2" is big enough, I've only made a few sapling bows.
Cut it, seal the ends and leave for a week.
Leave the handle full width for now, and carve away the belly,
Exposing as much pith as possible, without getting to thin.
Re seal the ends, and seal your fades area going into your handle.
Strap it to a 2x4 and leave it for a few weeks. 
In these few weeks it'll lose a lot of moisture, and by keeping it
Strapped down it won't wander as much.
Keep track of it's weight, and when it hasn't lost any weight for
a week, finish the bow. There's other sapling build alongs on here
that explain the process pretty well

[Pat B]

I think goat nailed it.

[Springbuck]

  I gotta put in a bit.  I make sapling bows like crazy, mostly elm, maple, plum, ash, and mulberry, and I have the best luck cutting and peeling the stave, and immediately roughing out the bow, or at least cutting the thickness down a bunch, then restraining it to dry.

 So, say I cut a 2" ash sapling.  I will take it home, look at the best side for a bow, and immediately hit it with the machete, chopping and knifing it down to 1" thick, a even thickness all along, which I roughly measure with a caliper or spanner of some kind, anything will do.  I leave the handle 1-1/2" or whatever, but narrow the handle to aid in it not checking up a bunch while drying.  Then I varnish/ coat ends and belly, (and back if you are nervous) and clamp or strap it tight and straight to a 2x4 to dry.  Use shims and pegs where needed.

Saplings love to warp and twist when drying, much more than a split stave from a bigger tree, and a huge lateral bend is a bear to work with.

Put it somewhere to dry not too fast, maybe a cool place for a week or so, and then you can dry it really quickly, depending on temp.  Bring it inside and put it somewhere warm.

[jayman448]

Ok so now I  ave another question. Will this technique work on other bows from larger trees? If I carve up my ash log (which has seasoned for a week in a similar way, and just clamp it down, will it season as quickly and effectively yieldi g a bow in much less time?  Will this method harm the wood somehow?

[Pat B]

Anything over 6" I try to split it in half.

[wizardgoat]

All white woods can be dried pretty quick with this method, I've done, many in here have done it to.
Make your rough outs wider than usual, and they will warp side to side less. I really can't stress how
Important is it to strap them down tight. Don't bend them past floor tiller. That will harm the wood.
Just start cutting, sealing, and stashing away. I'm finally getting into the first wood I cut from last year, and man o man does it feel awesome. No more wet wood, or forking out the wallet for some wood.

[Springbuck]

Ok so now I  ave another question. Will this technique work on other bows from larger trees? If I carve up my ash log (which has seasoned for a week in a similar way, and just clamp it down, will it season as quickly and effectively yieldi g a bow in much less time?  Will this method harm the wood somehow?

 Yeah, like wizardgoat says.  It is important to do this without hurting the wood (mostly from checks), and If I cut a piece of something, anythig, and leave it out in direct sunlight and wind, at 96F during the day ion non-humid Utah where I live, about anything will check all over, twist, etc.  and you can dry it lower, no prob.  And you absolutely do this with larger staves from splits.

The larger the stave, the slower it must dry.  Smaller can dry faster, but don't over do it, and give it a chance for some of the real damp to move out slowly in the first few days.

[mikekeswick]

Also ash is a lot stronger in tension than it is in compression so above all else leave the back intact. A high crown like you get with a small sapling is ideal for these tension strong woods.