First Stave Bow (Mulberry)- A build along (6/2/16 update)

[arachnid]

I am trying to build an unbacked but I'd rather back it then chase another ring. The crown is high as it is...
There is a picture of the end of stave up the thread.

[E. Jensen]

Do you have a cabinet scraper?  Here is my process for chasing a ring.  I get it down to the ring I want  +1.  I then file or rasp it down to the vessel layer.  You'll know when you're there.  But don't go through it.  Then I remove that with my cabinet scraper.  That results in an almost completely intact ring underneath, that is also smooth.  No sandpaper required.

[lebhuntfish]

I am trying to build an unbacked but I'd rather back it then chase another ring. The crown is high as it is...
There is a picture of the end of stave up the thread.

The pic of the end of your stave is kinda hard to see. But from what I'm seeing, you have pretty thick rings. You shouldn't have a problem at all following the ring over the knots. Take it out side and utilize the natural light. It's the best thing to see it with. Take your time and keep posting pics,your doing well so far. Patrick

[Drewster]

Arachnid, check out the pics I posted yesterday on the "Help with a lumpy Osage?" thread for working around a knot.  Maybe it will help you out.

[arachnid]

Arachnid, check out the pics I posted yesterday on the "Help with a lumpy Osage?" thread for working around a knot.  Maybe it will help you out.

I`ve seen the pictures Drew, very helpful. Thanks!

[arachnid]

SOOOOOO..... after a week or so of on and off work, I finished chasing a ring....... on the first billet.
I got to say the working  around the knots is a real pain in the *** and I do hope I did it right.
I now have a 34" long billet with a single growth ring exposed on the back.

I took  a picture of every knot on that stave, feel free to critisis my work it will only make me a better bowyer.
Notice I left some extra wood around the knots, just in case.









Now, I don`t know what`s going on with this knot. Is it violated? Did I cut through the ring? I don`t know!
Hopefully it should`nt be a problem since it`s pretty close to the end of the billet and should be ate the handle/fades area.



Well, thats it for now.... one more billet to go...
Please post your comments and tell me if I did good or not.

Thanks a lot,

Dor

[lebhuntfish]

looks like you are doing good so far! Now its time to clean up those knots. Take your time, I use my pocket knife to slowly remove the wood around the knots. The ring that you are chasing will grow right with the knots so just start at the base of your knot where you left the little island of wood and keep following the ring right up and over the knot. You want the entire back including the knots to have that single growth ring. Looks like you have one that is on the edge of your stave, start with that one and take your time. Its a tedious job but once you do one then you will be able to do just about any others that you come across. Clean one up and then post a good pic of it like you just did and we will check it out for you. Patrick 

[lebhuntfish]

It also looks like you have a lot of tool marks on your back ring that you have cleaned up. Try using some kind of scraper and sand paper to clean those up after you get your knots squared away. You want that back to be as smooth as glass. But be careful not to go through your growth ring or you will have to chase another one.  Patrick

[arachnid]

Well....last time I posted on this thread was in 8/5/15....
A half a year passed and I finaly found the "mental state" (meaning- I wanted a new bow  ) to go on with this bow.

I left it with one billet done.
I went on with the other billet, chased the ring and got a clean back. I only have one concern - this knot here:


I cleaned around it as much as I couldbut as you can see, there`s a little twig sticking put of it.


So, what do I do with it?
(After that, the next stage it to splice the 2 billets and make a stave)

[arachnid]

Oh, check out how the color of the first billet (to the left) changed in the past months....

[GlisGlis]

I cleaned around it as much as I couldbut as you can see, there`s a little twig sticking put of it.

I'm pretty sure you can cut it where it comes out of the knot
you may even carve into the base of the twig
just be sure not to cut the knot itself

[arachnid]

Thats what I thought.

Now it's been raining here and the billets got wet! I guess I need to let them dry.
 How much time does it take?
Can I splice them in the meantime or do I have to wait until they dry and then splice?