Ring chasing laburnum

[Lucasade]

I'm trying to chase a ring on my laburnum stave - I'm aiming for two rings of sapwood. Unfortunately in my inexperience I've gone down to the last ring in a couple of places and now I'm worried. The stave is currently 75" and I'm hoping to make a 35# @30" elb out of it. The patches I've gone too far on are about 9" from the end.

I guess I could cut the end off to make a 66" stave, but to my mind I would then not be making a longbow. Does anybody have any other ideas, or should I stop worrying and just get on with it?

[Lucasade]

Never mind, I've just done the same thing in the middle of the stave too. That's a lovely bit of wood ruined then 

[Hamish]

How thick is the stave, is there enough to make a heartwood only bow?
Sometimes sapwood doesn't evenly change colour at the same time in heartwood and the same ring can have patches of both.
Make sure you define the chosen ring on the endgrain and work from that edge down the length of the bow. Don't start working randomly in the middle then a bit on the end and then change to another spot.

It also sounds like you might be going a bit to aggressive in ring removal. Either the rings are thin, and or you are not using an appropriate tool.

[Lucasade]

There's plenty for a heartwood bow. I was using a scraper and thought I was being careful (and I was working from one end along the ring towards the middle) but it's the first time I've tried to chase a ring and I was really struggling to see at what point I stopped removing the ring above and started working into the ring below.

[WillS]

Does laburnum absolutely have to have a single ring on the back?  I've yet to work with a local UK species of wood that does, but laburnum could be the exception, which would be unlucky.

I'd check if I were you, because you may well find you can just rough out the back much like yew and be fine - especially for 35lb!

[Lucasade]

I suspect it's not crucial, especially with a low weight long length, but a big bit of it is if I'm going to do something do it right 

I may try it and wear safety glasses during tillering. It's such a good bit of wood I don't want to just chop it up.

[WillS]

Just whack a bit of linen/silk/rawhide over the back if you're worried!

[mikekeswick]

It should be ok but personally I would use all heartwood anyway. The sap on laburnum is like rubber. I know it isn't right for this bow but sinew backed laburnum is an amazing combo. Every bit as elastic as sinew/juniper imo.

[Lucasade]

All heartwood sounds like the way to go then, thank you.

Mike I remember you told me to go thin and deep with laburnum - are we talking more than the 5/8 ratio?

[bambule]

My experience with laburnum is, that all the bows with sapwood on the back are going to delaminate after some month sometimes 2 years.
I go down on a heartwood ring with laburnum.

Just my2c

Greetz
Cord