"Muscles" in wood

[Tom Dulaney]

I recently found a somewhat acceptable piece of Juniper that apparently only has 2 tiny knots on the belly, which may be removable (this stave is very wide). The back of the stave, on the other hand, has "grooves" or "dips", similar to what is called "musclewood". I'm not exactly sure what to do. This is a thick stave, and I think I could shave the "grooves/dips" off the back. Do you think this is a good idea? I am going to be backing the bow with sinew anyway (trying to make a short Ishi-type bow.)

I look forward to your advice. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

[Dakota Kid]

I used a pressure washer on my american hop hornbeam aka musclewood. It worked like a charm.

[Tom Dulaney]

I used a pressure washer on my american hop hornbeam aka musclewood. It worked like a charm.

Interesting! Thanks for the quick response. I guess this is a go-ahead to just shave the "muscles" down, eh? My hope is that I this stave is thick enough to both shave off the little grooves AND take it down to a single growth ring. Even though I will back this bow with sinew, I want to make as high quality a bow as I can. Sadly I don't have a pressure washer.


Does anyone have advice for making this type of paddle bow?

[Dakota Kid]

I misread that first post. I thought you were having trouble removing the bark from inside the grooves.

If a smooth back is your desired result, you should have one with several courses of sinew applied. I don't think you need to take the ridges off unless you want to. If you decide to take them off, just make sure you don't violate the ring that will be the back of the bow and it should work out.

[Tom Dulaney]

OK guys, this is bad.


As usual, the spiteful wood gods have dealt me a perilous fate. I checked and there were cracks on this stave that I had to eliminate by violating the growth rings. Now this bow stave will be reduced from about 35 to 32 inches. What an insult to human dignity. I am about to literally go blind from rage right now.

So now my bow will have a severely violated back, and I will have to give it an industrial-strength backing of sinew to compensate for this materials inherent inferiority. Not only with the growth rings be violated, there is likely to be an area near one nock where there will be a transition from sapwood to heartwood. Should I just chuck this stave in a bonfire; and pretend it's feeling the delicious pain that I want it to feel as it is consumed by flames, or should I try giving it a very thick backing of sinew, and just accept the fact that I am not going to be able to produce exactly what I wanted, no matter how hard I slave, slave, slave away?

[PatM]

Thanks! It worked over here. Swimming in flawless staves.

[Tom Dulaney]

Alright I had a Defcon level 1 meltdown. I'm feeling seriously defeated here. What is the point of even trying anymore? It doesn't matter what my skills are if the wood just isn't going to be what I need it to be. I would like your opinion, PatM. Should I back this stave or chuck it?

[Dakota Kid]

It doesn't matter what your skill set is until you realize the one universal truth behind dealing with staves.

The wood is in charge, period. It makes all the major decisions. If you try to disagree with it, it will prove you wrong by deciding not to be your bow.
All the bowyer can do is delicately make suggestions and encouragements. The stave will never be what you need/want it to be. It will be what it is. It doesn't have much choice.  You are the one that will have to bend and reshape. If you're the type of person that needs that control and like to force the wood, be way more specific while selecting staves. If you search for the stave that is already what you need it to be, you can avoid a lot of frustration. There's every bow you can imagine, growing in every forest out there. If you can't get what you're after with what you've got, it's time to take to the forest to go "stave shopping".

With regard to your current dilemma, if you can't take the whole back down to one ring it's survival is questionable at best. If you've reached this level of frustration already, perhaps now's not a good time to put effort into a "maybe". Good luck and remember the best attribute a bowyer can have is patience.

[DuBois]

Start a new one I say.

[Jim Davis]

I think you are all wrong. the sinew is going to take all the stress anyway. Make the back smooth, apply sinew and tiller the belly to get the curve you want.

[upstatenybowyer]

I really don't know enough about Juniper to state an opinion here. I know that whenever I've had a ring violation backed or not, the bow always fails. Bear in mind I've never laid a really thick sinew backing over a violated back, so Jim could very well be right. I know there's an "art" to ring violation (decrowning and such) but I don't know enough about it to state an opinion. 

I do completely agree with Dakota about the wood being the boss. This has always been my experience with no exception.

As for the frustration you're feeling, I can say without question that whenever I have gotten that frustrated with a piece of wood it has never become a bow.

[DuBois]

I would normally agree with you Jim. I take thing too far in attempts to save a stave from the fire but this is only 32 inches.

[gfugal]

Yikes 32 inches? Thats way to short and thats coming rom someone who likes short bows. I agree if your this frustrated already i would find some other stave that won't make you more.

[Del the cat]

The wood is in charge, period. It makes all the major decisions. If you try to disagree with it, it will prove you wrong by deciding not to be your bow.
All the bowyer can do is delicately make suggestions and encouragements. The stave will never be what you need/want it to be. It will be what it is. It doesn't have much choice.  ...

Beautifully worded...
I would only add... "when in doubt, don't"
The dips and ridges should have been simply ignored and the back left alone... it was a problem creation exercise from trick one
How it escalated from "use a pressure washer" to "I guess this is the go ahead to shave down the back" I have no idea 
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but the old saying keep it simple is a good start point.
Del

[Tom Dulaney]

Yikes 32 inches? Thats way to short and thats coming rom someone who likes short bows. I agree if your this frustrated already i would find some other stave that won't make you more.

U sure? Do you think the little bow in this pic might be 32 inches? I have seen some really little bows in old Indian pictures, I think a lot of modern bowyers like to super size their bows.