once in a lifetime opportunity

[Buckeye Guy]

I have no clue where to even start
This tuff is so rare around here and way over my head in price that I have not even dreamed of touching a peice but do to the kind hearted Primitive Archery family here I am with this and no clue what to do
71 inches long 2 inches wide does not appear to follow the crown or grain
help will be appreciated very much
not sure where we are going but here we go

[Buckeye Guy]

More pics

[Buckeye Guy]

Woops same one twice

[penderbender]

First off good score. And second what kind of bow do you want? I wouldn't worry about the back not following the crown. Make a nice elb( not the Victorian kind) but more full compass warbow style. Only whatever weight your comfortable with. Have fun and don't be scared of it! Cheers- Brendan

[Buckeye Guy]

Do I just peel the bark off and go ?

[penderbender]

I would just let it come off as it starts bending. Most should pop off when floor tillering. It'll give you a clean back. Plus protect the back for asking as it's there. Cheers- Brendan

[mikekeswick]

It looks like it will need a fair bit of straightening. Remove the deflex and sideways bend at the same time.

[Del the cat]

What the others have said.
Leave the bark...
The deflex is ok if you are thinking really heavy warbow say 120# it will make early brace a bit easier and can always be taken out near the end when there is less wood to bend.
Del

[High-Desert]

Just a warning about leavinghe bark on....you will scare yourself many times as the bark makes that scary popping sound as it loosens.

[DC]

Small sections of the bark will not pop off usually. I scrape the outer bark off with a draw knife and then spritz the inner bark with water. It softens quickly. Wait a few minutes and then scrub with a stiff plastic brush. It will all come off and leave you with a pristine back.

[Stringman]

Don't look at it funny cause it dings and scratches far too easy! Make sure your vise is padded as you get closer to final dimensions. It's not Osage, but you can still make a fair bow with it.

 

[JW_Halverson]

Like ScottS says, it ain't osage, but it should make a bow!  LOL!

[Buckeye Guy]

Thanks folks
now the big decision warbow or a nice comfortable shooter
Anyway  anybody have a chart of how wide vs poundage for elb
I have not done a ELB and no clue how much wood it takes
feel like a total newbe with this project

[mikekeswick]

1 inch will give a nice bow around 50 - 60 lb. As a starting point dimension.

[Del the cat]

I usually rough out about 30mm wide for normal weight bows and 42mm wide for warbows.
That allows some wriggle room to end up with the 1" that Mike suggests in the previous post.
This post from my blog details my rough out dimensions.
Note, if you are rough from a 1/4 log it can easily move a bit as wood is removed, so it makes sense to rough down in stages.
https://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/roughing-out-figures-and-technique.html
Del