Chasing a growth ring on hickory

[Salsify]

So I was stripping the bark from a winter cut hickory today and it appears I accidentially scraped a small hole in the outer lategriwth ring. Or atleast I assume so, small black lines appeared that looked exactly like the earlywood pores.

Well no problem I thought, this rings latewood was paper thin anyway I’ll just bring it down to the 1/8” thick ring right below it.

I started to do this and I can’t for the life of me find a clear boundry between the two rings!
More black streaks which seem totally inconsistent, no clear color and texture change like on the belly. I drawknifed through 4 rings on the outer edge of the stave for a reference, However I can only clearly make out one of them.

So I need advice on how to do this. Better lighting? Put something on the stave for contrast?

[PatM]

A lot of Hickory has extreme rippling of the growth rings so expecting to hit a uniform layer of early growth can be a futile task.  The early growth is also nowhere near the wider crunchy layer you may expect with Osage or Ash.

[High-Desert]

Do your best to follow a ring but hickory is very resilient and can handle some violation as long as you design to accommodate. My first bow was a hickory recurce board bow that was 56" long and draws 52 lbs @ 26". So a few violations in a stave is nothin compared to even the best board. Do your best and I think you'll be fine

[Salsify]

I attempted to chase a ring for 8” on one end of the stave, so the back ring would be violated laterally accross the limb a couple inches short of the nock. And the one small pockmark at about midlimb, which would end up around the center or edge of the limb depending on how I cut it. Should I make it a bit wider? Tiller a bit stiff at the problem areas?

[High-Desert]

A violation near the tips won't cause any harm since they will be stiff anyway, and minor violation midlimb will be fine as long as you didn't dive down too deep and cause any points that will concentrate pressure.....if that makes any sense