making another longbow

[bootboy]

Meh, I chopped it down from 7'2" to 67" Its still pretty hardocre.

[George Tsoukalas]

I went through 14  BL staves over the course of 3 years before I got my first shooter about 1992 or so. There were several reasons for that. First, I had access to very little info then. No internet. Not many books. I had some help from Bog Holzhauser at Silver Arrow Archery, my mentor. He helped me evaluate my tillers. Second, I didn't know how to pick good bow wood. I was cutting my own at the time. Third, I was learning by my own mistakes on how to work knots and twists in wood. As a beginner, I just didn't have the skill level  to work some of those staves. Some of them are propping up tomatoes now in my garden. LOL. Honestly, I am not sure I could get a bow out of that stave unless I backed and wrapped it with sinew like Bowstick advise. If I'm going through that amount of work on a stave it will be on a pristine stave. Not that one. Haing said this. Go ahead and work it, Bootboy but do use a tillering tree so you an stay away from it when it is bending. . Make sure that knotted area doesn't bend much. Wrap it with artificial sinew set in glue right after floor tillering. You'll learn from it  but the chances of getting a bow from it are pretty slim. Jawge

[bootboy]

thanks jawge.
I completely removed the knotted area of the stave the rest is pretty much clear. I think its bending around 90lbs rough guestimate.

[bootboy]

I could't really see anything on here about how to avoid a knot. So would someone help me out with this. Do I carve the knot somewhat its a ball sticking off the side of the bow?? and then remove from the other side. Thats somewhat the understanding I have of it. But I dont know how much to remove or from were. How much do you leave. This is all assuming that you can't avoid having that knot in your stave to begin with.

What do you say about someone helping out us beginers, and possibly doing up a "how to" in the forumn.
It would be super cool if someone did that.

[El Destructo]

You need to study the Knot...figure out the Grain around it and leave wood accordingly....always leave more meat around a knot especially one that is on the edge of the Bow...also always try to lay out the Bow where you can miss them completely...when possible....here are a few of them on some Osage Bows of Mine that I have finished...see how there is more wood left around the knots??

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[NOMADIC PIRATE]

[Pappy]

I would probably cook brats with it,but I have plenty of wood so if it was the only piece
I had like bowstick said you can probably fix it with sinew and glue.It is always a risk and to
me not worth it unless you are just looking for something to do.Myself I have plenty to do
so I wouldn't wast my time.Like others have said if you have the option leave some meat around the knotnext time and maybe a little less bend it that area and they usually work out fine.
    Pappy

[bootboy]

wow awesome photos mates! thanks for all the help. This stave I had would have been high poundage, so i guess I did the right theng and piked it by 18 inched MWAHAHA!
Seriously though fellas you're all a priceless resource and a great help to me thank you all.

[Justin Snyder]

If the knot is solid you can just build a bow around it. You don't have to remove it.  If it is loose or rotted you can do like Manny and Yankee and get rid of it. 

The problem with trying to patch something like that is it is less than 50-50 odds and when you sinew or wrap a limb you cannot tiller that area and will wind up with a hinge on either side which is almost as bad (or maybe worse depending on who you ask) than a broken bow.  I think you made the right decision.  Unlike Pappy I don't have an unlimited supply of wood, in fact it is pretty scarce around here.  But I have learned that I can make 2 bows in the time I can break one like that by messing with it. Time to work bows is harder to come by than wood most of the time.  Justin

[El Destructo]

Here... Here....I agree totally....No excess of Wood here...but I would rather make less Bows that work....than to mess around with a Bow that is destined to failure!!