Two ways

[Swamp Thang]

So got this gem. Not very big just looking to increase my skill level but don't want to waste time or resources. The question is do I keep removing wood from the belly and leave the high crown or do it flatten the back and sinew it?

[Swamp Thang]

Oh and it's Crepe Mrtyle

[Springbuck]

Wish I was more familiar with the wood, but I know if it's already skinny, then high crown isn't the end of the world.  USUALLY!

[Swamp Thang]

I had a piece of hickory yield a 20lb bow it was less than half the size of this one. It was kinda slow though. Crepe dense stuff it seems.here is the while profile of the specimen

[Swamp Thang]

Bellies facing up... kinda my boy had to hold it with his dinosaur chomper lol

[JohnL]

Swamp Thang,     I would keep the hi crowned back and keep the belly pretty flat & square.  Crepe Myrtle is really elastic and bendy in tension (seems impossible to get a tension failure on the back), but a bit soft in compression, and tends to take some set, if you don't toast the belly good (early in tillering, and then again at the end).  I've made a few CM bows and I can tell you that even when you think it's dry, it ain't.  I recommend several sessions with the heat gun (if it's dried/seasoned already).  Whenever you do your heat corrections and get it clamped down, I'd go ahead and heat the rest of the stave, to match.  Be sure to get a weight on the stave, before and after the heat treatments to track the moisture loss.  I noticed on every stave I toasted, that a little burst of watery sap would boil out of the spots on the belly where early-wood end grain was exposed.  I think Crepe Myrtle is an underused bow wood, and it's everywhere.  –John
 

[Limbit]

What John said would be fine for that. I use the stuff all the time in Taiwan and you can do about anything you want with the wood within a modest design. It is very durable. Although that stave is a bit tricky to design, you could essentially use any design you'd use for mulberry with it. They seem to be comparable in the amount of strain and compression they take. Just take it slow when shaving it down because it seems to suddenly lose draw weight, become super elastic and take a bit of set . I think it is best to leave a lot more wood on it than your instinct will tell you and heat treat it well. Speaking of shaving, don't use a draw knife on it either because it tends to have very interlocking grain and will tear out large strips of wood if your knife isn't super sharp. I use an angle grinder with it. I've always wanted to sinew a piece and have a huge pile of it sitting around, so hopefully that is a possibility at some point as well.

[Swamp Thang]

Thanks guys i am certain I can produce a decent bow from this and Limbit you are right about CM leaving gouges I tilt and angle my draw knife in a way that produces the smoothest shavings allows me to accommodate most woods cedar elm is super hard when it completely dries lol so I go with a belt sander haha