Here's how I handle twisted juniper

[Taxus brevifolia]

I figure the grain is still straight, even if it's corkscrewed around the trunk.

Remember, you don't need the edges to follow a grain line along each side, but you do need to be able to establish a centerline with enough meat for your design on either side.

I start out looking to peel off long rectangle-shaped pieces, no shorter than 36".

I envision a thick strip of straight-grained wood wrapped around the trunk. Unwrap it, it's flat.

I mark out my lines along the grain. I first mark up all the longest clear billets, then mark the short pieces to be splice limbs.

Then I get busy with my circular saw. I begin with a shallow 3/4" cut, then make deeper passes until I get it deep enough. I'm probably going deeper than I need to.

The first tree I cut yielded two 6.5' logs. Each had its knotty half, but i loaded em up as is.

Then I spotted the one I'm working on here. Just the bottom 6.5'. From this log, I split off the knotty side and left it in the forest. I used a chainsaw because I didn't feel like f@&*in around.

The bark peels off easily this time of year, with a hatchet to pry it off a little at a time. Get that off, and you can see the grain clearly.

 I got 3 long billets and three short ones I can use for splicing. Plus the heartwood, there's definitely a stave in there if I want to ferret it out.

In my experience, the twist will come out easily with steam.

[Taxus brevifolia]

If I'd done this with only a hatchet and wedges, I'd probably only have one billet

[Hamish]

I have your method will  idea work. I have seen some people do arsey things and get away with it, so you might be in luck.


I prefer to split the log into half and quarters first(if its a big log, and then kerf cut staves if possible. I do this because the twist on the outside doesn't always tell you what exactly what the grain is doing deeper, or if there are hidden knots etc.


I hope the luck rolls in your favour.

[Taxus brevifolia]

Hmm well it's nice to get your assessment that this is an arsey thing and I may have gotten away with it.

It's nice when people get away with, like for example, saying arsey things.

Brother, I DID get away with it.

Lucky? Yes I am, usually, but this wasn't luck. I'm only interested in the outer 3/4". I haven't yet seen grain change in that shallow depth, not in juniper. Not in fact even in the 2½" of my cut depth.

If I'd split this into quarters as you suggest, there would not be a single long enough stave available. Nothing wide enough to have a long centerline, and no closer to knowing what the grain is like than when it was only halved.

[Hamish]

Ha ha, looks pretty decent in that shot, well done. Hard to tell exactly what's going on with grain unless you know what to look for and the wood is right in front of you to make an accurate judgement.

I have had osage that twists in alternate direction to the growth ring underneath.

I have also seen people try and kerf spiralled logs, into straight staves, and get no bows from a log.




 

[Taxus brevifolia]

I'll thin these down and steam them into shape. I have an idea for a steam hood, should help the process

[Selfbowman]

Made the same mistake my self . Look forward to seeing the  steamer . I am still learning so I will be following. Arvin

[simk]

I'm also curious weather you'll manage to steam away that twist; me myself and I would have choosen the easier option to work with some grain running out of the stave. cheers

[Taxus brevifolia]

I start out trying to keep the edges in line with the grain, but my primary goal is to achieve a viable centerline.

Ya I'm putting a lot of hope into the steaming process

[Taxus brevifolia]

Sneak peek at the new hood, under construction.

It's bent from a single 7'x2' sheet of 24 ga. steel. One long clean seam, 5 rivets.

It helps to have access to sheet metal and all the tools, take a look at that 14' metal bending brake. Longest one made.
 
Probably finish it tomorrow. I'm overbuilding it, 7' long and 4½"x7", plenty of room.

[Taxus brevifolia]

Looks like it's going to work. I got almost all the twist out of the test stave. The only reason it's isn't completely flat is shortcomings in my bracing setup. I held it place with a bucket of obsidian, but didn't have enough range of motion to untwist far enough. I've got some ideas, I'll figure out a way. The steam hood works perfectly, custom fit onto my electric wok and first class top notch dish towels draped on the ends. Couple lengths of all-thread mounted as a little rack to keep steam all around the stave.

I thinned it down quite a bit before steaming. Not only does this make for less structure to untwist, but also makes for a better grip with the pipe wrench.

Before: https://youtu.be/txlu4GOYv2I

After: https://youtu.be/m_AXTURF2Ro

[DC]

Just remember that every time you apply heat to this stave, like for recurves, taking that sideways bend out, heat treating etc. it will try to wind up again. You have to counter that twist every time.

[Taxus brevifolia]

Yes good point thank you. That trait in juniper, how the twist or bend comes back on reheating, that's what prompted me to make a steam hood big enough to get the whole thing at once. The trick is in the bracing. If I'm going to recurve, (and I want that option) I'll need to figure out how to hold it in place to de-twist and recurve at the same time.

[DC]

Cauls can get quite complex and remembering which way it's going to try and go can be difficult. I once had one set up(what I thought was) perfectly and it untwisted the wrong way

[Taxus brevifolia]

 I'm finding these to be much simpler than that. The grain throughout is uniform. On the other half of the tree, now THAT is caul city. I don't think what I have here rates serious caul status.

I'm motivated to find a way to make this work, because it means one hell of a lot more viable wood available. I've got another idea to try when I get the time. I'll make a form into which I'll gently force the steaming hot stave. I hope to simultaneously solve twist and cast issues