Help me choose my next project

[stuckinthemud]

Almost a festive question,  but, plum, holly or apple?  First off, which is the better bow wood, apple or holly? I will be looking for 45@27 on a ntn length of around 60".  Second, the holly was cleaved to generate a long bow/D-bow section and is very high crowned while the apple zig zags a little but is 4 inches wide at centre.  Not really an issue as apple straightens with just a whiff of heat.  Then the plum has lots of unknowns.  It has a mild helical spiral but more important, its sapwood was completely eaten by some kind of grub.  Is all heartwood OK for plum and does it shape well with heat? Apart from that its straight, knot-free and 3 inches wide at centre.  Won't be able to post a photo til the weekend, sorry. 

[bownarra]

Holly is poor wood in my experience, dense but acts like a much lighter wood, little stiffness to it. Nice for decorative pieces but thats it!
Apple is top notch bow wood. As is plum.
All heartwood is fine. Not sure about heat corrections but I presume it will be ok. Just be careful with checking.

[Pat B]

If the sapwood was eaten off by grubs there is a chance for fungi in the heartwood. I'd stick with the apple.

[stuckinthemud]

Thanks both. I'll clean the back on the plum and give it a careful going over and maybe start prepping the apple, just in case.  I treated the plum with distilled white wine viniger when I got it, and the few pieces I made from the more damaged side showed no sign of infection, so fingers crossed it will be ok