Hey ya'll! I got this stave from MattS awhile back (thanks buddy!) and have been letting it season for a little while. The other day I was looking at it again and decided to pick it up and strip the bark off it it. I also sawed the branches that were coming out of it so that I had a good branch free stave to look at. Actually I did that first and then found a good straight side (with no knots)and stripped the bark. After stripping the bark I found one bug track that goes from the side all the way across to the mid line of the back.
Now I know what you're thinking...what kind of wood is this stave? It's a Bradford pear stave. I know that it has a bad reputation but I saw a bow that MattS had almost finished of it, pulling 50# @ 27" before it broke, and I after seeing that one, I think it could make a bow it treated right.
I was thinking that maybe Bradford pear would be better off if decrowned anyways, and since this one has the bug track, I'm thinking why not try it now. My only question is, is there a particular method to decrowning a stave or do I just cut it as straight as possible all the way down the length of the stave with my bandsaw? I have some experience resawing now and I'm sure I could get it cut fairly straight but before I start hacking away what does everyone think? I thought about chasing a ring but the rings don't look distinct enough and quite frankly I have no experience doing so. Any opinions are welcome.
