Progress on first bow ever...

[Barefoot_Jake]

So I've started!  we split the log, it was really difficult to because we redneckin it with a machete and a hammer haha. It kept wanting to twist but we got it as flat as possible. This is going to be just a small bow since it came from a small tree. Its alittle over 4 feet and a nice little natural curve for the handle area. So far I got the stave and debarked it, its laying up in the attic to draw out some till i have time to establish the growth ring, its really hard to see the rings I guess because it was a small tree.

But anyways I keep you guys posted!

side view you can see how when spliting it kept wanting to twist.. im gonna have to flatten that out


the further away side has a slight bend in it im going to try to heat bend to straighten it out some


The back de-barked

[Pappy]

What kind of tree is it,be sure and seal the ends,also the twist may get worse as it dries,I would but it somewhere cooler for a few weeks until it stabilizes. 
   Pappy

[Barefoot_Jake]

What kind of tree is it,be sure and seal the ends,also the twist may get worse as it dries,I would but it somewhere cooler for a few weeks until it stabilizes. 
   Pappy

I believe it is a  Laurel Oak found it in the woods behind my house, yeah i do need to reseal the ends thanks for the reminder, cooler hmm thats hard in florida well there is a cold front coming in...

[Pat B]

When you split a stave out the split follows the grain. That is why your stave split out with some twist in it. Its not necessarily the tool you used to split it with that caused the twist.
  You've got a good start. Laurel oak should make a good bow but this stave is a bit short. Make it a bendy handle bow and use a short draw on it.  Also, like Pappy said it is lible to twist more while drying. Bind it to a 2x4 or something else to help control the twisting while it is drying.
  One other thing, you can speed up the drying time by reducing the thickness more to floor tiller stage. I think I'd seal the back too just in case.

[Parnell]

Hi Jake,
I've been wondering how that wood works.
If you can you should try to go to the Dade City Knapp-In this weekend.  There will be people there from the forum and a lot of knowledge.

You're close to Mullet, he's just in Lakeland and I'm down in Naples.

Good luck! 

Parnell

[Barefoot_Jake]

Hi Jake,
I've been wondering how that wood works.
If you can you should try to go to the Dade City Knapp-In this weekend.  There will be people there from the forum and a lot of knowledge.

You're close to Mullet, he's just in Lakeland and I'm down in Naples.

Good luck! 

Parnell

I'l tell you if I have any luck with the wood, earlier today I working some of the wood off the belly and geeze its some work with just a little wood rasp and wood plane but in the end i know its going to look good! I want to go to a Knapp-In but this sunday is my birthday so its not going to work out maybe the next time one rolls around, how often are there knapp-in's?

[Parnell]

This one is annually, but there is another coming up, I believe.  I think it's at the silver river/spring park a bit further north.