Debarking late cut staves

[Easternarcher]

HEy folks! HAven't posted much lately, just real busy you know....

Over the next few weeks I hope to cut some apple wood off the farm for various projects etc. I have found a few nice apple trees growing quite straight for the first 6-8 ft. and was hopeing to try it for selfbows... well I gotta cut it and split into staves for drying over the winter, but I'm not sure about the bark. I know spring cut wood will shed bark quite easy, but not this late in the year. What do you guys think? Can I debark this apple wood without damaging the back too much? I think I could use the under side of the bark for the back IF I don't crush the rings or so.  If I can't avoid that damage I will just have to chase a ring deeper right?

I have no idea what variety apple it is, it's been growing on the farm for 100 years or so. Grandfather is not around to ask.
Thanks

[George Tsoukalas]

Well, I don't know. That's about the only way to do it. But I've heard it said that you can soak a stave  in water to maek the bark more pliable. I've never tried it. I alway keep water away from bow wood.  Jawge

[AncientArcher76]

Apple bark isn't hard to take off dry like hickory is.  It generally is a thin layer and if I split mine into stave I personally like leaving the bark on it leaves me the option of using cambium as a natural camo etc... if u chose to take it off be careful that it don't dry too quick or u will certainly get belly crack and checks,  It may propeller and reflex too. Good humidity and circulation will help.

AA

[Easternarcher]

Apple bark isn't hard to take off dry like hickory is.  It generally is a thin layer and if I split mine into stave I personally like leaving the bark on it leaves me the option of using cambium as a natural camo etc... if u chose to take it off be careful that it don't dry too quick or u will certainly get belly crack and checks,  It may propeller and reflex too. Good humidity and circulation will help.
AA

AA, yes, I think apple will propellor any chance it gets!  So leaving the bark on as you split the staves is the wise way to go. hmmm, makes sense once I think of it, but if I peel the bark and seal the back with shellac or something similar, taht would make the bark removal job alot easier rather than 6 months down the road right?

[Kitsu]

Apple bark isn't hard to take off dry like hickory is.  It generally is a thin layer and if I split mine into stave I personally like leaving the bark on it leaves me the option of using cambium as a natural camo etc... if u chose to take it off be careful that it don't dry too quick or u will certainly get belly crack and checks,  It may propeller and reflex too. Good humidity and circulation will help.
AA

AA, yes, I think apple will propellor any chance it gets!  So leaving the bark on as you split the staves is the wise way to go. hmmm, makes sense once I think of it, but if I peel the bark and seal the back with shellac or something similar, taht would make the bark removal job alot easier rather than 6 months down the road right?

with some trees (maple, apple, and hophornbeam to name a few) the bark comes off fairly easy when dried. i dont know if all apples are the same, but i experiment with every chance i get, and though i did not have success (was super twisty) i am confident you might pull this off with a straight stave or two. hope to see the results, keep us posted,

btw, i think one of the  main woods you need to worry about bark drying on is hickory, it seems to "bond" with the wood, making it near impossible to get off.

[Alpinbogen]

I just cut a hackberry tree today.  The bark didn't want to peel off like it does in the summer, but I was able to work a drawknife under it, and using a cut and lift motion, was able to shave/pry it away in short sections without damaging the back.  Plenty of cambium stringers were left, which I expect I'll sand off when I make a bow from it.

[sailordad]

Plenty of cambium stringers were left, which I expect I'll sand off when I make a bow from it.

some of this will work loose when you start getting the limbs to move
then you can grab it and pull it off in stringers
i do it with hick and hhb

[Pat B]

Trying to remove the bark at this time of year with anything other than elbow grease would be like trying to seperate two growth rings using the same methods. The cambium laid down during the last growing season is virtually a new growth ring by now. During the growing season, when the cambium layer is generating new cells is the only time the bark will slip.
  To coin an old phrase...Just because it is simple doesn't mean it is easy!!!   Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do without an easy way out. Next year think ahead and cut your bow building whitewood during the growing season. As long as it was cut then it doesn't matter when you remove the bark. It should still come off easily when cut during the growing season.

[Easternarcher]

Trying to remove the bark at this time of year with anything other than elbow grease would be like trying to seperate two growth rings using the same methods. The cambium laid down during the last growing season is virtually a new growth ring by now. During the growing season, when the cambium layer is generating new cells is the only time the bark will slip.
  To coin an old phrase...Just because it is simple doesn't mean it is easy!!!   Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do without an easy way out. Next year think ahead and cut your bow building whitewood during the growing season. As long as it was cut then it doesn't matter when you remove the bark. It should still come off easily when cut during the growing season.

Wise advise PAt......I thought I'd be smart and cut these staves while the sap was down. After hearing multiple opinions on when to cut I figured I'd cut some while out on a bunny hunt before Christmas.

No good huh?  No worries...nothing says I need to cut those staves this winter. I will go collect a wind felled appletree that is still hanging off the ground. Should make good risers and such anyhow.

[Pat B]

The only problem with cutting wood after the growing season is the dificulty of removing the bark to expose the bows back. With woods like osage, locust and mulberry winter time is better because the sap is down and you have to remove the bark and sapwood anyway to get to the heartwood that will make your bow. You can chase a ring of whitewood but it is so much easier to just peel off the bark and use what Mother Nature gave us for a pristine bow back.

[bucksbuoy]

I left the bark on a yellow birch stave for a few months and when I went to remove it I couldnt get it off. Luckilly for me I broke the stave trying to take off a big chunk and never had to worry about the bark.

[Pat B]

It doesn't matter how long you leave the bark on a stave it all has to do with when you cut it. If you  cut it after growing season it will be difficult to remove. If cut during the growing season it will peel right off!