Advice for this VM stave

[steve b.]

I had to cut 10" of rot off one end of this stave which left  a 50" x 2+" vine maple stave with at least 2" of deflex.  As usual my pics are terrible but good enough to see the profiles and I wondered if I should take this piece serious.  I like to work any piece of wood, just for the experience, whether it lives or not, and I was thinking I'd try reflexing, heat treating, recurving, possible sinewing this piece with a bending handle?  I have better staves; should I bother?

[blackhawk]

Send it to me,and ill show ya what to do with it,and then ill send ya back a bow ....seriously I'd at the very least reflex the last outer third to where hour tips are a couple inches ahead of the handle and make a smooth pulling sweet like shooting R/D Shorty that bends in the handle,and tiller it out to 25".

[steve b.]

Yea, that's a good idea.  It has that natural reflex starting already on the one side so maybe I'll increase it a little and then make the other side to match.  I'll get it to that point then decide to sinew or not. 

[steve b.]

I even'd up the limbs.  I'm going to make tips then flip them.  I'm looking at the two wood types in this stave and wondering if the darker stuff is going to be a problem, meaning, is it bad wood that will crack.  I had it in my last vm stave but most was gone by the time it was a bow.  Not so with this one.  Anyone know?
I don't want to waste sinew on it...........

[Bryce]

It looks like a good candidate for a ambush bow.

[aaron]

don't like the looks of that darker wood. I've never had any like that in the VM i have worked. At least not in the finished bow.
nice profile, though.

[steve b.]

I know no one cares about my hideous stave but I'm going through with the bow and this thread  . 
I flattened out the deflex a little and began working it to floor tiller, hoping to rid the bow of as much of the mysterious and potentially evil brown wood.  Tomorrow I'll attempt to curve the tips and put a long string on it......

[steve b.]

This is my second VM bow made from other-than-desirable staves as I'm getting to know the wood and figuring out what I'm going to do with one of these more desirable staves.  Here's a good stave and the first bow.

[Bryce]

Looks promising

[randman]

Should make a real nice little D/R ambush bow. Love any kind of vine maple. Hope to see more.....

[steve b.]

I lost what little reflex I put in the upper limb during tillering and could not get rid of any of the natural reflex in the lower limb simply by thinning.
I had it at 50 lbs. @20" with little set then pulled it hard to 25" and it took another inch of set in an already deflexed handle.
I was disappointed in my mistake and in the lower limb stiffness and decided to scrap it and use it as a canvas for testing stain colors.  I wanted to color it back to natural green.

[steve b.]

Then I decided to see what I could do with those two stiff (knots) areas of the lower limb.  First I narrowed the whole lower half by at least 1/8" and still too stiff.  So I dished out the two knots on the belly across the limb, as though creating a hinge, and thinned and narrowed even more and it finally gave in. 
I kind of like it now.  Its a funky little thing and probably pulls 60 lbs. @25" right now.  It stacks at that point and without a grip wants to fly out of my hand and take my face off.  I'm going to go ahead and finish it and shoot it in.

Pretty good I think for that undesirable upper half of the VM log.  If I were to treat it more careful and maybe sinew it I think it would be a great bow.  I also sanded through the back ring in about a thousand places so I'm thinking sinew would be a good thing anyway.  There was about 100 rings on this log.

[Bryce]

VM like a high crown. Was the wood dry?

[steve b.]

Thanks for the feedback, Bryce.  I don't know how dry the wood is exactly.  I cut it in Oct., but regardless, I always work a bow to floor tiller then start actively drying it, either in front of a blowing wood stove or drying tube.  I then just look for responsiveness as I start flexing it.
Not sure what you're getting at with the crown.  What do you think happens with a flat back?

[Bryce]

Will take more set with a flat crown