Am I thinking correctly

[stuckinthemud]

I 've got head scratching and beard stroking off to a T, I'm now working on frowning slightly

[Hawkdancer]

Remember, it is very important that you have only a very slight quizzical frown!  That Makes the AHA! much more effective and it is easier to break out laughing hysterically!  Folks may think you are a bit wacko, however!
Hawkdancer

[stuckinthemud]

Hmmm, since I should no longer touch my face due to the virus, I have extra time to master the quizzical frown, I think I will try to develop a puzzled " mmmm". Wonder if the Ministry will give me a research grant. 

[bjrogg]

I think everything is becoming clearer already.
Bjrogg

[Swampman]

This entire thread is causing me to frown slightly and scratch my head! 

[stuckinthemud]

I stripped the bark and have 2 clusters of pin knots 40 inches apart,  not big enough to worry over. Moisture content wasn't as low as I thought though,  the split has grown to over 8 inches and stops just shy of one of the two knots .  At mid-point, the diameter is 3", the arc across the crown is 5"

[stuckinthemud]

I took the plunge and opened the split up. Once I got the split run off one end I literally pulled the stave in half, guess the damage went a lot deeper than I thought.  Ended up with one stave slightly wider than the other but both are still useable.  I'll clean both up and work out where to go from there.