What if I don't chase a ring?

[WhistlingBadger]

Can I get a good, sinew-backed bow from a heartwood stave, without chasing a ring?

The story: I'm attempting to build a sinew-backed, rocky mountain juniper bow.  I had a pyramid bow roughed out with my best sapwood stave, and broke it.  Almost broke my heart too, it was so beautiful.     But onward we go.  I split off a nice heartwood stave, so I'm working that next.  Going to try a sudbury style profile on this one with recurved tips, or at least flipped.

I've been trying to chase a ring, and it isn't working.  I've never chased a ring before so I have no frame of reference, but it seems like these rings are really, really close.  Plus the wood is really soft.  So I keep getting these tiny violations.  (see pic)  I'm afraid I'm going to run out of wood before I get a pristine back.

So, what happens if I just get it as smooth as possible, sort-of-follow a ring, but have numerous small violations, then sinew it?  I really think that might be the best I can do...Is good enough good enough, or do I need to persevere at risk of ruining the stave?  Should I bother proceeding?

[George Tsoukalas]

I have never used juniper. I do not believe you have to chase a ring on it. Osage, black locust and mulberry function best with a heartwood back. Jawge

[gutpile]

learning to chase a ring on juniper is going to be extremely frustrating.. I would do my best and it is going to be very slow going to get a ring as close as you can to perfect. and undulation is going to be a bear.. just take it slow a scraper might work better on some spots than a drawknife.. tilt the stave under a light to assist in seeing the rings.. for the work you will put in building a sinew back bow. getting the back as clean as you can before sinew is going to be best.. some small violations MIGHT be acceptable and you could get away with it.. but is it worth risking the time and work ... gut 

[TimBo]

A sharp scraper would definitely be preferred over a drawknife.  If you have super thin rings and a few minimal violations in the center of the limbs (not at the edges), it SHOULD be fine, but I would aim for one ring by just going veerrrryyy sllloooowwwlly with the scraper.  Do a bunch of short sessions to rest your eyes and brain.  Mark the "receding line" of a ring with pencil.  Once you have one ring identified, don't lose it by skipping around.  Methodical work is key.  The closer to perfect the better.  Good luck!

[bownarra]

Don't worry about chasing a ring. A good sinew job will hold it together no problem.
The best bet at this point is to make it even with a rasp. When I say 'even' I mean no dips, humps etc in the back when viewed from the side. You can form a 'perfect' back to give you a perfect surface on which to sinew. Having a smooth back will save you lots of potential problems and will make a better, easier to tiller bow. I often tweak the side profile with heat to get it just where I want it before sinewing.
Once it is to shape, switch to a coarse file then 60 grit, down to 120 grit sandpaper. At this point use a very sharp scraper (gently!) to make the surface smooth. Using this combination of tools you avoid any chance of digging in and pulling up chunks of wood, also washboarding.
When you get to sinewing make sure to properly size the back with very thin hot glue. Lots of coats until it looks glossy.

[WhistlingBadger]

OK.  Thanks, guys.  I think I'll go with bownarra's method, and save the ring chasing for that huge desert chokecherry trunk I have my eye on...

[bassman211]

You will want to keep some sinew around for the choke cherry also. It can be an explosive wood as a self bow.

[WhistlingBadger]

You will want to keep some sinew around for the choke cherry also. It can be an explosive wood as a self bow.

Yep, I've heard that.  Is chokecherry weak in tension like juniper?  It is, overall, a much harder, more durable wood (I use chokecherry for my splitting wedges), so I'm eager to try it out.  I'll probably back with sinew, dogbane fibers, or rawhide, whichever I have when I get around to it.

[bassman211]

That is what you want to do to be on the safe side. Our natives used it with sinew, and i saw one  Chuck Loefler made on his web site.

[WhistlingBadger]

Well, I have a heartwood stave partly roughed out, almost ready to put the curves in.  If there is any wood more beautiful than RM juniper heartwood, I don't know what it is.  This stuff is amazingly beautiful.  Makes my garage smell really good, too.