Shavings

[BowEd]

Steve can comment here too but,some staves will have it's own set of challenges.Especially those pursuing character bow staves/holes/excessive pins/knots big and small/whoop tee doos/and very thin ringed staves.Those will take more time.
A decent ringed clean straight blemish free or a few pins type of stave does not take very long like Steve said.Perfect ring counts of between 7 to 10 RPI are ideal,but not totally necessary.No special rig to hold the stave either.Just leaning it up against a tree using a draw knife cleans up the bark/sapwood/and to 1 ring in less than a half an hour.
For storage to dry a little early wood left does'nt hurt any at all.There'll be plenty of clean up done after actually making the bow anyway.Shellacking it well on the back and ends and up on a rack to dry.
After drying this is where owning a band saw cuts work and time immensely getting the bow to floor tiller shape.

[bentstick54]

Thanks Ed. Whenever I harvested trees, by the time I got them cut, loaded hauled home and unloaded I was physically spent. Then I would try to get them split in the next few days I would just spray the bark down real good with an insecticide and put them up for storage. I was still working so time was limited also. Now that I’m retired, and think I have a place about 45 minutes from home that I can make multiple trips, cut 8” to 12” trees, and just cut what I can handle start to finish. So of course I’m just looking for advice from people I know have a lot more experience than I do.

[BowEd]

Sometimes yes it can take a few days to clean up a dozen staves or so.One reason why I like cutting in the fall or winter.The wood wasps on osage here are dormant then and I'm not pressed on time so much.You may not have them there.
Getting them cleaned up within a short week works.
The great time saver using white woods is something to look at too.Cutting just after leaves have emerged and popping the bark right off is a great time saver without ring chasing work.Hickory/elm/ and ironwood are good for this in my area.After bark is off a good shellacking on back and ends is still necessary.Storing white woods off the ground in a shed is best too.

[Badger]

 I struggle with splitting. I often go for two bows out of 1 stave and sometimes it is so close if I don't get it perfect, I can ruin both. I am not fast at splitting at all. It is my least favorite thing. 

[BowEd]

Yes I've wasted plenty of wood splitting them also.I've never been a fan of scoring with a skill saw,but have done that on occasion with elm.
The most efficient wood I've split is hickory.That being because the log is dead nuts straight....ha ha.
No matter what there's a lot of waste splitting logs.

[Buckskinner]

Before making bows I always had to scrounge for good kindling/fire starting materials, now half the fire ends up being little stuff just to get rid of it.

I gotta ask Ed, what are you doing with the garter snakes???

[BowEd]

I put them on the back of bows.It takes at least a 24" garter snake for me to do that.I'll put them on bows I feel worthy of it.
I'll show a nice BL static recurve done some time ago.
I keep them around for trade for others also.

[Buckskinner]

Wow, that is gorgeous!  The ones around here are yellow/black, I like the red...

[BowEd]

Their unique in their own way.Rather thin skins.Usually the longer skins will be females.
It's not every year I can get a few.
The year we sided the house in the spring leaving the wood siding piled on the ground there was quite a few between the boards.
Now their under the shavings pile occasionally.
Your right some are more yellow striped.Matching them can take time sometimes.

[Badger]

 That is a good-looking bow Ed

[Zugul]

that's a beauty... You're really testing the woods properties with that design. It's me or you also heat treated the belly?

[BowEd]

The belly has horn laminations on it.It was rather narrow for black locust.Still 64" long though.Some sinew under the garter skins too.

[bentstick54]

That’s as good as it gets. Beautiful bow Ed.

[bjrogg]

I usually only get time to work on my bows in the winter. I put my shavings in some barrels and my buddy uses them for cooking maple syrup.

Bjrogg

[Zugul]

Sinew backed black locust with horn laminations on the belly? That must be an incredible shooter!