Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: iowabow on January 15, 2012, 02:55:36 pm
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I have been stripping bark from a bunch of staves and have read a few posts where new guys are asking about how to see where a ring starts and ends so I thought I would take a few photos to help you guys out. First there are many ways to do this and normally I start in the center. But so that you can relate this to what you can see on the end and already know I am working backwards. In other words I will be working to the center from the end. This is a slower process for me but will be a better way to help you understand how the ring is chased. I will use a pencil to show you the edge of the ring. I suggest that in the beginning you do the same to keep track of where you are while working. After I remove the bark I start removing the sap wood. This is hard to do if you wait 6 months after cutting the tree down. I find it more difficult to follow the ring on wet wood so I wait and just suck it up through the white wood. I like starting a chase in the center of the crest and run it down the log. Then I remove wood from the left then right. I do the right side last because it is the most difficult job and is not a natural stance for my body while working. After the white wood (sap wood) is removed you will notice two things when you begin this process. First is a white/yellow line you will see as you go through rings and the draw knife will make a rice crispy sound change when you are ripping between two layers. This will leave a honeycomb look on the surface. When you see this and hear this pat yourself on the back. OK I am just going to post picture without narrative because it should speak for itself. Please ask questions because there are lots of people on here that can help you. There are really good bow makers with year of experience that can help explain this. One more thing if you are new take the time to rip each layer off rather than racing to the layer you want. You can learn 6 times the knowledge on one stave that way
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(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15100202.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15100949.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15101043.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15101132.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15101211.jpg)
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(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15101312.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15102520.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15102603.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15102847.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15102936.jpg)
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(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15103323.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15103441.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15103620.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15103625.jpg)
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(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15104016.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15104010.jpg)
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Well that should do it. I just repeat that process all the way down the stave. Now it is important to note that the stave I am working should be taken down a couple more layers because it has some cracks on the surface that I would not want to be part of my bow. Also I plan to split /cut this stave so that I can get two bows from it.
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I had a nice lunch and went back at it this time from the other direction. I kept track of the time and it took me 40 minutes to do a fair job at chasing a ring down the other 3/4 th of the stave. I wear a mask because last year I had a lots of health problems and found that I was allergic to osage. So I need to be careful. I also work with the doors open. I keep the shop clean. JW calls me obsessive compulsive lol. Working the other direction allows me to remove the sap wood and the ring at the same time reducing the time but you have to pull harder. I did not have to be real carful on this because I am going to take a couple more layers off and split this stave in two. I only need to get to yellow wood then glue it but I chased this one for the post. I hope this helps good luck.
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(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15133418.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15133403.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15133426.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15133442.jpg)
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(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15133515.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15133540.jpg)
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(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15133608.jpg)
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15135059.jpg)
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Pictures can be worth a thousand words. :)
I'm sure this will help some folks out.
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Couple of weeks of work.
(http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/m559/iowabow2/2012-01-15172609.jpg)
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I wish I would of been a member on here when I first started building...those pics should help a lot of budding Osage bowyers
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The only thing I would have done differently; I would have split the stave and squared the sides on both halves so I would have a lot less area to remove the bark and sapwood from. Sometimes a stave has about 1/4 of its width as waste wood on the sides that I don't waste time chasing a grain on.
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That is a good point. After I spilt this and before I chase the final ring that is exactly what I will do. I am kinda in a race to remove bark due to a worm issue and it is too cold to run the bandsaw outside to split the two larger staves like I did the rest. I should have split this in the fall but ran out of time before hunting season kicked in. I have 24 more to go. I have some staves that are 12 or 13 feet long. I am going to make sure that I spilt all of them to size before drawknifing them
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Thank you for the post..... great stuff for the ring chasing impaired like myself :)
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Nice tutorial, I hope to use it when I get back in town. I have a stave in the vise just waiting for me.
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John, I thought of you and this post today when I was chasing a growth ring. Hope it's OK if I add some pictures.
Light is so important to this process. The best lights I've found for inside the shop are the 500watt harbor freight shop lights. Sometimes, only a little move of the light makes a big difference. Here's my setup:
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6736792411_c6137e207c_z.jpg)
I normally run just 1 light, they're pretty hot. This bow has pretty tight rings and I had a tough time seeing them. Looking at the bow from my vantage the ring boundary is tough to see.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6736793843_3002cc0b7d_z.jpg)
Just turning on the left light instead of the right one changes everything.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7002/6736793219_d61da55270_z.jpg)
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6736794917_62075987ce_z.jpg)
Don't be afraid to move around the stave and/or move the lights around the stave. :)
That knot came out pretty good.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6736798211_a1ba0a4f3f_z.jpg)
George
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Obsessive compulsive? Nah, if that were the case you would be wearing a full body condom with your respirator! >:D Seriously, osage can really mess with people that are sensitive to wood dust or has respiratory issues!
Along with gstoneberg's halogen Death Star Worklamps, a small hand held LED flashlight allows you to change the direction of lighting without having to move light stands or unclamp your workpiece. I have been known to flip off the overhead lights and use the LED flashlight to pick out touchy spots.
Try the craziest things, let your mind take impossible flights, innovate...but fear no growthring!
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"Fear no growth ring" !!
I like that !
Goes well with "just do it" !
Guy
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Wj you are very funny person I hope you go to the classic.
And G I am glade that you posted on here anything to help these new guys like you all did for me!
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This is a really great thread to help people get the hang of chasing the growth ring. Ya did a great job with the photos and explanation, I gotta say. Chasing rings is probably the scariest thing for new bowyers. And it's one of the toughest until suddenly that lightbulb comes on, from then on it's nothing but cake.
Thanks for posting this I-Owe-A-Bow.