Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Ricardovanleeuwen on December 28, 2019, 04:03:15 am
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How long should i expect it toto taketo chase the ring on a black locust stave for the first time? As its the only real seasoned stave i have
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I've never done a black locust. If I recall correctly, I've heard the wood gets very hard after it cures a few years.
Chasing a ring takes a bit of getting used to. Is the bark removed? Is it close to one ring exposed? If not that's a pretty big job for a beginner in itself. If it is try to figure out which end has ring exposed closest to where you want to be. It's always a pain in the butt when you get almost to the other end of the stave and you have to drop down a ring and go back the other way. Don't rush. Take your time and clean up your ring as you go. I like to use my draw knife to get close on Osage I can usually hear that crunchy early wood . I leave a little of it and use my cabinet scrapper to clean it up to my chosen ring. Don't jump around from one place to another. It's a sure fire way to get on two different rings. At knots I like to follow the ring around the knot and then when I'm sure I've got it all right come back and finish the knot.
Don't rush did I say that you shouldn't rush. Just try to relax and concentrate on staying on the same ring. If you decide your done for the day and the ring chasing isn't, put a coat of shellac on the ring you have exposed to prevent drying checks. If you finish chasing the ring put on two coats of shellac to prevent drying checks. If you have some scraps you could practice on them. If you violate your chosen ring consider it practice. You could continue to the end practicing and then go down another ring and try it over. If I'm not mistaken Black Locusts has some pretty thick rings. That should help to keep from violating them.
Good luck
Bjrogg
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Good post by BJ. Remember that BL functions best with a heartwood ring. Jawge
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I always found BL similar to osage as far as chasing rings with a similar crunchy early ring. BJ makes good points. When I come to a knot or pin knot I circle it with a pencil and come back later to be sure I don't violate the rings around it. Knots and pins have a raised area around them that you don't want to cut through but it's easy to do if you are not paying attention.
I like to start at the end and remove the first 6" or so then once that's clean move on the the next 6" until I get to the middle then go to the other end and repeat. Take it down one ring at a time so you are sure you are on the same ring working from both ends.
Also, if you find yourself getting angry, anxious or just down right pissed off put it all down and walk away until later. It will still be there when you are in a better frame of mind.
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Im going to start tonight for a bit, im happy that its a small with stave
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as long as it takes,, thats how bow making is :)
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Until you know what you are doing chase the ring ABOVE the one you want for the back. Once you made the beginner mistakes chasing the ring above from end to end you will have a much better feel of what you are doing and you also only have a single ring to remove and finesse your way to the one you actually want.
How long will it take? How long is a piece of string? :)
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Most of the time on knots you can circle them as said above then come back on the last ring and just get under the island and cleanly lift it off.
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I find good lighting is a plus when chasing a ring osage or BL I use those Harbor frieght clip on lights when you get the right light angle the ring pops off like a neon sign ,I actually find chasing a ring a relaxing job !
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Chasing a ring is therapeutic. Bark and sapwood not so much, but it comes with the territory.
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I find good lighting is a plus when chasing a ring osage or BL I use those Harbor frieght clip on lights when you get the right light angle the ring pops off like a neon sign ,I actually find chasing a ring a relaxing job !
Totally agree. You don't want to be chasing a ring in a poorly lighted area.
Bjrogg
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Here is a tool that saves a lot of time removing bark & sap wood , George T ,turned me on to it a few years back & it saves a lot of time for that purpose ! Swedish Push knife !
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I don't have one of those, but I used one once. It does make much quicker work of the doneage.
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I had a lot of split osage staves from a haul I procesed and I put a 1/2 " blade on my band saw and cut the bark & sap wood off too ,not primitive but works good on limited time also have used vertical oscillating belt sander to knock rings above where I want using 50 grit paper , the lazy man way :D
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Now we are back to "I love to chase a ring". Some of the Osage and others I have worked, the bark and sap wood came off pretty easy. On others it was like chipping away at a cement slab. The bark and sap wood broke off in chunks. I will say that those tended to be really good bows in most cases, so a price well worth paying. Still, once you are down to the hard wood, and you have exposed the tiniest part of the ring your after right at the edge of the stave...Running the draw knife is almost an unconscious thing from that point on. Zen and the Art of Ring Chasing.
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)@stick bender, i made myself adrawing knife from n old circular saw :P
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I use black locust quite a bit and the only thing I know for sure is that it's not like osage....at least the stuff I have been using. The rings are about 1/4" thick, BUT the single layer of sapwood has light and dark streaks in with the yellowish stuff. The first time I played with it the light colored stuff gave me fits as it looked a lot like the spring growth that I was trying to remove. It have gone through a HUGE 1/4" ring trying to get that single smooth clean yellowish ring, with no such luck. Now that I know the back will NOT look like light colored osage but WILL have lots of whitish color mixed throughout ... it's easy to chase. :BB Now I know it's not the single back ring that I have to watch with black locust, but getting the tiller very close to right on the belly side so as to prevent crysals... :OK
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Sometimes you can catch the sapwood layer above the heartwood in transition so that it takes some of the heartwood color.
The sapwood layer above the heartwood turns to heartwood in a living tree.
There are exceptions but the best scenario is a heartwood back.
I've made lots of BL bows and the heartwood is clearly delineated from the sapwood.
However, I've always felt (can't prove it) that Northern BL is better and tougher than Southern BL with fewer inciidences of chrysalling. At least, for me. and from what I've heard on here. I have not had that many bows of BL that have chrysalis that I can remember and I learned on BL. But it's been awhile since my bow beginnings and I'v never taken notes.
Now, white ash on the other hand almost always chrysalled for me but bowyer friends from around here have been pleased with it.
Jawge