To cut or not to cut? Norway Maple

[stuckinthemud]

There is a Norway Maple felled near me, snagged up off the ground that I have permission to cut..  The stem is about 8 inches diameter,  the distance between possible pin knots (blemishes on the bark surface) is about 60 cm/2 feet.  I'm fed up with filling my garage with poor quality timber but I have nothing I can use for core wood. Would you cut it?

[bownarra]

Yes as long as it looks straight grained and knotfree. Cut it as long as you can and cut the sections later once the bark is off and you can clearly see what you've got.
Send it to me if you don't want it!

[stuckinthemud]

Its a bit like skittles down there,  there's a half dozen trees sorta knocked each other down where a new spring has destabilised an embankment . One is a big black poplar, another is a common laurel but it has no straight sections, then a few Norway maples, pipe straight but young (4 to 6 inch diameter at chest height) and very knotty and one slightly more mature tree, not so straight but much less knotty. Should be able to cut some stuff for 5 section bows then.

[Del the cat]

A lot of Norway Maple near me, it's good stuff.
Del

[Yooper Bowyer]

When I worked for a landscaper last spring I heard that there is only one way to prune a Norway Maple;  Do it once, 4" from the ground.

[stuckinthemud]

So, might be a good idea to cut the more knotty stuff for self bows?