Osage Advice Needed

[soy]

Those are beautiful rings There should be no need to back it
 now that you've narrowed it without following the grain you may find yourself with less width then you had originally planned you cannot make a straight bow out of a character stave you have to go with the flow I will try and put ame pic up later to show you what I'm talking about

[DVSHUNTER]

This is what we are talking about. The knot should be avoided by following the grain.

[wislnwings]

Thanks.  Should I leave the amount of extra wood around the small knot or take that down to the chosen growth ring?  I think the upper knot will be able to be avoided.

[DVSHUNTER]

Do like pat said earlier and chase the bow down to one growth ring. Don't let your drawknife or scraper cut through the knot but rather work the knot from all directions to leave a smooth back.

[wislnwings]

Here is the layout I ended up with after following the grain.  64" long, 1 1/4" wide to mid-limb (this was the widest I could do).

 
 

[DVSHUNTER]

Looks good. At that width you will have plenty of wood for your bow.

[wislnwings]

Thanks for the advice.  I'm expecting my new bandsaw blade today and will cut it out tomorrow after a morning hunt.

[DVSHUNTER]

I wouldn't use a bandsaw. Just a rasp, but that's me. So much can go wrong so fast with a saw around those swirls. Keep the pics and updates coming.