down to one ring - now what

[TroyH]

Ok, got my stave down to one ring.  Bow do I know how to pick-em.  Lots of knots and even a valley on one end.  I still have to go back and scrape around some of the knots and dig a few out.
My question is, it looks like I have some twist.  I've tried imagining if it will work without straightening it and still be able to avoid that valley you can see on the end.  What is the best way to straighten out the twist?
Also, if any of the knots go all the way through, do you have to fill them in?  I've seen some bows with holes through the limb.

   

   

[Pat B]

Find the center line of your bow, draw out the outline off of the center line and cut it out. If you follow the grain, the center line won't be straight.That's OK! If possible, any knots that might end up in the limb try to keep them away from the edges of your bow. If the wood is solid around a knot, it should be OK. If the wood inside a knot is pithy, remove it without hurting the surrounding wood.
   You don't have to worry about the twist until later, if at all. Check out Jawge's site for dealing with twists. The way your stave lines up in a shallow "S" the string should track across the handle and that is OK too.  Pat

[Shaun]

Nice looking piece of osage and good looking job of chasing the ring.

You have two choices: lay out the bow from a straight line sighted down the stave and live with some grain run off where you ignored the grain. Or, lay out a center line following the grain and do not try to make it straight, then use heat to straighten the blank once you get to floor tiller (just starting to bend).  I lean towards the second method most of the time.

You can correct a great deal of straightness and twist with heat but it should be done before much serious bending has been done.

You do not have to fill knots. Do try to keep them away from the edges when you do your layout.