No ring chasing at all, just a belly taper. This was actually 1/4 sawn chunk of gold I screwed up. I have never had a splinter on any board bows I have made or broke. I sand the edges after every scraping session and I back every bow I attempt to build. To be honest SEMO, Im inches from quitting the board/backed business and just try building good ol fashioned stave bows. I never have. Im growing tired of poor glue lines, oodles of clamps, glued joints popping free and all the other head aches that come with laminated bows. I realize bows from stave have their own challenges as well. I have another set of osage slats Roy from PA graciously gave me to work on. I am going to give it my all and see what happens. If it fails Im buying a draw knife and a seasoned stave. I refuse to give up, just need to change directions. Glass bows just dont do much for me so I have to find an alternative.