A couple more selfbow questions.

[bucknut]

I’ve been trying to get a stave from dogwood with very little luck. No matter what the appearance is on the outside they go spiraling like crazy when split. I did get a few decent billets. I was thinking of ripping 2 1” or so deep parallel cuts 180* out from each other and letting them lay in the barn for a year.  I have read of this and was wondering if anyone has tried it??  or if you have a better idea. I can saw it in half but not sure if it will twist while drying?  Maybe they will still go crazy when I saw them into staves later. I don’t know.  Also anyone ever tried Redbud for selfbows?  I know it is pretty hard, just tough to get a tree big and straight enough for a stave but I have a few and was wondering. 
Thanks John

[Pat B]

If a tree grows spiraled, even though it looks straight it will split out spiraled. If not too much spiral you can correct it with heat. Sometimes you can get billets with less twist and splice them in the handle. If you use sister billets(next to each other) and splice them you will come out with propeller twist and if the string crosses the handle the bow will shoot.

[Black Mockingbird]

Learn how to read the grain in a tree before cutting. The bark is a telltale sign. If it spirals up,then so does the grain. Sometimes a tree will show other features as well like buttresses that you can see going up. Same rule applies as bark spiraling up.

It can be hard to find a nice clean straight dogwood. They don't like to grow that way. If splicing doesn't bother you then finding billet length clean and straight enough sections are easier to find than full length staves. Good luck.

[bucknut]

I can read the grain pretty well on most all trees.  Dogwood is the exception. They look perfect and might twist 360* in 12 feet. I was really wondering if anyone has tried ripping logs to dry in the round. I have read about it but never tried it. Also since dogwood isn’t ring porous wood, can I just saw it in half or quarters, bundle it together and let it dry like that or will it twist as you cut it because of inner tension?? May have to be a guinea pig again and just bite the bullet. The ripping idea has me curious. 

[Pat B]

If you had a log with a long twist you could align the bow's outline with the grain and end up with a relatively straight stave but trying to fight a tight twist will probably only frustrate you.