If you can post pics of your stave it will make it easier to help you. As far as a riser(handle) goes, does the blank bend at all in the handle area? If not, you can glue on a riser block to the belly side and bevel it top and bottom so it flows into each limb. If it does bend(at all) you can make a riser from a flexible material like leather, crepe rubber, cork or multi lams of thin wood with graduating lengths so it flexes a bit.
For the stave you are working on now all you need is a scraper to bring it to tiller. On any stave, all you need is a wood or farriers rasp(a cheap or free farriers rasp should be easy to find around Camden)and a scraper to tiller a bow.
Any of the four woods you mentioned will make good bows. Hickory would be my first choice. I have built bows from all of them. It would be better to harvest any of these woods during the growing season when the bark will slip. The wood under the bark is the most pristine backing you can get. I consider all 4 to be whitewood.
Rather than spending your money on a moisture meter(in Camden, your wood will always have a higher M/C)invest in a hot box. There are plans in the "How To" section here on TG. A hot box will serve you well for storing and drying bows and bow wood as well as for glue-up if you go that direction. I just gave my moisture meter, that I rarely used over the last 10 years, to a friend in Utah. His concern is wood getting too dry.
When you do cut your next wood, split it, at least in half or quarters if big enough, seal the ends and if the bark slips, remove it and seal the back. I prefer spray shellac to seal staves. Wax or carpenters glue works well also.If the bark holds fast, leave it on but treat with a pesticide to kill and insects that are hiding in the bark and any insect eggs that will hatch while in storage and eat your wood. Pat