Help Chasing Rings

[Trad Newbie]

I have decided to carve out my own bow.  I have black locus stave my brother and I harvested last year.  I worked all the bark off and have been working down to the ring I want.  Do I have to work each ring off down the lenght of the stave? or can I work down to the ring I want at one end and then go from there? I have read bowyers bible and several other sources but nothing really speaks to this...  Any help would be of course helpful.
Thanks

[crosseye]

there are several ways you can go about it.  i have tried many different methods...ikinda like to get the ring i want worked down in a small strip right down the middle of the stave then clean up the sides till teh whole back is clean.  either of the ways you mentioned will also work fine.  if you reduce your stave to 2 1/2" or so wide before chasing it also speeds things up considerably.

[George Tsoukalas]

I find the ring I want, go up along the right for a foot, down the middle and down the left. If I make a mistake on the ends it will come out when the bow is laid out. Jawge
 http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[Pat B]

If for no other reason than for the experience removing one ring at a time, a little at a time, will help you achieve a successful, clean back ring. If you try to rush and take too much at once, chances are you will gouge out wood and in the long run make more work for yourself.

[shamus]

thoughts of mine on chasing rings:  http://analogperiphery.blogspot.com/2008/05/chasing-growth-rings.html

hope it helps.

[John Scifres]

http://residents.bowhunting.net/sticknstring/roughout.html

[Trad Newbie]

Thanks for the help everyone.  Working at a bit and slowly, I am seeing how to remove the rings fairly well.  The only issue I have now is that the wood must be green because a vertical split is forming down the back.  Am I doomed?  I though you could go down to the ring you wanted before having it fully dry?

[Pat B]

Seal the back with something...shellac, TB glue, wax. Your stave must still be wet. As long as the check (drying crack) doesn't run off the limb, it is only a cosmetic problem.
   You can reduce the moisture quicker if your stave is closer to bow size but you must protect the back and ends from drying cracks by sealing them and letting the moisture escape from the belly side. Generally the belly won't check when you do this.