Now a crack!!! Found my ring :) Going to try some Osage?

[coaster500]

My first stab at a bow was in August it was a Mulberry stave that a blind man could have worked. This ring chasing that I hear a bunch of folks saying is their favorite part is very difficult for me, even on that perfect stave. I wear tri-focals and have a condition wear I have some floaters in the viscous material in my eyes. It's kind of like when you get punched and see stars but mine don't go away? I've got an Osage stave and started to work on it last night and it is very hard for me to work the back down and I'm about three rings into it.

I there some special trick I can use to better separate the rings visually for these mess up eyes? They may be very clear to some of you but they are very hard to see for me.

The grain on the back of this stave is faint also and it will be hard to fallow for the layout.

I’m trying but may have to stick to white woods with these eyes.

70" X 1 1/2 X 2 1/4 and 2 1/4"s thick

   

   

   

[Osagetree]

Direct sunlight is best for chasing rings. But, the right angle of enough artificial light does it too.

[KellyG]

Don't know if you have one but one of the magnifying glasses with the light. They are used for many hobbies It might be what you need.

[Walt Francis]

Great suggestions by those above, they will all help you follow a ring.

Coaster, hang in there and keep trying, it gets easier the more you do.  After awhile, if you have a smooth back, it can be done by feel.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

I have trouble seeing them once in awhile if the light angle ain't right.

 Joe has the best solution as far as light go's,
 Dean Torges says to use an incandescent bulb to help the the late growth show up in one of those clamp on lights like you get at the hardware store.  

 I use daylight bulbs in my shop light and they seem to help.

 Goodluck with it and don't give up.

[coaster500]

Thanks guys I'm going to try the glasses and incandescent light. I wish I could do it outside but I'm not set up for that right now. I'll keep hacking and hope for the best  

[George Tsoukalas]

Sometimes if you pick it up and look at it you can tell. YOu'll hear a "chatter" as you go into early wood. The desirable summer wood is
underneath. MY site has info. Jawge
 http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[coaster500]

Thanks Jawge!!

[Diamondback59]

ok kip ill let ya in on a lil secerat  do use the glasses pick ur ring and on the side smooth  em up  now get ya a can brown shoe polish and a lil rag  wipe it on good  ur ring s will pop out sit in the sun light and ull see em fine as george says u can hear em  well me i have hearing loss i dont hear em but iv learned to feel  em ya can feel
the spongy punky stuff  you should be able to follow that ring easey this way  after 35 years of weldin and mech enginner work my eyes aint all that good either  good luck bro  brock

[coaster500]

Thanks Brock....  Shoe polish, I’ve got to try that on my hill and dale stave... you carving that Chittamwood yet    

 http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/coaster500/osage%20bow%20project/?albumview=slideshow

I think this was the hardest thing I've done with regards to bow building but towards the end it did start to get easier. About two thirds of the way into it I started removing wood from the outside edges as it made it less likely for me to kill another ring if it was defined and established on an edge that would ultimately be waste wood. The cheap drugstore glasses helped and the sunlight coming through the back door in the early morning really made it much easier for me? Towards the end you are right there is a sort of feel to this whole this and that is great when your vision is not so good. I also discovered that my draw knife makes an excellent scraper and makes for very control wood removal use this way instead of just the cutting edge. It’s not the best for the hill and dale spots but on the reasonably straight stuff it works great. I know for many of you my rants must sound like a babe in the woods but that’s pretty much correct.

Looks pretty good but again these eyes !!

 
 
 

[coaster500]

One more question?

This stave is 10 months old. It was seal and dried for that amount of time. I have no way of knowing if it is dry enough to work into a bow but it seems dry? After chasing the ring and squaring the ends should I continue to work it? Rough out a bow or reseal it and allow more drying time?

Thank again

[Stiks-n-Strings]

I wouldn't chance it Coaster, I would at least seal the back with shellac. I've had them cut for 1.5 years and still check along the back when worked down to a ring. Really all depends on where you had it stored.

 Seal it and keep it in the house when not working on it and it'll be plenty dry in a few months. If you get it floor tillered it will dry a little quicker to.

[frank bullitt]

Kip like said, good ole sun works best!

Also try some alcohol, or light fiebiengs type stain. It will highlight things real well, too.

Even just a wipe with a damp sponge will show. Then mark with pencil, the layers.

[coaster500]

Ok, I drew a center line before I put shellac on it but as I was drawing it I noticed this. It's a crack in the stave. If I make a 64" bow the crack will be 100% in the handle and fade (4" handle and 2" fades). It's 30"s from one end of the bow but it's the knotty end. I was hoping to deal with just one knot now I have to deal with three? The other end of the stave has no knots at all. Oh well?

 

[coaster500]

Knot #1
 

Knot #2
 

knot #3
 

[bluegill]

Kip,

Here are my suggestions.

The crack/check will not be a problem, you can fill with CA glue and go it it is just cosmetic as long as it stays with in the bow.

The knots do not look that bad, are they violated? Hard to tell from the pics.

Knot 1 will be no cosequence that close to the (non-bending) tip and it looks like it maybe gone completely after layout.

Knot 2, can be trouble looks like it will be right on the limb edge. You can leave the limb wider there, I typically will follow the grain around a knot like this on the edge.

Knot 3, where in the limb does it lie? midlimb? That area could be left stiff to compensate for it.    


Looks very doable IMHO.

Sean

[coaster500]

Thanks Sean...  I think I'm going to go at the bow from the other end because as you and others have said "The crack/check will not be a problem". If I do that in a 64 or 66" layout I will only have to deal with knot #3 and I'll center that in a limb. I sealed the stave again and put it in my "Man Closet" dry racks. It will be a while before I can work on it again  


 

[KellyG]

Coaster,

You can weight that thing, and do it every week. if it does not lose a lot of weight it is fairly dry. You can also get to to about floor tiller and it will dry faster.

I have one I know is green I am going to start working it soon so I may be able to work it this summer. We shall see.

Good luck bud,
Kelly

[Art B]

I do like your drying racks    !

[coaster500]

Kelly I'll will get it down to floor tiller the next chance I get to work on it. I don't think I have a scale accutate enough to weigh it but I'll try. This waiting for stuff to dry is like watching plants grow  :(

Art they were custom made