Serviceberry ??

[Longcruise]

I  brought home four potential staves of service berry and not being much of a self bow guy , I'm wondering,  should I take the bark off?  The ends are sealed with candle wax (cause that's all i had) and they are not split.  I'll get a picture posted soon.

Any suggestions?

[Pat B]

How big are the staves. If big enough I'd at least split in half. If you do remove the bark be sure to seal the back well.

[Longcruise]

Are you saying that if the bark is removed the entire piece should be sealed.  I think it’s tough to answer my questions without photos.  I'll get some up tomorrow.

[Flem]

I really like Serviceberry. The pieces I can get are very small, like 2-3" diameter. I leave the bark on and seal the ends with wood glue. Stuff does not warp, twist or split. I have only been able to make decrowned self bows with the shrubs I can find. Also milled a few lams

What is the diameter of your Serviceberry?

[Longcruise]

Not as big as yours.  Here's pics of them.  I thought the very small one could make a small kids bow.   

Heavy stuff!

It's probably going to be a while drying.   I can get bigger but not where these came from.   Might be into more in December.

Bark on or bark off?

[Mad Max]

Are you saying that if the bark is removed the entire piece should be sealed.  I think it’s tough to answer my questions without photos.  I'll get some up tomorrow.

You need to split it if you take the bark off and seal the back

[Pat B]

The smaller diameter ones, say under 2" leave the handle round and cut the belly down to just beyond the pith. If the pith is there it will check through the pith.
 What I've done with osage and hickory on poles over 2" is saw them in half lengthwise then bind them back together with thin wood spacers between them for air circulation. Once they dry you can add reflex or recurves with heat. You can leave the bark on or remove it but seal the backs well if you remove the bark.
 You can clamp the smaller diameter ones to forms to add some reflex bot it helps keep them from twisting or warping.

[Flem]

I have always left the bark on, not split. Not tried it any other way with Serviceberry, so you will be entering uncharted territory. I have never heard of anyone else using Serviceberry, virtually no info out there.
I will say this, if I could get my hands on a supply of decent size, it would be my primary lam wood.

[Pat B]

Service berry in the east and the west are different. In the east it is an understory trees that get up to 8" to 10" in diameter and 20'+ tall. In the west it is a multi stemmed shrub. Same genus but each specie has different characteristics as far as bow wood goes. I haven't made a service berry bow but have heard that the eastern variety is only marginal as a bow wood but the western variety is better suited for bow making. 

[Flem]

You had me drooling and planning a road trip with my saw, until I read the last sentence Pat.
The only bows I have made that took no discernible set, were with Serviceberry. Being such small diameter, they were kids bows, but that should be irrelevant because everything is proportional. And they were all de-crowned, again because of the diameter.