" But this
does not seem to have proved the case in my experience. I am fully
convinced that the sap can be washed out and the process of seasoning
hastened very materially by proper treatment.
Kiln dried wood is never good as a bow. It is too brash; but after the
first month of shade, the staves may be put in a hot attic to their
advantage.
In selecting the portion of the tree best suited for a bow, choose that
part that when cut will cause the stave to bend backward toward the
bark. Since your bow ultimately will bend in the opposite direction,
this natural curve tends to form a straighter bow, or as an archer
would say "set back a bit in the handle."
If it is impossible to get a stave six feet in length, then a wide
stave three and a half feet long may be used. It is necessary in this
case to split it and join the two pieces with a fishtail splice in the
handle. Target bows are made this way, to advantage, but such a
makeshift is to be deprecated in a hunting bow. The variations of
temperature and moisture combined with hard usage in hunting demand a
solid, single stave. It must not break.
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