Ishi insisted that this end of the stave should always be the upper end
of the weapon. It seems to me that this extremity having the most
compact grain, and the strongest, should constitute the lower limb,
because, as we shall see later on, this limb is shorter, bears the
greater strain, and is the one that gives down the sooner.
We shall plan to make the bow as strong as is compatible with good
shooting, and reduce its strength later to meet our requirements.
Look over the stave and estimate whether it is capable of yielding two
bows instead of one. If it be over three inches wide, and straight
throughout, then rip it down the center with a saw. Place one stave in
a bench vise and carefully clean off the bark with a draw knife. Do not
cut the sap wood in this process.
Cut your stave to six feet in length. Sight down it and see how the
plane of the back twists. If it is fairly consistent, draw a straight
line down the center of the sap wood. This is the back of your bow. Now
draw on the back an outline which has a width of an inch and a quarter
extending for a distance of a foot above and a foot below the center.
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