the bark is called the pith wood; the fibres in this part of the wood stretch well and will be used to form the back of the bow (the side which faces the target when used). The fibres in the centre of the wood are called the heartwood, these fibres do not stretch well but do compress well, so this part of the wood is used to form the bow's belly (the part which faces the archer when in use). By carefully quartering the bow stave you should have enough wood to make four bows, although you may find it easier to halve the stave until you are more proficient at wood splitting. The best way to split the stave is not the conventional 'frueing' from one end as carried out by the expert woodsman. This takes a great deal of practise to master and bow staves are too valuable to be learning such rudimentary skills on. Take a small axe or tomahawk and hammer it through the centre of the stave, being careful to keep it in line with the sides. Then remove it and by a similar process either side of the initial split, work the split to the stave ends. If you are careful this should perfectly bisect the stave. If you do not wish to risk quartering you are ready to progress to the next stage, but if you
are feeling confident repeat the process on one of the halves. Be sure to cut through from the bark side otherwise you will find the split difficult to direct. With your quartered stave you are ready to rough out the bow. Working only on the heart wood, carve the bow to the dimensions shown in the diagram. You can remove the bark at this stage to better gauge the wood thickness but on no account carve the pith wood. With the carving go steady, avoiding too deep a cut. .Use your eye to judge the proportions and try to gain empathy with the piece of wood you are working. This is very important. Remember you are coaxing the best out of the wood, not following some magic formula for success; no two bows are ever alike. You should try to visualise the bow within the piece of wood you are working. Once you have reached the outline plan you are ready to put the magic into the bow. This process is called tillering the bow and is where you fine tune the bow to draw evenly to the maximum of its power. You will need a length of strong cordage as long as the bow roughout and a tillering board which might simply be a one metre straight branch with a forked end
Tillering a bow: the process of gradually testing the bow's pull; never rush this process.
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