Split and Out to Dry

So I decided to embark on splitting a log of sweetgum I had sitting in the garage for a few months to make a bow. It was going to be hard, but I didn't expect this much work. Took me about 3 hours. Right now, I sit exhausted in my computer chair typing. I'm taking advantage of the (hopefully) last week of high 90s to dry the de-barked log. It's going to be a flat bow--possibly Mollegabet design.

Notice, in this picture, that the thin limbs that bend but the last 4-5 inches at the tips do not. This design (modeled after a bow design found in a village called "Mollegabet") is a very fast design (shoots fast). Wider and thinner limbs (around 2 inches wide); and narrower and thicker tips (about 1/4" wide and 1/4" thick I'm pretty sure).

Well anyway, here are some pictures of splitting and de-barking with the really useful draw knife.

In case you were wondering, I used the butter knife to de-bark the wood.

Drying the elevated half because that's the one I'm planning on using. Next week I'll probably take the 14" bandsaw to it and split it in half down the its length.

Zachary