Ok I found myself a good ash stave and roughed out a nice 68" profile bow.  Right now I am looking at a knot about 1/3 the distance from the end of the stave, dead center of the limb.  It has a slight bump on the back but the knot hole is about a 1/4" deep and about 3/16" diameter.  The stave is about 5/8 inch thick belly to back right now in that spot.

Think it will work out?  Everything else looks pretty good and I am impressed with my first try at making a bow.

Ok. I probed the knot and it is about 3/8 inch deep. It gets in there pretty good. Not sure what I do. I will try to get a picture up.

Make a little ash sawdust and mix it with superglue or Titebond III and pack that knot hole. It will be fine.

Pics please. If the wood around the knot on the back is sound and unviolated the knot is probably a non issue. If it is loose or pithy clean it out being careful not to violate that back ring as it goes into the knothole.

Pat, the knot was concealed until I started to rough out the limbs  The wood around the hole is sound wood but I cut right through it unknowingly when I was removing limb wood.  the only evidence of the knot from the raw stave was a slightly proud lump on the back but its very subtle.  Im gonna try the Titebond III and saw dust and see what happens.  Im done fiddling with it for a few weeks until it dries out some.  Meanwhile my quest for a nice hickory tree is still unfulfilled.  I have ash, black gum, black cherry, white and red oak, maple of several varieties, birch, beech, black locust, white pine, cedar, hemlock, and a bunch more but I cannot find a single hickory tree on my land.

Out of your list I'd take white oak and black locust over hickory any day of the week..the rest you mentioned is mostly junk(besides hard maple) and def not stuff a novice should be messing with...don't get stuck on one type of tree...just try to find the cleanest,n straightest of any known good bow wood...you might have eastern hophornbeam as well around you...

Leave that area wide enough to compensate and when tillering that area should appear slightly flat. It should  bend but  not too much. Hit the area with super glue or glue and sawdust as someone mentioned.
Take your time, use a rope and pulley and hope for the best.
Jawge

Well. I fund myself a nice white oak. Six and half feet long by a foot in diameter. I know white oak is very springy. The tree was small since the top was damaged a couple years ago when we timbered the place. An adjacent oak fell and took half the top of this one with it so I didn't feel to bad sacrificing it. No twist to the tree or noticeable knots etc.  Its heavy. I sealed up the ends.  Gonna split it up when I get the time.