Osage Self Bow

[smcrochet]

Well I just cut my first Osage tree, I am new to the bow making and this will be my first. I was wondering, do you take the bark and sap wood off then seal it for drying? Do you split the wood then let it dry? Also how long do you let the wood dry before you do work to it? Can you kiln dry it?


Thanks

[Buckeyehunter]

Split the wood, remove the bark and sapwood and seal the back and ends.  If you want it to dry quicker, reduce the stave to floor tiller dimensions.

[smcrochet]

Thanks!

How long does it usually take to dry?

[bigcountry]

According to trad bible vol 4, it depends mostly on your area and the humidity.  I would say in Louisiana, it will take at least a year and still might not get below 15%.  

I know I built a bow that was little green last year and got 2" of set from it.  

I hear some in humid climates, use heat boxes or stores their stave's with a bunch of air flow.

[smcrochet]

Someone told me to put it in the attic. I don't know if this would help or hurt, but i know it gets pretty darn hot up there. I am kind of nervous about this, mainly because I have no idea what I am doing. I guess I need to find a book and read up on it for the next year whild my stave dries. Guess I probably should have done that before I cut the tree. Oh well it will be a learning experience.


      thanks!!

[Pat B]

How big are your logs? You should at least split the log in half and seal the ends. After a month continue splitting out staves. You can take one, remove the bark and sapwood and immediately seal the back well. You can now reduce the stave to floor tiller size and let it rest for another month and you should be OK to make a bow. You will have to decide if it is too wet by the resistance and recovery of the limbs.

[bigcountry]

If it was me, I would split it into nice wide staves around 3", and let dry in your house for 3 months.  They are supposed to lose a significant amount of wieght the first 3 months.  After that, I would store in hot car on a summer day.  Then I would work down to rough dimensions.  And then do the attic thing.  But I am fairly new.

[smcrochet]

The logs are about as big as a stove pipe, maybe a little smaller.

So after you split them you do not seal the whole piece just the ends right?

[Dean Marlow]

If you leave the bark on it all you have to seal are the ends of the log. Also spray your logs with something so the bugs won't eat it. Dean

[razorback]

Just the ends, unless you remove the bark and sapwood, then you seal the back as well

[shamus]

debark it and take the sapwood off or leave the bark on and seal the ends. But if the bark comes off, the sapwood better go with it or the back will check badly.

+1 to Dean on using bug spray on staves with the bark on.  

thoughts of mine on  drying and seasoning wood:  http://analogperiphery.blogspot.com/2008/08/drying-and-seasoning-wood.html


I hope it helps.

[Eric Krewson]

Don't put your wood in an attic, it will crack from every direction no matter how well you have it sealed.

Buy Dean's book "Hunting the Osage Bow". The chapter on cutting and drying wood is worth the price of the book.

[Roy Steele]

All these ways will work.But don't for get to spray with pestiside.I have plenty of time.I knew an old bowyer so I've did it his way for almost 20 years.
  I cut my logs 80 inchs.Split not cut into 3 inch staves seal the ends if you want.But at 80 inchs there's plenty of room left to cut off the cracked ends.I skip this part.Spray it for bugs.Next I set up 2 saw horses but out of the sun I use a building.Put the staves up on them out to the ends.I have v's cut in my horses so my staves set up.Now I tie a cinter block to each center off the ground.
  And simpely let gravity do the work.Some I ad 2 blocks.Your staves will get some simi nateral  reflex to them.They may not look like U's.I draw knife mine down some on the sides and belly.The smaller your stave the more the reflex and the quicker it will dry.I spray mine again after a month and once a year after that.
   I was taught this way and this way is a lot closer to nateral reflex.And is far far better and will last far longer than heat or steam.The more nateral you build your bow.The more durable your bow will be.The longer it will last.The more stayable your limbs will be.The better cast it will have.The better it will shoot.