BBO ?

[Magnum in Ms]

Is the grain direction important in the osage on a boo backed osage bow? Does it still need to be pretty straight? How about pin knots?

[Art B]

The straighter the better in my opinion. This aids in overall straightness and string alignment. But you will be able to work with more imperfections in your wood because of a backing more so than with a selfbow. You will sometimes have pin knots front and back on selfbows so having them on just the belly of a backed bow isn't a problem. The one thing you don't want is wood with sever grain run-ups. This makes for an iffy proposition. ART

[michaelschwister]

If the pin knots are near the belly they eill crush. This  is the drawback of uisng quarter sawn belly slats.