Correct me if I'm wrong!

[Don Armstrong]

I have come to a few conclusions while making osage bows:

1). There is no such thing as straight osage trees.

2). If you heat osage to much and try to make it straight, you WILL get stress fractures.

3). If your clamps leave marks after heating, just heat up at the indent and it will disappear.

4). Osage smells great while heating it up.

5). You will get discoloration, due to, to much heat on the back of an osage stave, no matter how careful you are heating the belly.

6). There is nothing more fun than making a good osage bow.

7). There is nothing more frustrating than messing up an osage bow.

Feel free to add or discount to this. Don

[Osagetree]

Just my input;

1. Yes, there are straight tree's but not straight grain

2. If you overheat the wood it will split if it has any moisture content

3. I've never noticed that but try not to make clamp or vise marks on the areas that are close to final shape

4. When it starts to smell like that it almost too hot

5. Oils like vegetable oil will help prevent discoloration

6. Nothing I'd mention here

7. It gets more acceptable the more you make or break

[va]

1.  Straight is in the eye of the beholder of the stave.

2/4.  Splits along the length of a limb are character and smoke is not a "smell".

3.  The dents in my limbs fit right in with the left over tool marks.

5.  More character

6.  I think Osagetree has a point.

7.  Somebody said "If you aint breakin you aint makin.

[Don Armstrong]

OK, you guys might be right about number 6   :D  . The smell is when the osage just starts turning red with the oil but not smoke. All the others are a matter of perception. I may have to look at things a little different    . Don

[Stiks-n-Strings]

1. Osage is alot better looking when it ain't straight.

2.What Joe said

3. I use leather between my clamps

4. osage smells great anytime

5.I look for that little color change, I know it's good and hard then. Toasty!
 
6.Making any piece of good wood bend is awsome.

7.What VA said. Learn from each one you mess up and keep on bending wood.

[Osagetree]

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Osage turns colors almost the instant you stop sanding or cutting on it.
I like that dark orange/red/brown color....it just looks good to me.

Yes on straight trees....they are far and few between, but no such thing as straight grain no matter what it looks like from the outside.
An Osage stave is like a box of chocolates when you open her up, you never know whatcha gonna git.

I love the smell when I just get down past the sap wood.

Absolutely, I almost messed up on my first one, but I made an awesome recovery.
That's why I put back about 5 more staves.