Need tips for making lumber

[EwokArcher]

I have a ton of Osage logs and split up logs of a variety of quality, now that I've started doing some glass bows I'd like to try to square up some of this to use as handles and riser blocks. I have gone at this before pretty haphazardly with only fair success. Can anyone lay out how they would approach this process, or link me to a previous topic on the subject. I had difficulty finding much info on this. Thanks guys.
Ty

[Pat B]

Google "Quarter Sawn"

[mikkekeswick]

The first thing to do is make a dead straight cut.
You can do this on knarly pieces by screwing/gluing/fixing them to a piece of ply with a straight edge. This edge is what runs against your fence and therefore gives you a straight cut through your wood.
Now you have a flat surface to go face down on the table.
Repeat the above process with the ply if necessary.
Now its plain sailing    
Getting the first two cuts dead straight is key to now having loads of waste and re-squaring.
After cutting make sure and seal the ends if moisture content isn't low and stack everything with even airflow.

[Bowjunkie]

Yep, I do like Mike said. The first two cuts are imperative. When I do it at home, I try to get the first one as straight as possible, then I flatten it if it isn't. The second one should be square to the first, or parallel, so that there's less wasted on the jointer or planer trying to true them up. How I go about it depends on many factors. Tool availability is a factor. Sometimes i cant get a log through my bandsaw and have to cut deep kerfs with a circular saw and then split it the rest of the way just so I can get it in my bandsaw. Ya kinda have to read the wood and do what you gotta do. Each piece is a little different.

Before I cut, I do an overall assessment of the log, looking for knots, checks, humps, dips or concave areas, then looking at the small end of the log, try to envision the most valuable and obtainable boards in it and work toward retrieving them. Often, boards for lams and backed bows can be taken out of the center(s) in horizontal and vertical axis.... like this when looking at the end of the log (+). If you cut them thick enough, those centers can be used either as quartersawn lams, or turned on their sides and sliced flat sawn. If the wood species is good selfbow wood, you can stop slicing boards off soon enough to allow for pie shaped selfbow staves as your 'waste'.

I have even sat down with a sawyer and drawn out our cuts on paper, then went to the mill with him to ensure I got the most from my logs. He said he never cut a log up that way before, and would not have done it how we did if I was't there. I directed almost every cut he made and was very pleased with the results.

I need to get some things around the house caught up, and then I'll be processing some more yew and osage logs. I'll try to remember to take some pics of the process and post them here.