Roughing out a Selfbow - Published 2005

[John Scifres]

Here is my technique for roughing out an osage bow.  It includes chasing a ring.  I hope it instructs.

  Roughing out an Osage Bow

[walkabout]

very cool, got it bookmarked. i use my bandsaw similarly to rough  out my staves, but my bandsaw isnt very fond of cutting the thick stuff.lol.

[red hill]

Very good tutorial, John.
Stan

[Schmidtster]

Thats awesome there are alot of things I was wondering about making a selfbow that I get now, one thing I was wondering is if anyone has ever made one from crab apple or horse apple trees I have a couple that my dad cut down that look like they could make a real nice stave.

[John Scifres]

If by "horseapple" you mean osage orange, often called hedgeapple also, it is the best wood I have used.  That is what this tutorial uses.

[Osagetree]

Looks alot easier than reducing it with a drawknife. Though I have become very efficient in doing such work by hand, the bandsaw approach surely looks much easier on the hands and back. I did buy a band saw 14" a couple of years ago but like walkabout said, it seemed to have trouble with the thick 1/4 split staves.

I changed to a 3TPI blade which helped but didn't get the results your saw seems to get. Maybe my problem is the tension and speed of the blade?

I'll go back to your tut to see if you mention blade and speed but, if not can you touch base on these two subjects?

Thanks for being a good mentor to all interested. Your assistance means alot to many I am sure of that John!!!

Thanks again,
Joe

[George Tsoukalas]

John, you make me wish I had  a bow grade bandsaw.  Nice tutorial.    Jawge

[Osagetree]

Do you think this saw should be adequate for the job? 14", 1 horse power, 3 speed & handles up to 1/2" blades.

Tell me what I need to make this work in regards to speed, blade size & TPI!

 
 
 

[John Scifres]

Timberwolf bandsaw blades are the best.  Get their catalog which has a tuning guide.  I use 4 tpi.  Timberwolf Bandsaw Blades  

If your saw will tune and has the equivalent to my 1/2 HP 1985 US made Craftsman, it should do the job.  Green wood is better.  I now rough out all my wood while it is green and it makes an enormous difference.

[walkabout]

i agree that good blades are key. i run 6tpi i think, which is the most agressive i could get close to home. blade tension also plays a part in it because if the blade is very tight it robs power from the saw. ideally you want a good blade that has been tuned to your saw to cut best. also a wider thicker blade is better for precise cuts as they dont flex so much. not trying to hijack your thread john just thought it might be helpful. i used to use a Central machinery 9 inch bandsaw, it wasnt too bad after being tuned properly.

[Bob Tebeau]

I have that same saw, does a great job for me.

[Eric Krewson]

Use a 1/2" 3 TPI skip tooth blade and you will have no problem slicing up osage.

Don't cut through the bark as it is filled with blade dulling grit. I remove the bark with a drawknife(easy)before I run a stave through my bandsaw.

I don't try to remove the entire layer of sapwood with my bandsaw, I slice away foot long strips while rotating the stave until I have the majority removed. This saves a lot of work with my drawknife.