advice cutting osage trees

[cnowheels]

Getting ready to cut down a few osage trees. What steps should I take or what to look for. What dia. is best? Do bowers want logs split? Should ends be glued or painted? How long to dry?
Any help would be great.

[scrub-buster]

Study the bark and make sure it doesn't spiral around the tree.  Try to find sections without limbs.  I have cut everything from 3"-24" diameter.  I would say cut as big of pieces as you are willing to get out of the woods.  Seal the ends as soon as you cut them.  Use poly, shellac, glue, paint, etc. to seal the ends.  I apply several coats.  I would at least split them in half.  Keep them dry and out of the sun if you can.

[Eric Krewson]

Another word of advise; Don't put more trees on the ground than you can process to staves in a month or so, you will have some wood ruin(bugs, checking etc) if you do.

I used to cut osage like a mad man. I would split, debark and remove the sapwood every waking moment I could but you hit a wall after about a month. My hands would swell up like sausages from so much drawknifing.

After a while I wouldn't want to even see an osage tree much less work on one.

Some of my wood was neglected and became firewood before I worked it down to staves.

I learned that one tree at a time worked for me.

Here is a gag picture I took of one of those days I cut far more osage than I could handle.

I told people I would split osage until I passed out and resume the process when I came to. Not really of course but a bunch of folk thought the picture was real.

 

[TimBoA]

Eric, that is really hilarious.  It reminds me of those "Maggie" McGee bowhunting books, except there would be a stuffed bear somewhere in the photo...

If you are asking whether to cut the logs lengthwise vs. split them, the answer is split - wood for bowmaking needs to follow the grain.  Sorry if I misunderstood - it just sounds like you are cutting them for others.  I agree with at least splitting in half.  You may want to score them with a shallow cut from a circular saw to help them split straighter, if that is an option.

[scrub-buster]

Be carefull starting the split with a saw.  You can violate the grain of the wood easily.  Splitting with wedges will follow the grain of the wood.

[Osagetree]

You guys and your chainsaws    

Just joking!

Eric, that's a cool pic. Been there & done that. Only difference, I was puking and not passing out...

[cnowheels]

Thanks for the help. Timboa I was thinking of others who may want it. I will never be able to use it all,unless for firewood. Some of trees are really twisted but there is some good stuff to.

[scrub-buster]

Originally posted by Osagetree:
You guys and your chainsaws    

Just joking!

Eric, that's a cool pic. Been there & done that. Only difference, I was puking and not passing out...

Joe, when I got that chainsaw stuck we almost had to get out my two man buck saw.  That was our last resort.

[Eric Krewson]

I almost always cut wood by myself, usually on a summer day.

When I had the choice of pounding on wedges for over an hour to make that first split in a huge osage trunk or popping it in two in about 5 minutes with my chainsaw, the chainsaw won every time.

After I got it halved, the other splits were done properly with wedges and my sledge. It was that first split that was so difficult, the rest were much easier.

Sure, I buggered up the side grain on a few staves but that was easily cut around later when I debarked, removed the sapwood and reduced my staves to their final dimensions.