Working on first osage bow

[Bowkill II]

I am currently working on my first osage bow.  I am trying for a 56" longbow with flipped ends, pulling 50# at 26".
I just cut my log 5 days ago, and split it.  TOday I worked it down to one ring.  I have sealed the ends, and the back, to slow dry time.  The stave has a little propeller twist, but I think it looks pretty good so far.  Is this as far as I should go?  Can I go ahead and cut it down to bow shape?  Right now it is 60" long, by 4 inches across, and about 1-2 inches thick.  I would also love any input on dimensions I should use.  I was thinking of about 2" with a slightly bendy handle.

[Bowkill II]

Anybody have any suggestions.  I'm very new to this.  (I have built 3 board bows) I need all the help I can get!!

[Walt Francis]

Ramo,
If you are going to make a bend through the handle you should be alright, but I would make it at least 1 3/4" wide.

Go ahead and reduce the width of the stave to 2" and the limbs to an inch except in the handle area.  Make sure it is sealed good.  The best directions I know for quick drying Osage are in the book "Hunting the Osage Bow" by Dean Torges, which I highly recommend to anybody who wants to build a stave selfbow.

[Bowkill II]

Thanks a ton Walt, I'll go ahead and cut it down to 2" wide.  I'm sealing it with clearcoat paint.

Thanks again.

Ramo

[Shaun]

Should be no problem if you keep the draw legth short like you plan. You can rough the bow down to a "blank" (finished shape but about 1/4" extra wood in all dementions) and seal the back, ends and don't forget the end grain at the handle area on the belly. You can use shellac for sealer instead of the expensive clear coat. Some folks (like Dean) recommend using steam to staighten and untwist a green stave - later you will need to use dry heat if the stave has been dried. Quick drying in a heat box or similar environment will give you workable wood in a short time.

Be sure to rough out a couple more blanks to let dry slowly for later.

[John Scifres]

Nice start.  Make sure and post pics of your progress.  We want to see.

[Bowkill II]

O.K.  I steamed the area where the twist was, and now have the tips on approximately the same plane, and most of the limbs line up nice, except the 5-7 inches in the middle.  The stave is 2" wide, and in that area a string ran from middle of tip to middle of tip, just barely touches the stave.  I guess you could say the stave has a little u-shape near the handle.  Do I need to bend this out also, or use it for my arrow side.

[John Scifres]

As long as the handle and the tips are in the same plane that the string would make when pulled, you do not have to correct the snaky part.  Use a string with weight on both ends to see if it will bisect the handle.  If not, you should correct it.

I have a tutorial on how I rough out a bow on my website:    Roughing Out a Bow

[Bowkill II]

Thanks John.  I just added your web site to my favorites!