Osage Flatbow (Finished Pics)

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Hey Jim,
They are talking bout not sealing the belly area of the stave.
 You can chase it down to a ring and seal the back and the ends with shellac leaving it off the belly area so the moisture can escape.
 4x6 ?
 I'm assuming a 4x6 post.

[4est trekker]

Jim:  Often times Native American tribes would work their green staves down to bow dimensions, which was much easier with primitive tools than working with seasoned wood.  They would floor tiller the bow green, which really won't cause any damage to the green wood, and then coat the stave in fat, grease, etc.  Many times they would store their bow in the tops of their dwellings where smoke would waft around it.  They allowed the stave to season this way.

Today, I often do something very similar.  The more wood that is present, the higher the risk of checking.  I split my staves down to a bit more width than I need for one bow, but leave them several inches longer than needed to allow for possible end checking.  I then take the bark and sapwood off the back (unless it's a whitewood stave, in which case I just take off the outer bark).  I then immediately seal the ends and back will paint or glue.  I will then work the bow to very rough dimensions with a hatchet, leaving the back and plenty of length on the ends in tact.  If I need to correct a limb twist or desire to add any reflex/recurve, I will clamp the bow in the position.  If not, I clamp it straight to a 2x4 and allow it to season.  The benefits are as follows;

1)  Green wood is easier to work (unless you're working with seasoned osage, which I find to be a dream to work with hand tools)

2) You can correct twists/add reflex without heating or steaming the wood

3) You stave is seasoned in a fraction of the time it would take if left as a log or even full stave.

4) You reduce the chance of checking.

Now, I did NOT use this method on this bow, as the tree belongs to my brother-in-law.  We simply split the log into staves (LOTS of them!) and sealed the ends.  The stave above did suffer from some checking, but leaving it thicker and longer than the future bow insured the checking would not jeopardize the future bow.

To each his own.  There are as many ways to season wood as there are bowyers.  Many will disagree with my method, and that is okay.  Maybe some other guys will post some things we can all learn from.  Good luck!

[Pat B]

You could use a 2x4 on edge as a form to clamp your stave to. With a little shaping you could make your form so your stave will dry with a slight reflex.
   Jim, even if the belly checks a bit it is not detrimental to the health of the ultimate bow. By taking the stave down to floor tiller stage you have reduced and evened out the thickness enough so the drying process is more uniform than if it were thicker and with the uneven, wedge shape of a raw stave. It is the differences in drying rates between the inside and outside of the stave that causes the problems.

[4est trekker]

Here's some updated pictures of the straightening process.  Each limb had a slight propeller twist, and so I reversed the twist.  In the second picture below you can see they've been slightly overcorrected in the opposite direction.  Also, one limb had a pronounced curve to it.  You can see that it, too, has been overcorrected slightly in the opposite direction.  

Here's a picture of the stave being straightened and given a little reflex.  I rub oil on the stave, heat it up with the heat gun, begin to move the limb and  clamp it once it starts to give, heat it some more, and then move the clamps some more until I get it to where I need to be.   Then I wrap the entire limb in foil and give it a thorough heating again.  

 

 Here's what it came out like:

 

Then, in order to add a little more reflex at the tips I put it on another jig and do the same the process, only this time working the last 12" or so of the limb:

 

 

I guess we'll find out in three or four days how it all went.  I fear I may have to give the limb with the curve a little more correction in the opposite direction to get it to end up straight.  But, we'll see!    

[4est trekker]

Now it's starting to look like a bow.  I got it rehydrated and have been working on retillering this evening.  The limb straightening worked well, and so far it appears I added just the right amout of over correction.  I shot the bow about 40 times, and it hasn't budged since pulling into line during retillering.  Here's some pictures of the progress.  The first three were taken just after unstringing.  The tips are dead even just after unstringing and then settle back to about 3/4" of reflex.

 

(It looks like a pin knot in the upper limb in the picture, but it's just a pencil mark.)
 
 

 

 

 

 

The outer third of the limbs are working more than they appear in the full draw pic.  It shoots very well and is pulling 46# @ 26".

[Mike Yancey]

Good job!
Mike

[Art B]

Real nice 4est! Now aren't you glad you straightened that puppy up?     :D  ART

[Igor]

Great looking bow!

Thanks for sharing

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Glenn

[bjansen]

What a beauty!  Great work.

[dutchwarbow]

that's a fine bow with a beautyfull tiller!!

I'd like to see the tips a little narrower tho   :rolleyes:  

I completely share your thoughts about working on green staves. It's much easier and faster, simply said.

If you do it correctly, you'll need less than half the efford of bringing a stave down to bowsize when wet. If you leave the limbs nicely wide, the bow a little longer, and tiller it for a few inches, the stave could be fully dried within 2 weeks. 2 months after floortillering should be plenty.

I usually wait 2 months, tiller it halfways, then give it a nice temper. after a couple of days to a week of rehydatation, the bow is perfectly dried, tempered, and ready to rock'n roll.

I'm going to work on some oak staves soon, trying to get a nice oak-stave bow buildalong. Hope you're gonna like it!!

Nick

[4est trekker]

Thanks, Nick.  The tips appear to be tree trunks in the picture, but my camera is skewing the view a great deal.  The tips are just a tad under half inch.  The fades are just over  1 1/4".  That's all I could get out of this particular stave.  I would like to have more width at the fades, but it's only 46# @ 26"and a few inches longer than necessary, so it'll be fine.

Going to finish up the wenge tip overlays, sand and burnish, finish the handle, sign it, and then it's off to my brother-in-law for his Christmas present.  He's a crack shot with a bow, and hasn't shot more than a dozen times in his life.  He's a real natural, and kicked everybody's butt at the last 3D shoot I took him to.  I let him shoot my osage character bow and he drooled so much on it I decided to give him one of his own so he wouldn't ruin the finish on mine.    

[kat]

Fine job.  The tiller looks great.  Your brother-in-law should be thrilled.
Wish we had osage growing around this neck of the woods.

[Pat B]

Well done 4est!

[Bob Barnes]

great job Curt... your friend will be very happy with that bow.
Merry Christmas.
Bob

[razorsharptokill]

What about if the limbs are a little snakey? Do you profile the limb with straight edges or let it follow the grain?

[Pat B]

With selfbows you always follow the grain and the up and down undulations along the back are mirrored along the belly too.

[razorback]

Very nice 4Est, don't forget some finished pics especially with your brother in law playing with his new toy.

[4est trekker]

My brother in law loves his bow.  Actually, I do, too.  This one was a little hard to give away.  I'll post finished pictures later.  His first question was, "So when are we going turkey hunting?". Now he's speaking my language!

[StanM]

Looking forward to the finished pics, nice job. Again!

[4est trekker]

Here's some finished pictures, minus a few details.  It's got 5 coats of wax now, but will get a couple more.  I used finishing wax for the first three coats, and then Birchwood Casey's Gunstock Wax for the all the others.  I'll cut then shine when the finals coats are applied.  I put on a floppy rest, my absolute favorite.  The tips overlays are wenge.