I was pondering in my bowshop...

[DVSHUNTER]

after a  fun day of bowbuilding somewhere other than my bowshop, I was taking a look around at my garage and how much bigger it looks without all the bow building stuff in it when I saw a stave I have that still has bark on it. I walked over to it and started looking it over. I remember a story I once read called the crooked stave and looked at this giant dry stave of osage and looked over the rings and then frowned at the tiny rings near the top. There were some great rings under the small ones but there wouldn't be enough wood left for a handle if I went to them. I decided that it is possible to work a ring down from the inner wood and end up with a fine bow. I was thinking if I go to the right ring I may even be able to have a little pool of white sapwood on the back of my handle. Has anyonne ever done this before? Do you think it will work?

[DVSHUNTER]

this is a pic of the stave in question. I think it would be pretty cool. The growth rings seem to be more dense at the end of summer I guess it would be.?  I'm not worried about chasing a ring in this stave, just about how the wood will take the stress being "backwards"

[George Tsoukalas]

But you'll end up with sapwood and heartwood on the back. That is if I understand you. It's hard but rings 1/16 in thick can be chased. Jawge

[2treks]

I think you want the bow to come out of the stave "Backwards" right? meaning that the belly will be the outside(bark side) of the tree/stave and the back will be from the inside of the split.
I would decrown it and back it. I never did what you are thinking.
Chuck

[DVSHUNTER]

you have it right two tracks. I want a little sapwood in my gripjust for looks

[Pat B]

Remove the sapwood, chase the next ring down even if it is thin and make it your back. If you are unsure about it back it with rawhide.
  With the convex rings like you want, you are making things more difficult than chasing that thin ring. I have made many thin ringed osage bows that shoot as well as any. On some of these I did use a rawhide backing.

[John Scifres]

On rigid handle bows:

You can leave a little sapwood just in the handle area anytime you want for looks.  Even if you chase the deeper rings. I have often left rings on top of the handle to make it thicker there.  In other words, you don't have to chase the ring in the handle area.  

You can also glue a handle piece on the belly if you have to chase a deeper ring.  I've done that a lot too.  A darker wood for contrast looks really nice.

I've made a backwards bow and it works but if your stave has any crown at all, it isn't really worth it.

[DVSHUNTER]

I know I can back this piece of osage and make a bow from it in the old humdrum way. I have thought about glueing a hande on it as well, but i want to make this guy backwards.  I'm not doing it for lack of bow wood, just for spits and grins. The stave is going to end up with a flat backed bow with the growth ring I am after should end up about 1/4 in thick for the back.

[SourOwl]

DAVE - I SAY GO FOR IT.  CONSIDER: WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A BOARD BOW, YOU USUALLY CAN'T TELL WHICH FACE WAS THE ONE TOWARD THE SAPWOOD ANYWAY, AND THEY STILL GET A GOOD BOW.  CAREFUL RING-FOLLOWING, AND I'LL BE SURPRISED IF IT DOESN'T WORK; AND IF IT DOESN'T, YOU TRIED WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO ANYWAY.   MIKE IN ELMA

[DVSHUNTER]

I think I am going for it. I will post pics as I build to show everyone

[DVSHUNTER]

I think I am going for it. I will post pics as I build to show everyone

[John Scifres]

The wood doesn't care which way you bend it.  It's just tougher to chase a concave ring.  A flat growth makes it a moot point.  Go for it.

I think it was Rusty Craine who postulated a few years ago about making a backwards bow to take advantage of the increased strength of the curved limbs like the ACS bows are made.  I have a stave set aside to try it someday.

[DVSHUNTER]

john, thank you. Your reply was spot on. I didn't think the wood cared which way it bent. I figured the wind blows em all directions, why can't they bend all directions in a bow. I would like to see any pictures there might be of some osage bows witth sapwood on them. Especially any with it on the belly side on the handle

[Gray Buffalo]

I thought I was going to read something about a neat bow, work shop and ended up reading about some screwed up wood.

 

[Gray Buffalo]

Well What say you Dave?

[DVSHUNTER]

I would say that the piece is  not screwed up yet, cuz I haven't touched it yet, and I guess it could be worse... It could look like that stave of yours ;-)

[Art B]

Since you're planning on reversing the growth rings it's going to be interesting to learn if the beginning year's growth of your back ring is as good in tension as it normally would be in it's final year's growth. Any pin knots (their backsides) will be more pronounced or larger closer to the stave's center. Your stave pretty clear towards it's heart?  ART

[DVSHUNTER]

yes art, the stave is very clean. I hope they do not care which way they bend them as stated before.

[Bert Frelink]

David,
The first thing every one tells you is to take the sapwood of Osage, my very first Osage bow, made under the tutelige(sp) of a very well known bowyer,forced us to leave the sapwood on the Osage as the piece was of very questionable quality. That was about 12 or so years ago the bow is still going strong, I have since made a number of sapwood backed Osage bows just to prove a point I guess, and they all are shooting just fine and looking very cool   . I would say go for it and let us follow along we all might learn something here, you never know untill you try.
Good luck.
Regards.
Bert.    

[Roy Steele]

When ever I can I like to use the ring right under the sap wood.Maybe I'm just lazy but I was taught as long as the first rings not broken it will make the back of the bow just fine.
 AS for your question yes I built a mullberry bow like this once.