OSAGE TREES

[wildcat hunter]

My neighbor had a large Osage tree blow down a couple weeks ago. I offered to but it from him but he thinks its worth a pile of $$ ( I offered $100.00 for 1 limb ). I am wondering if anyone near Bedford County PA might be interested in some of the tree. We may be able to get together and buy the whole tree. My e-mail is [email protected]. And - there are 19 trees at this 1 spot and some more further up on the farm.

[Roy from Pa]

I have been told that limbs are not the best bow wood.

[scrub-buster]

Wait until your neighbor finds out its not worth a lot of money.  You might get a lot more than 1 limb for $100.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Not to be rude but if I was gonna spend that kinda money for one limb I would save it and buy a quality stave or two.
 To my knowledge it's not worth that kind of money especially a limb, and you got to do all the work. I'd tell him to have someone else to come cut it up if he thinks he can get 100.00 for the whole tree.
 It ain't gonna happen. He would most likely have to pay someone more than that to cut it up and haul it off if he can't do it himself. I would of thought that you where doing him a favor just offering to get rid of it for him unless he wants to build bows out of it then it might be like pulling teeth. LOL
 Good luck but don't let him skin you over some osage. If you need some that bad and can't cut it fir free spemd the money on gas and come to IN and I'll send you home with a good log or two.
 The biggest problem with finding osage in this part of the country ain't really finding it, It's finding some that is good enough.

[Pat B]

I would maybe take the tree down and out for the wood but wouldn't pay him a cent. If he thinks it is worth so much, let him cut it into staves and sell them. Contact Mike McGuire. you will get a lot more for your money!

[DVSHUNTER]

I'm with the rest of the guys. I get my osage from a guy who sells it as fenceposts and he only charges me thirty dollars a log. It is some of the best stuff I have ever seen and he even loads it for me. I can usually get at least five stave per log.

[Osagetree]

I hate tight *(($X! people! I'd set back and watch what happens. He'll soon wish he'd let you have it all for free.

[Eric Krewson]

Don't give the guy $100 for a limb! Limbs are full of pin knots and generally poor bow wood.

Only about one in a hundred osage trees are bow quality wood and it is unlikely this tree is worth fooling with.

I second the suggestion to contact Mike McGuire. For a little more than half what what this guy wants you can have a primo osage stave delivered to your door already worked to one grain on the back.

I can PM contact info if you are interested.

[ALW]

I haven't bought any osage but Mike McGuire was at the ATAR last year with a bunch of osage and he had some really nice looking stuff.  His prices looked pretty good to me.  I almost bought a really clean stave for $25.  It was a little small and probably would't have make a real heavy weight bow, but I thought the price was good.  He seemed like a really nice guy as well.  Come down to the ATAR shoot this year and you could pick some up.

Aaron

[John Scifres]

I have a limb I'll sell you for $100  

I have sold a bunch of osage and if I were to count my labor, I would be on the losing end of it     Thank God I love cutting and messing with the stuff.

[wildcat hunter]

Thanks guys, I know he is trying to rip me off but the limb I offered to buy is 8" in diameter and 15-20 feet long. The tree is over 2 feet at the base and ??? 20+ feet high. Of course its got all the twists etc but some parts would make a few 6 foot staves. I will take the advice offered and let him do whatever with it, no doubt he will cut it for firewood. Thanks

[tah-gah-jute]

that size diameter tree he'll beat his brains out getting staves split out of it.

[Tom Leemans]

Let him start cutting it after no one else will, then renegotiate.

[wildcat hunter]

GOT THE TREE!! He came up to me and said I could have it. All he wants is the leftover cut and split into firewood. I was mistaken about the size, the main trunk it 30" for 7', 2 limbs breaking off are 12" and 15" dia. They taper down to 6" at about 20 feet!! Its a BIG tree!! My friend and I cut 6 logs off it so far and lots to go. I guess all I had to do was wait.

[scrub-buster]

Great job.  I had a feeling he would change his mind after he tried to mess with it.  There is not to many people that have a use for an osage tree.  Bowyers are probably the only ones.

[Eric Krewson]

My advice on the big trunk is to make your first split with a chain saw. Once you have it in halve, splitting the rest is much easier.

My friend George and I hauled a huge osage tree out of the woods that George wanted, close to 30" in diameter.

 

I wanted to make the first split with a chain saw, George wanted to split it the old fashion way.

 

The temperature was over 100 every day and it took George a month to reduce this pile to staves.

 

The bad part was after all this work the osage was substandard, brittle and didn't make good bows. Most of it went to George's burn pile.

[JF]

sounds as though he should have paid you well over $100 to do that work for him? John