Osage first try (ding ding)

[John Scifres]

You got it bud. Good work. Carry on.

[SEMO_HUNTER]

It looks to me like your still trimming off sapwood Kelly?
You gotta get all that white wood off before you can even see what your working with. You may have something totally different underneath? Those cracks in the sapwood will also disappear when you get down to the yellow wood....or you may need to take a couple of the rings off to get below them. I just did one exactly like it yesterday and removed 3 rings to get below the sapwood cracks. Nice looking wood underneath and several of the pin knots disappeared in the process.

[KellyG]

Hova I know what you are talking about and that is not the same as going thru the late growth to the early. You are smooth then verum verum.

ruddy thanks

Thanks John that was my test run at a know while I had plenty of wood I will dig in and get to my ring. I have 9 of those little buggers down the middle.

I don't want to stear any other wrong so input is great.
Kelly

[KellyG]

Semo,
Yep that was the last little bit I left around the knots. I hope they go. I was just trying to practice on them now before I screw it up. I will dig in and remove some wood now.
Thanks,
kelly

[SEMO_HUNTER]

It's a little confusing working your first Osage stave down, I know all too well. You will be a pro by the time you get to your second one, then the 3rd, 4th, and 5th don't seem quite so over whelming.
It's good that your going easy on it.
I just don't get too excited about the pin knots until I get all the sapwood off and get closer to my target ring.

Listen to these other guys though cause they have been at it longer than me.
If I would have had more time before I sent that stave out, the sapwood would have already been gone before you got it. Although, it's good experience for you that will help later on when you cut some of your own.

[Pat B]

Coming along nicely, Kelly. Keep it up, slow and steady!

[KellyG]

Semo and pat thanks

I am glad The sap wood was on, trail by fire baby. I did do a little more work go about a 1/3 down to the first heart wood ring. I will try to follow it the lenght of the bow. It is not the one I want but a dry run. I also used the edge of the draw knife (right and Left or corner for lack of a better word.
I think I may have started at the wrong end the narrow end or the top. Every time I got the other way I get big spliters up with very little pressure with bevel side down.
drawing towards me bevel is up and I am cutting/scrapping it more.

Thanks again,
Kelly

[KellyG]

Ok so I thought I would get a little done. I am still working on getting down to one ring (a test ring if you will) I am working on getting comfortable with the draw knife. I did a lot of work tonight with just it. I have about 20" to go and I will be down to one ring across the whole back. I am not using it as the back of the bow for 3 reasons. 1) I know I have violated the ring somewhere  to many pin knots for me to not have. 2) The cracks in it thus far; they are a lot small than when I started and I will remove a lot more wood (around an inch).  3) I want that first fat one really bad, don't know why but that is what I want.
Here it is almost to one ring.
 
Tomorrow night I will get that last 20".
How's it look so far?
Thanks Kelly

[Pat B]

Kelly, do you have superglue? If so put some in that crack(check). It will stop any more cracking. You might end up loosing it all together but it is just a little insurance.
  Once you get to the heartwood you will deffinately feel and hear the difference in the early/late woods when you work with your draw knife.

[scrub-buster]

I wish the Ferret's how-to on the osage bow thread still had the pictures with it.  It would be great for you to read.

[KellyG]

pat I will put it in, in the morning just got done sending out pms for the swap.

[Dale Hajas]

Kelly- you're doing fine. Welcome to the selfbow fraternity! I'm a hickory kinda guy but I'm also working on a snakey sage stave right now. I'm watching you!    

One of my favorite tools is a planer blade that I use to follow rings after a draw knife. You'll find stuff like that on yer own as you do more. Some guys use a pc of glass which actually may work well around your pin knots.

Good luck Sir!!

[red hill]

Keep at it, Kelly. I'm learning quite a bit following along. In fact I have an osage cut and waiting at my father-in-law's place. Plan to go get it this weekend and try to harvest a few more staves.
 
Stan

[hova]

lookin peachy sarge. keep at it , you got plenty of time ...


maybe next year someone else will have to 0fficiate it , cause you couldnt be a participant and an officiatOR ...


anyway ,looks awesome , great job

-hov

[KellyG]

Ok got one ring here it is my test just to see what I can do. Did it all with draw knife.
 
Now I have started to get down to the ring above the one I wanted. You can also see a pin knot that I have left a buildup of wood around.
 
 I only got about a third of the way down the stave on this ring. I will finish up tomorrow.  getting to the ring.  now to bring it down to the last ring I put up the drawknife and scrap or sand down to the my ring; correct?
I also put more super glue in it. I am truly worried about the very dry humidity even with the recent rains it seem the crack grow every day.  The one I pained the back on seems good but I left it out side for 2 days and just brought it in. I may have to look into a humidifier. The shower as suggest would be good but I am afraid it would not be there when I returned to get it.
I have been thinking about the design and I think I am going for the same nn as my long bow so I can use it's string.  Long and sleek narrow limbs and 45-50# @27".  
They are cutting down some old eucalyptus and some have this reddish brown or burgundy color I am think about getting a small pieces for overlays. If I cut some and split it I will lay it with the Osage to see how it looks with it.
thanks for looking,
Kelly

[SEMO_HUNTER]

What crack are you speaking of that's growing??
I must have missed that part.

Otherwise, great work! Your doing just fine.

[broketooth]

looks good to me so far kelly, you need to show better pics of where you are at so far. so we can see a better pic of what im guessing to be a linear crack. hopefully soon i will have another osage stave. for the tg bow swap. i will do a complete follow-a- long on chasing a ring for this build. keep us posted i think you are doin great. ruddy

[KellyG]

Semo on page 6 the Pick of the back where I am playing with the knots you see the cracks in the sap wood. They are still there not as wide but there. some have gone and I still have to get the hole log down to that one ring above the one I am planning to use. Once there I will get some more PIC of the back.
Kelly

[SEMO_HUNTER]

Keep working it down and hopefully you will get below the cracks that were in the sapwood. I've been processing some staves lately that I left the sapwood on and they had done the same thing. I did get below the cracks and into fresh wood with plenty to spare. I'm fairly certain that yours will too. At least I sure hope so.

[KellyG]

Ok got up to go run 8 or so miles and it is rain, I ain't sugar or the other stuff, but I still dont like running in the rain. So I snapped a PIC of the super glue in the crack. It is something that was suggested and I started doing. this is in the ring above the one I want..
 
How is that ruddy, does it help?
Kelly