Trying - To Get My Hands/Head Back Into It

[ber643]

OK (besides some other things I had to do) I got to work on my stave today and it went pretty well.

One side of two limbs taken down with a tiny amount of Draw knife work, a goodly amount with various rasps, and some with a cabinet Scraper:

 

Second side of one limb done and one side of the other one left to go:

 

Decided to see (while working on last side with Farriers Rasp) to see if I could take my first timed self pic (my wife was busy with the new pup). As you can see I didn't realize I needed to face a tad more towards camera for tool to show - LOL:

 

I was ready to finish up with the cabinet scrapper so figured I'd try one more timed self pic - a little better outcome:

 

Here is the stave with sides taken down (handle and fades not shaped). Next session I'll take the belly down some and then chase the back a tad more and see how it comes out. Looking a little more like a bow shape now(?):

 

[George Tsoukalas]

Hi Bernie! Good to see you making bows. It's good fun. It keeps me off the streets. Bring it up. I'll help you.    jawge

[ber643]

My sister would sure pitch in with you, trying to convince me to make a trip up there, jawge, but I fear it's not in the cards - especially while it's winter time - LOL. Thanks for the offer though, and you are definitely right - anyone who doesn't at least give making a bow a try, is sure missing a bunch of life's available joys (and frustrations     ).

[George Tsoukalas]

It's 15 deg right now, Bernie, and it is supposed to warm up to the 40's. But it is nice and warm inside my shop. It is heated. Bernie, since you can't come up. There is an osage buildalong or 2 on my site.    Jawge
 http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/

[ber643]

Brrrrrrrrrrrr, sorry about that, friend. Actually i have your site "Bookmarked", jawge, but haven't been there in a while (I hate to admit). Thanks for the reminder about the Osage bow Build-a-longs.    

[ber643]

Today I was pretty much at the point where I need to let the stave stay horizontal for a week or so, though I've also kept it that way for a couple days now anyway. However, Before I hold up altogether I decided to take most of the rough (heartwood) off the belly, to preclude splinters in the hands, and allow the moisture content to stabilize, as suggested, easier. I also did a tad more work on the back but only with a scraper. Here are some pics of how she looks now.

The Belly with the majority of the rough heartwood removed (just a bunch of fiberous junk), with light drawknife work and a scraper. Proposed bottom limb at the left in these pics:

 

I took this picture of the side/edge just to show the depth still left:

 

Next three pics are of the back, in sections, from left/bottom to right/top after the scraper work - these colors are still baffling me as far as a ring goes, I'm afraid, though I guess it does look a little better:

 

The brush was under the stave to make it lay level for the pics:

 

 

You can see in the center pic that I still have left the handle and fades just marked but not edged, or even scraped any further on the back. Thanks for looking.

[KochNE]

I love all the knots & character in that stave.  Looks like quite a challenge, but definitely worth it in the end.  Good Luck!

[ber643]

I'm hoping, Koch.

I had meant to also post pics of the ends but forgot to take them last night. Here they are now - better late than never. I'll probably need to take the back down just a tad more - carefully, before I go to work on the belly.

Bottom (1 1/8' x 15/16"):

   

Top (7/8" x 3/4"):

   

Note: The florescent lights made them a little yellower but I guess that's OK for Osage - LOL.
.................................

After taking care of this post, I went and read jawge's two Osage builds on his web site. A lot of valuable info there and great review to read every now and then.

[Art B]

From your pics Bernie, doesn't look like you're down to a single growth ring from end to end, yet? Perhaps you finished that after you posted the pics.?

Probably by the time you get 'er bending (floor tillered) you will have equalled the MC out enough to procede to your tillering board.

[vanillabear?]

[ber643]

LOL - I'm not so sure I do either, vb    :confused:   .

I don't really think I am yet, Art (and I know the handle/fades area isn't yet but I'll get that in line with the rest of the back next time I attack it). I keep hoping, each time I scrape on it a little, that the look of it will change and give me a better
indication but it doesn't seem to be changing much for me, so far.

[ber643]

Did some more (a fair amount) of scraping on the back. Took these two pics, one from above (a kitchen step ladder - LOL). It does look more like it might be one ring but still the patterns are weird (to me).

From Above(the flash washed out the center a bit):

 

From the end (more the actual colors):

 

[Art B]

Can't really tell for sure Burnie but looks like that discoloration is from violated rings. Can you give us a close up look see?

[red hill]

Good pics, Bernie. Although I'm not very experienced with osage at all, the back does look odd. Keep it goin' so I can learn more.
Stan

[ber643]

I'll do my best, red hill.

Art I will take another series of close-ups along the stave length. They seem to look that way to me too - except they keep coming and going without very deep scraping at all though. I guess that could be because of the thinness of the rings and not being used to seeing that. I'll take & post some pics as soon as it gets light - maybe even do them outside. It's driving me bananas -           (Not really, I'm enjoying it except I'd really like to see a nice "clear" back like I'm used to in/on an Osage.) Wonder if sanding would be better than scraping       :confused:   We'll see what the close-ups show y'all.

Wonder if it could be from bug spraying (while it was in Linc's woodpile). The worm holes did not go very deep under the bark and no worms were still in it, of course - too old.

[ber643]

OK - it's a little foggy this AM but I think the close-ups came out ok. I hope good enough to help folks see what the status of the back is. The top pic is the bottom of the stave, 3rd pic is handle/fades area (unshaped), and the last is the top of stave and top tip (hopefully):

 

 

 

 

 

[Art B]

Those new pics help a lot Bernie. That discolorationg is for sure from ring violation. If you can work it out in the natural light you will be more successful in catching that one single ring you need going from end to end. A tall order you got there even for the best of us.

[ber643]

WOW - guess I better just use steel wool, and put all my other tools out of reach for now -    :D  

Oh well, more fun than real folks, huh? Thanks for the look-see, Art. I'll get 'er right yet, if I don't run out of wood first -    

[Pat B]

Bernie, I'm just seeing this. You are doing good so far. I know Ruddy has been a help. He catches on quick! d;^)
  A little trick I use with thin ringed osage is to find the very top ring amoung the managerie of rings and trace it's outline with a bold pencil line. This will help you remove one ring at a time and will help to keep it from being so confusing. Once you get the top ring off mark out the next and so on until you are down to one continuous ring for the back.

[ber643]

Yes, he does, Pat, and fortunately he "remembers" what he catches on to - LOL.

That sounds like a good and sensible big "little trick", buddy. Is there also a trick for making sure the one you find is   the  top ring, or is it not as critical just as long as it is   one  of the top ones? I do understand that it would, of course, be best if you could do it in sequence (sort of like the layers of a violated onion), so that you don't accidentally violate another ring.