First time help!

[dixiearcher]

Ok so I read a thread on here a couple days ago about us southern boys who don't have access to osage using ironwood instead. Well I have an opportunity to select and cut an ironwood tree this weekend and a friend of a friend has a sawmill and has offered to cut it up for me...however...I do not know how long to cut it or what to tell him to do to get a good stave (which part of the log, etc)...I have about a 27" draw length and would like a bow between 50 and 60lbs. I like a longer bow but I am willing to try whatever? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Eric Krewson]

You need to split your staves out instead of saw them. Make your bow 1 1/2" wide and 64" ntn, this length will accommodate your draw easily.

[dixiearcher]

What is the best way to split them?

[SEMO_HUNTER]

I usually try to split them where the natural cracks are already started on the bottom ends of the log cause that's where it wants to split anyway. Going against that is a bit of a chore but can be done. If no natural splits are already started then look at the log for any knots or other anomolies that you would like to avoid and try to split a good clean piece of wood from in between those knotty places. Your looking for the cleanest stave piece you can get out of that log to make the back of your bow.

Why don't you have access to osage? Arkansas and south Missouri is absolutely filthy with the stuff. I bet if you ask around somebody would let you cut some hedge on their place as long as you clean up the mess when your done.

Just take a drive around and see how many you see from the road, then when you find a nice patch go to the nearest farm house and introduce yourself. Most farmers/landowners consider hedge to be a nuisance and don't mind letting a guy cut some down. It's the mess that's left behind that they are concerned about, so reassure them that you will stack the brush wherever they would like it when your done.

Good Luck!

[dixiearcher]

My grandpa has about 40 acres in central arkansas which is the heart of the timber industry so there are few patches of hardwoods left around his place...we couldn't find osage but we found lots of ironwood that he said I could have...Ill definitely keep my eye open!

[dixiearcher]

about how big should the stave be when I cut it? width wise anyway...should I try to cut close to the center or does that matter?

[bigcountry]

I like my staves to be wide when split em.  Like 6-7" at first.  Let em dry for a few months,and then split em again.  I have split em into 3" at first they warped.  

I use some splittin wedges and sledges to split.

[dixiearcher]

Ok thanks guys! how long should I let them dry? 4-5 months?

[bigcountry]

I let mine dry at least a year. Just because I have many now. I would wait 3 months before splitting a second time.  After that, you can reduce the bow to floor tiller dimensions.  And they can dry out real fast at this point depending on your weather.

[dixiearcher]

Ok well Ill give it a shot!...gotta start somewhere, guess I just gotta jump in

[red hill]

Adam, I plan to go to my father-in-laws to cut some osage sometime this summer. I'll give you a call and see if we can get together so you can get some too.
In the mean time, drive around the Arkadelphia and Gurdon area. See if you can find some back roads along the river where old farm places or home places had been.  Osage was planted along fence rows.
Good luck.
Stan

[dixiearcher]

Really? That would be awesome! let me know!...in the meantime I will ask around, I know a few folks with some land that might be willing to help me out

[red hill]

Check with any foresters you know.  Does HSU or OBU have forestry? That would almost guarantee someone knows about osage.
One of my younger brothers has promised to take me to get some osage when the river goes down and the back roads dry out a bit. He lives just south of the county line on hwy 7 between Sparkman and Camden. That may be our ticket to some osage.
 

[dixiearcher]

Sounds good to me!...neither school has a forestry program but I know some people in deer camps around here that might have some...

[John Scifres]

Here is a cutalong I did a couple years ago.

  Wood 2009  

I try to split staves about 3" wide, measured across the bark.

If you rough your staves out to near bow dimensions and 5/8" thick throughout the entire working limb, they will dry in a couple months, especially if kept in less the 50% relative humidity conditions (like in a an AC house).

Here's how I rough out an osage bow.  You won't have to chase a ring on ironwood if you use the sapwood.  Just peel the bark.

  Roughout  

Start tillering after a couple months and see how well the stave springs back.  If it seems dry, keep working it.  If it takes a lot of set, let it dry another month.

  Tiller 101  

  From Blank to Bow

[okie64]

I'm guessin you're referring to hophornbeam as ironwood. I read an article by Marc St Louis in a magazine last month and he said something that I thought was very interesting.

He said, "Hophornbeam is a very elastic wood and will, in many cases, make a better bow than Osage. The only disadvantage, when compared to osage, is that it will not tolerate high moisture as well."  Marc St. Louis

I've never worked with hophornbeam myself, but having worked with lots of osage, that is making a pretty big statement.