10-11' Osage limb split - what now? PICS ADDED

[highpoint forge]

I've heard about limb bows, so I grabbed this limb while attempting to split a really big log which I had too little hammer for. Useful length is right above 60" and its 5" across.

What's my next move? Bark off? Split it? Seal it whole?

I did split about a foot of a 10-12 and 12" across log which I'll finish tomorrow since I've cracked it open I can't stop now or will it not check? Log fell off the tree in an ice storm and was cut up with a chainsaw at both ends.

[scrub-buster]

Seal the ends right away if you haven't done so already.  I try to split osage logs and limbs in half and then into quarters.  I'll split them down into staves and remove the bark and sapwood as I go.  If you remove the bark and sapwood make sure to seal the backs.  You can leave the bark on and just seal the ends if  you want.  I like to clean them up because the sapwood is easier to get off when fresh cut.  Can you post some pictures of your haul?

[highpoint forge]

This sucker was on the ground a long time.... Will post once I'm home.

[scrub-buster]

Osage is one of  the few trees that can be dead and laying for years and still be solid inside.  I pulled a log out of a creek bed that my brother in law had cut at least 5 years earlier.  A bow made from it killed a nice 8 point last year.

[Bowjunkie]

Inspect it carefully. Osage left on the ground can get wood borer larvae in it making, especially a small diameter log, worthless for bow wood. You may want to consider spraying it with an insecticide if you leave the bark on.

I would at least split it and seal the ends so it can dry and shrink evenly. When you split it, you can inspect for wood borers. If you don't split it where you want, it will eventually split itself, and perhaps in a bad way.

[highpoint forge]

I've been meaning to make a selfbow from Osage for about seven years and like most of you, drool on sight at every one I see while mentally catalogueing where it is. All of mine are really really huge and on the ground, or close to it. So I made a move one the smallest one and couldn't split it as I left my BFH at home. The bark on this one is worm hole riddled almost rotten and the entire log was still bright yellow inside and untouched. This particular tree likely stood dead quite a while. I'm a hair concerned with how the bark runs but whatchagonnado? NOT take it? No way. My two year old needs a bow! I also need an excuse to ask for a drawknife from my Latvian axe-maker. Likely it will arrive before the wood cures!

[highpoint forge]

Well that stave was all chewed up in the center from one end to the other. Not much to work with so I chucked it. Back to the original log.....

[highpoint forge]

Attacked the log/main limb......

 http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/2DC5FABA-196D-471D-A2DF-427ED0C7D69B_zpspczukmbp.jpg  

  http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/627AF125-77F9-4DF2-B782-68EDF804A0FA_zpsawu6fdkk.jpg  

So I split it. Wavy gravy! 11' long and 34" around. Gotta just separate the pieces that are clinging and figure out what the hell to do next.....stay tuned.

[LittleBen]

That log looks nasty on the outside. Hopefully there's some nice wood in there. If nothing else you've got enough Osage to build all the furniture for a nice man cave. Probably a nice bar, stools, tv stand ....

[highpoint forge]

Outside is nasty but it was not sitting on the ground. Sucker is thick though and INSIDE all is well......

[highpoint forge]

Ok log is coming home now. What a battle. Snaky SOB is all mine and in half. Anyone care to see pics?  Gotta split these too I guess! Here goes nothin.

[macbow]

Always like pictures.

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[mwosborn]

Could be a challenge.     :eek:    

[choochoou]

That's putting it mildly !

[highpoint forge]

So......?

[fujimo]

this is my opinion- and only my opinion- i am sure many will differ- cant see how long that is-
whats the black area at the bottom- is that early rot, or just discolouration?
if it were me, and that was the only bow wood i had, i would cut it at that dog leg bend, and make  billets, and then resplice the billets together to make a blank.
there is no real twist in it- so thats a good thing.
if i had a choice, i would try a better piece that didnt require all that extra splicing work.

just my opinion.
but whatever path you take- good luck mate- and never quit- this hobby can be the most rewarding pastime, but also simultaneously be very frustrating and fraught with heartbreak. i guess the sour is whats makes the sweet so sweet!!    

[highpoint forge]

Those logs I earmarked 2 years ago and weighed as much as a Toyota axle each. I split these by hand and broke my axe. I then loaded them myself. There's no quit in me. I didn't do all this to give up. I gotta work with what I got. These are 11' roughly. 1' across I guess. The dark part is discolored and a bit hollowed out, but hard as rock. Not rotten or spongy. At the very least I'll have a great amount of billets and knife handle material, and possibly a new axe handle even.

After 4 years of jiu jitsu I know daily heartbreak and the fleeting moments of sweetness. It is The Process......