Snakey Osage bow Questions

[Miles Bate]

I have a few question in regards to osage bows.
1.How much early white wood should be on the bow?

2.What is the best way to deal with knot holes , and best way to seal and back the bow?

3. Any straightin tips , its pretty curvy..    


My last question not related to the bow is not related to the bow its self , but to making broad head from circular saw blades. IS there any info that someone be willing to share?

 

 


 

 


 

   

[Pat B]

Generally all of the sapwood(white wood) is removed and a clear heartwood ring is chased for the bows back. One or 2 layers of sapwood will work but you need it to be a continuous, unbroken ring on the back from tip to tip.
 Osage manipulates well with dry heat. I use a heat gun for this.

[fujimo]

as pat said, you really need to chase a ring in the good heartwood.
that is usually done before taking any off the belly. dry heat applied slowly- as the man said! dont scorch the wood- it will get pliable like plastic after a while- and can be clamped in position- with padding blocks so that you dont damage the now pliable wood!!!!!

what kind of points, proper glue on broadheads- or trade points!

there was a post quite recently in pow wow of a fella built very nice glue on broadheads and he used a circ blade.
otherwise search trade points.

if it were me- i would leave that stave all snakey- but thats just me- but if its a first time bow- you might be better off with a straighter stave- to start with- or some good board bows( hickory etc) to get a handle on the tillering process- have you built many bows prior to this one?

[mikkekeswick]

Leave that stave until you have some experience.
Go buy some boards and learn the basics on them.
that stave is 'master' level and without somebody next to you it will be a mighty tall order to get a good bow out of at your first attempt.

[Eric Krewson]

Looks to me that you got way too aggressive with your wood removal before you had a game plan for your finished bow, like you made a bow shaped object but not a bow.

[Miles Bate]

Update.

The truth is that I did manage to get both ends into the center , and left some of the snake features to it.

Eric Krewson : you are probably right , I already knew I  was excepting some risk by removing a good deal of wood, but I followed my late wood.

Pat B /fujimo   : Thanks for your advice. I have built ones from straight planks before. I wanted to build for the fun , and love of archery.

mikkekeswick : I have built bows from store bought wood , and straight wood. There is not such thing as a master stave. Please consult the BOWYERS BIBLE , BOOK NUMBER 1/from BOIS, D, ARC , Jim Hamin. He goes into detail about osage and, covers the topic of straightin , and has a picture of a novice who built a very fine bow from a curvy peace of osage. You don't gain , if you don't do it , or try. OSage also carries a natural desire to curl . Learning about the particular species of wood you are working is very valuable. Experince gained is only gained from apply what you have learned from your studing to the wood its self. Every tree is diffrent


:Thank you  everyone for imput.

[mikkekeswick]

I was just trying to give you some well meaning advice. You seem to have taken it the wrong way.
The questions you asked tell me that maybe you aren't ready for that stave yet. If you feel you are then cool go for it but as I don't know you all I can go on is what you showed and what you said  
No such thing as a master stave? If all bows are as easy to make as the next then how come you need advice?!?!    As you say every tree is different...
TBB are superb books and they are where I learnt a lot of good stuff however reading books does not a bowyer make...as your questions show    
Experience counts for a lot and after 4 - 500 bows you learn a thing or two and can read a stave, I see multiple problems with that one but....what do I know  

[Eric Krewson]

It is a good idea after you establish your finished back and your top profile to keep the sides of your stave square and have about 3/4" of wood depth in your limbs. Heat straighten all the weird stuff. I start at the fade and make a mark 9/16" from the back of the bow, move down toward the tip 6" and make another mark 1/2" from the back. Drop your mark 1/16" every 6" as you move toward the tip. When I get to 1/4" I don't go any thinner and carry that measurement to the tip.

Next I draw a line from mark to mark on all four sides of the bow. I rasp toward the center of the bow limbs on the belly from these lines and never violate one of them. I leave a peak down the belly of the limbs and file it to a slight arc.I remove wood from this center to floor tiller.

I call these lines the road map of your bow as they keep you even from side to side and give you two matching limbs.

You will have too much poundage after you rasp off to the first lines so make another line on the limbs that will be 1/16" less, again stopping at 1/4". The peak you leave at tip of your bow and back about 8" will rounded and about 1/2" tall, I don't go much thinner than this on tips.

I call this method of reducing limbs slowly as" Eric's goof proof method" of making a bow.

In this picture you can see the lines I drew to taper my limbs to the tip and keep the limbs even from side to side. The lines at this point are way more wood than I need. I use an aluminum reflector to hold heat when I straighten limbs which I am doing on this bow before I go any further on the tillering.

   

On your second picture one can see thick limbs at the fade, a knife edge section and thick again.If you make a bow with limbs like this you will hinges and a lot of trouble with the string wandering off to the side.

[John Scifres]

1.  I prefer none.

2.  Eliminate them from the layout if possible.  You must follow the grain around the knots whether you leave them or remove them.  The ring must be chased carefully on your osage bow's back.  

If you have a punky knot that will remain, remove all the rotten branch wood from it very carefully.  If you have done your job well (i.e. chased the ring on the back, and followed the grain on the sides), you can leave the hole.  You may need to account for it during tillering by not removing as much belly wood from that are.  Generally there is a wider spot in the limb where a knot hole is assuming you followed the grain on the sides.

3. I agree about the heatguns.  They are fabulous for straightening osage.

My osage roughout tute:
 http://sticknstring.webs.com/roughout.htm

The beginning of a series of videos I did on heatgunning osage:
 

Have fun.

[Roy from Pa]

Miles, I applaud your effort, and thanks for your service in the Army... However you have a long ways to go to understanding bow making. Pat, Eric, Mike, and John gave you sound advice and links. Best of luck on the next try. Post pictures, ask questions, before you tear into it with a rasp.

[fujimo]

oh and mine was no good- yer grumpy ol fart          
yep, yer right- a pile of bowmaking legends with great advice on here- all guys i have learnt and continue to learn from- heed their advice Miles  

[Roy from Pa]

I've seen your bows fuji-boy... LOL

[PEARL DRUMS]

How can you see any grain with your back all chewed up sapwood? How do you know it is snaky and how did you know where to lay it out so as to not violate the grain? That's number one for snaky bows.

[fujimo]

touche' old friend  

[Miles Bate]

Good, info here ..

Going to write everything in outline format of what I did ,and I don't want to write a novel lol.      

[fujimo]

http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=149077;p=1

[Carson81]

Keep making them Miles! Great advice on here. Now just keep making.

[KellyG]

As far as making broad heads I have uses old spatulas, band saw blades from lumber mills and have some I am making from circular saws.

I cut them to shape I like then heat them up to a very slight reddish color is starting. then dump them in used motor oil (this makes them black; also do it outside) then sharpen and attach.

I did learn to put a shank on them the first where just triangles.

[Miles Bate]

AHH, thanks to everyone who posted about broad heads. Great info .

Bad news is that my bow build got       CRUSHED BY GOLF CART.

lol, life goes on.

[fujimo]

serve you right for playing golf, when you should be only focused on bows   :D    :D    

sorry fella- time to start again!   :(