green osage

[HoBow]

what would happen if you take the bark off osage and seal it with the white layer on?  I just got about 10 pieces and this layer is a minumum of w inch thick on every piece. Is this normal?  The few times I've stripped and sealed osage, this layer was much thinner.

[JustAim]

The sapwood is easier to remove while the wood is still wet or ''green''. lf you dont feel like removing the sapwood rightnow you can still seal it with no problems at all, but you'll have to work alittle harder to remove it later on when your staves are dry.

[Pat B]

...or leave the bark on and treat it for bugs until you are ready to remove the bark and sapwood. It will be a lot easier, as JA suggested, if you remove the bark and sapwood now. Be sure to seal the back well or it will check. You probably have a better chance of checking with the sapwood left on as it will dry quicker than the heartwood.

[Dano]

I would start on one stave, get it down to one ring seal it real well, and move on to the next. Might take ya a week, might take ya a day, but it's best to do it right away. Kinda poetic too.

[HoBow]

Dano- if I do it your way- do I need to seal the ends?

[Dano]

The ends should be sealed no matter which way you do it.

[Dean Marlow]

I would not recommend debarking and leaving the sapwood on. It will still check on you. I did several staves that way leaving the sap on and most of them checked on me clear down in the heartwood. I even gave them 2 coats of anchorseal right after I took the bark off. Leave the bark on them until you are ready to take bark and sapwood off all the way down to the heartwood. Dean

[Eric Krewson]

Lost a lot of staves by leaving the sapwood on after removing the bark. All were sealed with 4 or 5 coats of shellac.

I use a bandsaw to remove most of the sapwood now, works great on staves with extra thick sapwood. I leave one or two rings to remove with my draw knife.

[Timo]

Well everyone here seems to have different experiences from leaving sapwood on?

I've left it on many summer cut staves and had no problems. BUT it took me a while to figure it out.

If I cut a summer logs I split it into staves,then work one at a time,by peeling the bark off like a nanner. You can't seal it right away, there is too much surface moisture and your sealer will dry on top of it,no good. Let the stave set for an hour or two until it feels dry to the touch,then seal it with shelac.Make sure every coat dries before you lay on another. I use 4 coats.No problems.

oh, and make sure your shelac is good.If it don't dry within 5 mins, It's not gonna work on green wood.

[yazoo]

thats right the water on the surface of stave will prevent the shellac from working,, I prefer to use tite bond which the water on the surface wont bother, I have put three coats of titebond 2 and still had some crack,, no subsiitute for removing the sapwood, while green ,narrowed staves wont take 10 min each, so get to work,   

[HoBow]

Thanks for the answers!  Yazoo- I bought a stave from you at the classic. I'm not sure what you charged, but I am quite sure it should have been double what you did. I worked about 7 hours yesterday and only finished half my wood. After church I hope to be able to finish most of the rest. I work out hard three times a week and have muscles sore this morning I didn't know could be sore!