A new testiment to osages epicness

[recurve shooter]

dude thats cool.

[Aries]

I think i may follow advice and wrap the base of the levers... now if i could only split the other limb the same way

Worse case senario i make another one (Osage is easy to come by in these parts )

[coyote pup]

Like PatM said. There are several woods that could and would handle this, some would handle it even better. Hickory, HHB and elm come to mind right off.

It is cool though. Just doesn't have much to do with it being Osage. 

[El Destructo]

It has everything to do with it being Osage...You could never get Hophornbeam or Elm to split like this to begin with...not on it's Own...there is little Connective Tissue between Lineal Grain on Osage...and that this is a weakness of the Wood...HHB and Elm will not split cleanly like Osage does...hell Elm will fight you every step of the way...even with a Wood Splitter making Firewood...but it looks to me like the Linear Crack is running off at the Handle area...so if this is the Case...it really needs to be doweled and wrapped to save it...Aries...since Chickasaw is loaded with good working Osage....do ya want my Mailing Address........ .I aint too far from Ya..........

[PatM]

That's what I meant. You would have to artificially split another type of wood but they would also hold up. Particularly if you followed the grain pattern of at least the outer layer. You could test it by drilling a small hole in the outer limb and near the handle and then cutting down the limb with a coping saw.
 It's also worth mentioning that doweling will weaken the area rather than strengthening it. A straight wrap is actually stronger.

[El Destructo]

This is a Unbending Handle Bow...is it not? How would a dowel in the Handle ...weaken it? I have done many Spliced Handled Bows...and doweled them...and never had a Problem with any of them...I could see it being trouble with a D Bow...or any Bow that flexes through the Handle...but this doesn't seem to me to be the case in this Bow Design.If it were mine...and Aries...you can send it to me...... ....I would dowel it...sinew wrap it...and then wet some rawhide and make a Grip from it...so this way ...once it is all dry...you have three layers of Strengthening at the Grip... and it will never go anywhere....unless you sent it to Texas...

[PatM]

 I didn't necessarily mean the bow would break at the dowel but quite a few guys have reported that this does happen.  The reason that modern lam bows go to massive risers and various I-beam configurations and reinforcements is because bows do try to flex through the handle.
 Within reason a typical primitive stiff handed bow also moves fractionally. From an engineering standpoint drilling and pinning does not do much but sever longitudinal fibers best left alone.

[Aries]

or.....        move on to the next bow ..       Ty

[billy]

HEy Aries,

I've got some osage bows with longitudinal cracks down the limbs, but nothing like that!!  Holy cow!! That osage is some amazing stuff.  I don't know if you read my article last year called Pushing the Limits of Bowmaking, but it looks like you pushed it even further than it's ever been pushed before.  I'm sure other woods would probably handle that crack with no problem as well, but I don't know for how long.  That is really cool!!  It's the original "split limb " design.  AWESOME!!