new staves

[iowabow]

osage staves 10 feet or more long. My friend had a row of osage he want removed from his backyard was going to give it away for fence post. There were a couple that were straight. These should may a few bows.

[snag]

Glad you rescued them to be used for a higher purpose than just fence posts! 

[Pat B]

Getting them as fence posts is way cheaper than getting them as bow staves! 
  Those ought to keep you busy for a while.   When you decide to cut them to length cut the 10' ones to 6' and 4' and make billets out of the 4'ers.

[Kitsu]

Glad you rescued them to be used for a higher purpose than just fence posts! 

ooooh, i see some hardcore splitting in your future, and some fun after that

[1776J]

Well done!

Now if I could just find the same thing around these parts!  Hahaha!

[wodpow]

Every time I see Osage cut for stave wood I want to head to Missouri and get me some more to put to drying mode.  I  haven't been to the part this guy talks about so it might be a gold mine or maybe not but just going looking is a nice day planed.

[1776J]

Every time I see Osage cut for stave wood I want to head to Missouri and get me some more to put to drying mode.  I  haven't been to the part this guy talks about so it might be a gold mine or maybe not but just going looking is a nice day planed.

Not to hijack the thread, but as a general side note,.... about how long does it take to dry a stave before working it up?  1-6 months,... a year??

Thanks fellas!

[iowabow]

i am new only been building bows for a year but I cut a tree in march and quartered it up and in June I started working the stave very slowly. I just finished the bow last week. My meter read 11 percent. My first bows I rushed and one cracked in the handle because it was to wet. Now that I have a wood stash It will be some time before I can even get to the before it is all dry. I think the trick to it is have a pile of wood that you keep adding to and and that way you will always have dry staves.

[gstoneberg]

Yes, that works well.  However, you will see a difference in the wood when its more seasoned.  1 year is better than 6 months, 2 years is better still, 5 years is still better...etc.  My favorite bow wood is old fence posts...as Pat B pointed out, the older the better.  They might be checked and full of staple holes, but they are incredibly strong. 

Nice find Iowabow.  Remember that nice straight wood in the picture, once they're split and dry they get a mind of their own about straightness.    Have fun.

George

[iowabow]

That is good to know I will save some of this stuff for the future. I am so glad I found this site ..so much help..so much knowledge...I have enjoyed hunting and trapping but this is the ultimate challenge and most fun I have had in a very long time.

[wodpow]

the smaller you work the stave down to the less internal force is exerted on the outer wood and most times you can work a green stave down to almost bow size and dry it in a hot box without it cracking but I have never made a hot box bow. I let my staves set laying flat for a couple months to get stable. High heat like summer heat in a shed or rafters will shrink the outer wood and make it split very fast. summer cut wood needs a cool dry area to get stable which to me means to loose a good percentage of it's internal moisture slowly and at a even rate from the inside out not the outside in.