"I actually like splitting osage. It's the bark and sapwood removal that I hate."Thats why I only harvest when the bark il peel right off, N just seal the sapwood, to remove it when I am good and ready to make a bow. I honestly think your gonna get around 90 staves with you having 3 sections, and the first one being 2 foot diameter or so. And I would think that it would mostly be belly splits? Probably like two belly splits each piece if the wood is good and splits straight, at least with the first and biggest section I would figure. Course you could probably get more than that, but there is always the chance of warping from it being too small. The osage I get seems like it don't has a big problem with warping or twisting while drying. But it's always better to be safe ya know.
"I actually like splitting osage."I do too, as long as it's about 12 times smaller than the one your doing here! LOL Big osage logs can be hell to split for me, ill pass.
But smaller ones, 12" diameter or somethin, can be pretty fast compared to elm or even hackberry, seems in part to the heart wood being a big brittle compared to white woods I think...