Osage Question?

[rmjames]

I have been chasing a ring on a piece of osage and when i got to the one I wanted which was about three rings down from the sapwood I end up having these islands or dark spots under some of the early wood--Is this part of the early wood--it seems to be just as hard as the lighter looking late wood next to it? It appears to me that the late wood in this stave just has darker and lighter areas--I tried to scrape the darker stuff off which is lying just below the early wood in the handle area and ultimately went thru the ring into the next ring--as you can see in the pics the punky/crunchy early wood is closer to my 2X6 vise jaws and then the late wood shows in two different shades closer to the camera. It seems like I can scrape enough in some areas to get to lighter colored yellow wood but in some places the darker stuff goes deep into the late wood ring and I can't get thru it without going all the way thru--anyybody seen this kind of marbled look in Osage before???
thanks Rick

[JW_Halverson]

That's odd, don't think I have seen that before.

[artcher1]

That's just some early growth left in the low spots. Use a goose neck scraper or something similar to remove. I use a wood spoon carver for that job myself.

Oh, if you'll pad your vice's jaws with rubber pads it'll grip much better. Looks a lot like mine.....Art

[PEARL DRUMS]

Hackberry and hickory often have those same humps and dips. It would make for a cool back if you can sand all the loose stuff away and keep the rest in place.

[rmjames]

Hey Pearl, all the loose stuff is already scraped off--thats what makes it so interesting--It probably won't be quite as noticeable when the limbs are narrowed up but it will still probably look cool if I can make a bow out of it. After scraping on it quite a bit I have come to the conclusion that it is all good late wood--its not like there are low spots with soft early wood left in them- the light and the dark spots are both equally hard. I got the stave from Gutpile and he told me this tree was taken down when they tore down the old Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta--where the Braves and the Falcons used to play before they built the Georgia Dome--Its  Tiger Striped Georgia Osage--Maybe this is just how Sage grows in Georgia...
thanks, Rick

[rmjames]

Up for the Sunday crowd--anybody else ever seen Osage that looked like this??

[Pat B]

I've not seen this anomaly before but if the wood feels sound I'd go for it. Osage comes in quite a few color phases and variations and some of these are bad but most are just  color phases and variations and the wood is not effected otherwise.

[Badger]

  It is kind of odd, are you 100% sure it is osage? I was scraping on an osage yesterday and kept thinking I was smelling an electrical fire. I would get up search my property and the smell would come back, as soon as I started scraping it would come back, I finaly realized it was my scraper against the osage doing it. My buddy could smell it 6ft away. Very strong synthetic plastic or chemical smell. First time I had experienced this also.

[artcher1]

I know the smell you're referring to Steve. That medicinal/wire burning smell means decay to me.

[blackhawk]

That looks like the first heartwood ring under the sapwood...that happens because it hasn't transitioned into all heartwood yet...I've seen it before.

[rmjames]

It does feel sound--I intend on continuing.
I did not cut this tree so I guess it could be possible that it is not Osage but if it is not osage I don't know what it is--It has the characteristics of sage--the way it works, hardness, in general its yellow color...
The last set of pics are of the fourth ring under the sapwood--probably a good 1/2 inch under the sapwood.
thanks for the response guys, like I said I fully intend on continuing--I have a little twist to get out after i get her shaped up a little more and closer to bow dimensions.
Rick

[Buckeye Guy]

Would you post a pic of the end grain please ?
A good in focus close up for my old eyes
Guy

[rmjames]

The Culprit



Side view of one end



Both ends--these are both 1&1/4 inches top to bottom




thanks again guys
Rick

[Pat B]

That redish coloration at on the end grain generally means real good osage but in some cases it is the exact opposite. 

[rmjames]

Yeah Pat, lets just hope it the good stuff!!!