Building my first osage bow - first build along post

[H Rhodes]

Okay, this is my first attempt at an osage bow.  The stave is a three inch limb that I cut from a downed tree that had been bulldozed into a brush pile and partially burned.  It was pushed down over a year ago and I believe it is dry enough to start on.  I cut this stave a little over a month ago and have been working on it off and on since then.  I will bring you up to date with what I have done so far and try to finish the build and post in real time from this point on.  I have never posted a build along and my photos are not the best, but here goes.  I am shooting for a 60" bend thru the handle, mollegabet styled, 45 - 50lb, unbacked bow.  Here is the stave at the beginning.

[H Rhodes]

Here is an end view of the rings...

[H Rhodes]

That was a pitiful photo....  anyway.  I picked a nice thick ring about about two rings down and began working with the drawknife and chased the ring from one end to the other.  Working with osage has made me appreciate the ease of construction with the whitewoods that I have worked with previously.  Tough stuff.  The tools that I am using are a hatchet, shur form rasp, draw knife, nicholson rasp, sandpaper, and chainsaw file for the nocks. 

[H Rhodes]

This is a very straight piece of osage with only one knot of any size.  It is reflexed about 5" on one end.  I am going to remove some belly wood and see some pretty extensive drying checks on the belly which run end to end.  None run off the edge, so from what I have read, these shouldn't be a problem. 

[Pappy]

Looking forward to seeing how it works out.Good looking piece of wood.
     Pappy

[H Rhodes]

Thanks Pappy.   I am curious to see how it turns out too! lol.  I am a little disorganized and apologize for the order of things here...  Presently I have this bow at low brace, 50# at 21"  It is coming along okay.  I am trying to get my posting up to date so that I can finish in real time. 
   Now back to a few weeks ago....  I removed the bark and sapwood, and then continued with the drawknife down to a single ring for the back.  The stave was reflexed on one end but not the other. 

[H Rhodes]

I began my rough shaping with the hatchet.  I work at a pretty slow pace and removed wood generally from one end to the other till it's about an inch thick or a little thicker from one end to the other.  I left the tips over an inch wide at first so that they wouldn't be so prone to twist.  I went to the shurform rasp and worked the belly down flat.   I decided to steam bend the straight limb to match the reflexed one...  This i accomplished on the kitchen stove with a pot of boiling water.  I steamed the limb - about mid limb, since I have plans for the tips later, for about an hour and then used some wood blocks and a large C clamp to induce reflex. 

[H Rhodes]

Here is how it looked after the steaming. 

[H Rhodes]

Okay, I will have to post more later.  I will try to get this build along up to date and provide a little more detail and hopefully, some better photos.  I am enjoying this one so far.  I have built bows from hickory, pecan, oak, and elm....  but this osage orange is brand new territory for me.  I am going to need some advice before it is all done from you experienced guys.  This was about a three inch diameter limb....  I can see the pithy core, now that I am well into tillering this bow.  So far, I am just ignoring it.  I am not sure how much of it will be visible when the bow is finished or how I am supposed to finish the limb's core...  It may have a little ditch running up the belly!  The drying cracks haven't been a problem so far.  I filled them up with super glue and just act like I don't see them.  I am sure I am going to learn a bunch on this one.  Thanks for looking.  more next week.

[mikekeswick]

Bows can look nice with the pith showing on the belly and it shouldn't be a problem. Branch staves like to check upto the pith sometimes but if it's dry already then no problem.

[lesken2011]

Lookin good, so far. Good job getting that bend even. I gotta try me some steam. Thanks for taking the time for the build a long. I learn so much from these.

[toomanyknots]

I usually scrap out the styrofoamy material in the pith and either leave it empty or fill it with beeswax while finishing the bow if the finish is a beeswax finish. 

[H Rhodes]

I will have to try some beeswax..  I have never used it before.  So far the pithy core isn't just crumbling out, so I am not worrying about it for now.  I am to the floor tillering stage in these next photos....  I am shooting for a molle style bow and these photos show the beginnings of the tips being narrowed and left thick the last eleven inches or so...  Other than a center line mark and a halfway mark, I haven't drawn any lines on the bow...  I am just going by what looks right to me.  That is probably not the best approach, but it seems to work for me.  I am not shooting for a work of art on this project.  I am building a tool to hunt with and it won't be anything too fancy.  I am the function over form guy.  lol.   
  I narrowed the tips a bit using first a sharp hatchet, employing slow careful chops.  I continued the narrowing with the stanley shurform rasp, which I use a lot.  As my tillering progresses I alternate between the rasp and the cabinet scraper.  It is pretty slow going, but slow is good.  I mean, what the heck?  when i finish this one, I will just have to do another one!!

[H Rhodes]

I worked the belly down till the bow is bending a few inches at floor tiller.  I went to the long string and put it on the tillering tree and began the process of teaching this wood to bend.  I rasped the belly down flat and narrowed the tips down to about a half inch wide.  The rough nocks are from some short deer antler overlays and a little work with the rattail file.  I attached the overlays with titebond 3 and clamped them overnight.  The bow is 1 3/8" wide  on what I think will be the upper limb and an inch and a half on the lower limb.   Still pretty stiff at this point. 

[H Rhodes]

A pic beginning the long stringing.  I am pleased at this point with the way the longitudinal belly checks are disappearing as the tillering/rasping continues...