Bert's Osage Bow

[Bert]

I'm starting this thread to keep track on the progress of making my first Osage bow and as a means to share this experience with y'all.

The purpose is to document the work I do, and if you feel like it you can pitch in with advice or words of warning  .
I'm sure there has been threads like this one before.

The plan ? Making my first Osage bow. Other than that,  nothing much is determined.
My drawlenght maxes out @ 80cm (about 31.5"), and I'd like to end up with 30kg of weight (66 pound bow, heck let's say between 60 and 65#)

The stave I'm starting with is an Osage stave I've had store for over 10 years now.

It measures just over 1.5meter long (just shy of 60") and 5-6 cm wide @ the tips, 7cm @ the center (that's a fair 2" @ tips, 2.75" @ center)

I started scraping the back of the bow to meet the next growthring despite it being a full unviolated growth ring allready. This because it was coated with a sealant.


Might back the bow with sinew to give it extra strength, in any case I'll want my back reduced to a nice clean growthring.
Never chased an Osage-ring before so i was anticipating the earlywood layer solely on what I heard it was like.
Closing in on that second ring :

The wood is getting thin and shows strands; I'm getting close !

Actually this isn't what i expected to be ..; Where is that layer of spongy soft earlywood ?
Its not like I tought it would be ..

It feels like I went from the one ring of latewood directly to the other .. no noticeable earlywood transition ..


Its very clear to me I've reached the second growthring :



I'll continue from this point with my draw knife. Ever so carefull not to violate this 'new' ring.
To be clear : the purpose is to keep this 'new' ring to its most full width right ? To voilate it, means going straight trough, not having less thickness in a certain area ?

Cheers, Bert

[PEARL DRUMS]

 Thats not like any osage I have seen. Interesting pieces. Looks like locust from my seat.

[beetlebailey1977]

Sure does look different.......

[Bert]

Could this be because this stave seasoned somewhat longer then usual ?
I have been pretty certain that this is Osage. Anybody can relate this to 'older' Osage staves ?

[PEARL DRUMS]

Older the osage the darker brownish red it gets outside and even some inside.

[4est Trekker]

That's osage, Bert.  Looks like the goods in my pile!     Nice and straight.  Remember, fellas...it's gotta be UV light (i.e the sun, tanning bed, etc.) to turn osage darker brown.  Ever cut into a 50 year old fencepost?  It ain't brown inside...it's yellow!  Mine gets stored in the basement up in the floor joists...not a lot of light gets to the staves up there.  Also, cameras and computer monitors can lie a bit when it comes to color

[Bert]

I have to say;
This wood was sold to me as Osage, by a trustworthy man. Also, this wood has been sitting in a sealed cardboard package in an unlit shed for more then 10 years, not been seasoning under a carport or so.

The picture has been taken under the white flurecent light at my workbench, so that might play tricks on my eyes as well.
Still, it doesn't explain why the wood feels unlike the Osage I hear people talking about ?
The very thin section between the rings feels 'brittle', not really spongy.

[Bevan R.]

The very thin section between the rings feels 'brittle', not really spongy.

That is a great discription of all the osage I have chased. It might 'LOOK' spongy, but you can hear it 'crackling' as you put a drawknife through it.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Bert skim a bit off an end. It should be electric yellow, or close to it. You will get a good view of your rings that way too.

[Woodbender]

I'm making my first right along with you. Using a scraper on the final ring. It doesn't crackle like it does with a drawknife, but you can definately feel it to the touch. It feels rough compared to the heartwood. I was told this weekend by some experienced bowyers that if you have a really thick ring, that a slight dip into it won't hurt.

[okie64]

When you switch from scraper to drawknife the earlywood will have a completely different feel to it. I used to use a scraper for chasin the last ring on osage but I use only a drawknife now.

[blackhawk]

dont know why no one caught this yet.....

in short....you will have to flip the tips and sinew back that to reach 31.5" on a 58"ntn bow pulling 60+ pounds....and it will have to bend thru the handle......im not even sure I could make that an unbacked bow drawing that far without breaking,and if it did hold it wood take lots of nasty set.

[lostarrow]

If there is still any question as to I.D. ,Osage contains a water soluble dye . Put you shavings in some warm water and it should turn the water yellow.

[4est Trekker]

Yikes...good catch, blackhawk!  Totally blew through the intended specs.  Advice well given.

[mikekeswick]

Agreed keep your draw length shorter.
Also LOOKS like locust to me from here but put those shavings in warm water and the water should turn vivid yellow.
I would suggest using a drawknife to get close to your final back ring then switch to the scraper. I know people might say that it's safer to just use a scraper but I don't think so. When you have so much wood to take off scraper can get boring and induce the wrong mindset. The drawknife will allow you to do the same job better and quicker.
When you say sinew back it to add strength....it's a little more involved than that. Sinew has a lot less stretch resistance than osage so you would theoretically be making it weaker.....what sinew can do is either protect a dodgy back,protect a tension weak wood (juniper) or allow a bow to be pulled further than if it was a selfbow. If you just slap sinew onto a wooden bow you will likely make the it slower than if you left it as a selfbow - trust me this IS true! If you want to get the most from sinew the bow must either be short or fairly heavily reflexed. Personally I wouldn't back that stave - make it a bendy handled bow and try to creep up on your drawlength but stop when you have 1 inch of set.