Bert's Osage Bow

[Bert]

Settled on a (simple, but hopefully successfull) pyramid design for this bow, as suggested earlier in another post.
Also feel like whatever type of wood this stave turns out to be, this design in gonna work for it ?

I've started plotting out the handle with a pencil, some measurements are typical pyramid-handle measurements, altough I chose 4" and 3/4 of grip height, just to fit my hand somewhat better. (Read alot of people use 4" instead)


I hope I can leave this 'knot-formation' out of the design.. But it might be too close to the handle ?


I'd really could use some insight on this one !
Thanks,
Bert
 

[rkeltner]

has anyone thought of mulberry?

[Bert]

has anyone thought of mulberry?

Nope, that one hasn't come up yet !
It's funny because I never doubted this to be Osage before you guys started commenting on it !

As I haven't decided on those knots near the handle I've started narrowing the limbs.
(Hey what can I say, I've got a day off work and my fingers are itching to make this bow)

Drawing out the limbs i soon realised I had some of the knots close to (or sometimes right on top of) my pencil lines !
Didn't use my bandsaw yet, felt like roughing out those limbs with my draw knife. It actually wasn't a big effort ?
I'm sure my -small- bandsaw was gonna have at least as much work as I had with the draw knife.

Question is; What would you guys do with these 2 knots ? :
(this one I'd leave in ?)

(this one out ?)


Thanks for your point of view !
Cheers,
Bert

PS: I've notices how smooth (nearly shiny) this wood gets when worked on with the drawknife. Is this an attribute of Osage, or rather BL ?
Maybe its not a telltale sign, but being used to white woods, this slick surface (even after using a very sharp draw knife) is new to me.

[Will Carothers]

that last pic looks alot like my first osage did when roughing out, and mine dide get very slick, but im note sure of it on other woods, i would say osage, but the color is just off, maybe it is mulberry?

[okie64]

Follow the grain where it swirls around those knots Bert. The knot close to the tip I would follow the grain around the inside of the knot leaving it out of the bow. The other you could go either way, really thats up to you. Ive done it both ways, sometimes leaving the knots on the bowto add character. The wood looks kinda like osage to me, but then again it does kinda look like black locust too. Locust and osage both slick up pretty good.

[Bert]

Yes, done doing just that. i've managed to keep the knots out of the limbs, hoping I didn't make'm too narrow.

I'm starting to reduce some wood from the belly of the bow.

This becoming a pyramid bow, does it aid the design to steam some reflex into it (central, even from grip towards limbs) ?
If so, should I do this before or after I floor-tiller it ?

Cheers,
Bert

[gutpile]

uhh....that is Osage...and FYI..osage does not have to be in direct uv light to discolor..I have quite a few stave inside that have change from bright yellow to a peach color and some even almost purple that have not seen the light of day since harvest....but it doesn't change under the skin...inside it is still yellow....gut

[Bert]

As I said, I'm done roughing out the sides of the bow.
I've started reducing the belly to an uniform 1" on the limbs.

I noticed earlier there is some natural reflex in this one :

Side of he handle:

Front of roughed out handle:

Front view:


Please say this looks OK ! 

I'm sorta winging it a little .. just following my gut feeling, taking decisions rationally ..

Comments are allways welcome !

Cheers,
Bert

[randman]

Nobody's mentioned Hackberry as a possibility for this wood also. Hackberry is quite yellow but can also age kind of a greyish brown like i see in some of those picks. Hackberry end grain can also look similar to what you have shown. I have recently determined the first bow I ever made was Hackberry and have always been puzzled by it's yellow color and osage-like look but I knew it wasn't osage by the look of it's bark.

[Eric Krewson]

Dang, you guys must not have much experience with osage to label this wood anything else but osage.

Osage comes in every hue imaginable, light yellow, almost white, to dark brown through and through without ever having been in contact with sunlight. The dark brown stuff has usually been stored for years out of the light to season. There is also some very oily osage that has a much darker color to it. I have some of each in my shop right now and everything in between. I cut just about every piece of it myself so I know the origin.

That is a fine piece of osage you have Burt, don't let anyone tell you it isn't.

[bubby]

i've only built one osage bow so far, but dont y'all think that two and a half is awfull wide for an osage bow of any design, mine's only 1 3/8" wide @ the fades, 66" ttt and it's a 70# bow, ya know what they say, it don't take much osage to make a bow, Bub

[PEARL DRUMS]

Bub its short and needs to pull 30 something I believe. The design needs to be wide.

[okie64]

Looks like you got it going your way Bert. Ive never made an osage bow wider than 1.5" wide but Ive never made an osage pyramid either. I usually build most of my bows with parallel limbs out to midlimb. Nothing wrong with startin out wide and then doing some side tillering later on if it starts to get too thin. As for adding reflex, thats just depends on what you want out of the bow. If you just want a smooth shooting, easy to string and reliable bow then dont bother with adding reflex. If you're wanting an arrow screamer then you might want to add reflex to it.

[George Tsoukalas]

Bert, looks like yo have it covered. You can do it! Jawge