Another first time stave/Now a finished bow

[AJMag]

The thought of starting an osage stave has been riddled deep in my mind since my first board bow a while back. Well it seemed as good a time as any to get one, and to add to the excitement, it shows up on my birthday    

Bought this one to start with. I'm going to tiller one more board bow I have, just to work on that skill some more, and in the mean time practice with chasing some rings.  I have plenty of violated top rings to mess with before getting down to a non-violated, so this should be a fun, long experience. 

It's 68" long and varies between 1.5-2.0" on the back side. My initial thoughts are something around 66" unbacked. I suppose the width and weight are all still to be determined until I find a suitable ring and see where the dimensions are. I'd like to be able to use it as a hunter, and wonder if it should end up being rawhide backed anyways, especially in this Houston humidity...? If it all works out it will definitely be getting snake skins.

Is there any other recommendations anyone can think of that might help in this Houston environment, such as, does the belly need to stay shellaced as well as the back and ends when not being worked on? Also, would 1.5" wide or a tad smaller be ok for 66" long and 28" draw? Feeling open to design opinions, I've got time to think about it before anything really happens with it. Anyways, not trying to write a book here, just wanted to share my excitement and show off the most beautiful thing I've ever seen (I'm not married so I'm safe to say that ).

[okie64]

Looks like a nice piece of hedge. If you chase a good ring then there is no need in backing osage unless you just want to for peace of mind. Osage tolerates humidity pretty well ( much better than whitewoods). As for sealing the ends and back it depends on how dry the wood already is, but you can shellac the back on the new ring when you get it exposed if you want to. Do you know how long it has been seasoning? If it were me and I didnt know how long it had been seasoned I would work it down close to bow size and then leave it inside the house in a controlled climate for 2-4 weeks before I went any farther with it. I've never had much luck speed drying osage, it usually develops checks. As for your dimensions, Ive made several osage bows from 45-55# and 64" long and 1-1/8" to 1-1/4" wide. You could go wider if you wanted to but osage doesnt need that much width. Hope that helps.

[AJMag]

Cool, thanks for the input.  I can't say for sure how long it's been drying but I bought it from Mike Yancy. I definitely figured it was worth it to spend the cash when I knew I could call him with details about what I wanted, plus all the good things I've heard. And I sure did get a straight and narrow stave, just like I requested for a stave newb! His descriptions on the website say they sit for a year and a half or so.

[Dean Marlow]

If your not working on the stave I would advise you to seal the back and ends with something just for a piece of mind. I have Osage that has been cut for 16 months that will still check on you once in a while. By the way looks like you got a real good one. Dean

[sadiejane]

mighty purdy piece of yella wood ya got there.
have fun!

[SLIMBOB]

I'm with Okie, 66"L ,  1 1/2"W, no need to back it if the woods in good shape.  Take a draw knife and work it down to the ring you want.  Draw your bow out and whittle it into shape.  Start thinning the belly down till it's an inch thick or so.  Handle and fades 2 ".  At those dimensions, if it's not dry now, it will dry pretty quickly.  I'm north of San Antone, so we don't have y'alls humidity but it's pretty high at times.  Keep it in the air conditioning and you'll be fine working it.  If it starts to show a little set when floor tillering, let it dry a week or so and then continue on your merry way.  Good luck and stay cool.  VERY hot here right now.  110 yesterday at 6 PM!

[JW_Halverson]

Only bought one stick o' wood from  Mike Yancy and it was a pretty premium chunk of hickory. 

Great thing about having those violated rings on the back is the practice of chasing a ring.  If the wood tears out as you are chasing growth rings, immediately STOP.  Spray a few coats of shellac or spal a coat of cheap-o latex paint on the back and let it cure a few more months!!! 

It don't take much osage to make a bow.  That's been said time and again on this site, and it's awfully true.  With your 66" length (and assuming a draw length around 28") you got plenty of extra length for safety.  you might get away with a bow as narrow as 1 1/8 inch wide coming out of the fades. 

Good luck!  Post Pics!~

[soy]

Well happy birthday to you! Nice looking hunk o gold there, enjoy the process 

[AJMag]

Slimbob I feel you there, brother. It's hard to keep the wood from being rehydrated by my sweat, then the humidity....

JW I've seen a lot on here about it not taking much to make a bow, but I've been a little more questionable just because of the humidity levels here, combined with my lack of stave experience and the idea that I plan to use this thing ALOT. So far, the 6" I've been working with seem dry and ok. If I allow the draw knife to get deeper into a growth ring it will start to run some, but not far or deep at all before breaking. To me it does seem pretty dry. I think me and this wood will become good friends.

Soy, thanks. I'd say it became one for the books!  I think I'll document this build for memory purposes and post a few towards the end..... or along the way if I need help/ideas.

[gstoneberg]

AJ, if you leave it unbacked you can pretty much ignore the humidity.  I would only back it (with rawhide) if there's a flaw in the wood that worries you.  I'm in Dallas and I don't see any difference between my unbacked osage bow in the humid spring and dry fall.  My sinew backed bows are a whole nuther deal.  Where you are I would not sinew back unless the design demands it.  If you go with a 66" bow, make sure you narrow the tips well or it'll have some hand shock.  With osage, I think the longer you make the bow the narrower it can be.  An inch and 3/8  is a good place to start.  I agree with the guys that that looks like a very nice stave, and that you should seal the back with shellac as soon as you get a ring chased.  I do that now no matter how seasoned the wood is.  You do not need to seal the belly.  As for how the wood reacts to a draw knife, what I notice with green osage is that it wants to tear into the ring below around knots.  Seasoned osage wants to follow the ring and you can sometimes hog off several rings at a time and it will still stay on the correct ring.  Love to work it.

Good luck, I'm anxious to see what you come up with.  We're getting enough Texas bowyers that we need to plan an annual primitive hog hunt someplace.  If you feel like a road trip sometime bring your stave on up to Dallas and I can help you get going.

George

[AJMag]

Thanks George. From what I read on here I was figuring that sinew would be out of the picture. I understand what you're saying about the green/dry wood and tearing. Sounds like what I've touched so far is definitely dry. So far I'm feeling pretty good about this wood from ol' Mike. And it does work so much nicer than board wood.

I'm feeling ya on the idea of a Texas gathering. We need to go Waco and take over Nuggent's ranch, throw away his compounds and hunt his hogs the right way.  And I may have to take you up on the offer sometime. I'm actually a converted Grapevine guy, lived there for 17 years, and just moved to Houston a couple years ago. So I'm up there every few months to visit friends and go camp the Red River.

[gstoneberg]

I agree, it sounds like your stave is dry.  However, Dean is right that sometimes a seemingly dry stave will have some moisture stuck in it and check when it shouldn't.  If I were you I'd keep a can of shellac close and seal on the back what you've chased after each draw knife session.  I've grown real fond of the spray shellac Lowe's sells.

Ted shoots recurves and longbows.  I'm pretty sure if we brought him a self bow he'd hunt with it.  I'm not sure at all we could get on his ranch though.

Grapevine's about an hour west of my place.  I live just north of Wylie.  My shop's available most any time.  Course it's usually a mess with osage shavings and flint shards everywhere.  These days it's real handy to have the pool 10' from the shop door.  I do all my work with a swimsuit on.

George

[AJMag]

I've got some spray urethane, but if shellac is better I'll have to check out Lowes. I know Home depot by me doesn't carry it in a spray, which I'd rather have.

Yeah I know Ted does have some traditional, I'd like to see it more on his Spirit Wild show though. If he does use it more than I'm aware of then I just haven't seen it. I think he has more than one place down here, because he does allow paid hog hunts on his ranch, but I'm not too sure that it's the same area as his house based land, but it wouldn't be the first time I was wrong. At any rate, I'd trade him a bow for a chase or two, especially at one of those fallow deer he has access to.

Is Wylie getting close to Forney? I know the name but that's one of the few areas I've ever ventured to. Most of my stomping ground was between Grapevine and Justin, over by the Texas Motor Speedway.

[gstoneberg]

Check Lowes, they don't always have it, but the last time I was there I bought another can.  The advantage of shellac is that it can be removed with rubbing alcohol.  You'll have to scrape or sand off poly.  If you aren't backing then poly is fine if that's the finish you'll eventually use. 

Well, Ross and Martin are supplying bows to him.  Not surprising they're featured as advertisers.  I don't know how often he shoots traditional, I just know he has the bows and that he says he shoots them.  Have never researched his hunts.  He films his TV show often at the YO ranch.

Wylie is quite a bit north of Forney.  It's east of Plano about 12 miles.

George

[JW_Halverson]

If gstoneberg's pool water looks a little yeller, don't worry.  He is still fairly continant...it's just the osage shavings leaching into the water!

Hoping to make it to Texas next spring for that get-together that is fast becoming an annual event.  Maybe I'll see you there, AJ.  Make sure you have that bow done by then so I can see it!