Osage Mollegabet (sneak peak on pg. 3)

[Weylin]

I'm tackling my first osage bow and I need a little advice from the experts on yella wood. I've got a ring chased (gah! what a workout  ) and the main thing I'm concerned about are a couple of bug holes in the middle of the stave. Are they something that I can fill with sawdust and superglue like a knot and go along my merry way or do I need to give them more consideration? The stave is 72" long and pretty clean aside from a few pin knots and a slight crack running vertically in the middle of the back in one little spot. The bug holes are about 30" from one end so if I was making a longer bow using the majority of the stave they'd likely be just out of the fades on one limb (probably not the best place for them.) if I made the bow closer to 60" and lopped off the other end of the stave I could put those bug holes in the handle so they wouldn't effect the bow. My draw length is only 26" so I have some wiggle room, it just depends on what style of bow I'd like to make (which I'm not sure about yet  ).

[chamookman]

I'd put them (holes) in the handle area, fill 'em and forget 'em and make the bow. Good piece of wood - have fun. Bob

[Dean Marlow]

Put them in the handle area and you will be fine. Dean

[DarkSoul]

That's a nice osage stave! Will make a fine bow.

I'd cut the stave to 64" which is plenty for your 26" draw. Then the holes will be in the handle or just in the fade. The fade-out won't bend anyway, so they won't cause any problems. Clean them up a bit and fill them with some glue/sawdust mix. Just make sure you cut the stave from the right end...

[Weylin]

Thanks for the advice.  Now I have to decide what style to go for. The two on the top of my list are a working recurve or a molle. I haven't made either of those yet and I'd like to give them a try. Any thoughts on what would work best for this stave.

[JW_Halverson]

I like the look of those rings a lot.  Great early/late wood ratio on every ring. 

How many rings deep do you think those buggers went with their mining claim?  You might be able to chase down under them and not have to worry.  I know you are happy to get more experience chasing rings on 'sage.   

[Weylin]

I just measured the big hole and it goes down about a 1/2".     I think it's possible that I could chase down that far and still have a decent bow to make from this stave but it would really start to limit my limb width at that point.  Given that combined with my enthusiasm (or lack thereof) to chase another ring on this stave I'm leaning towards trying to place the bug holes in the handle. I measured the bow out at 64" and if I offset the handle by 2" like I normally do I can still put the bug holes in the handle section. would 64 inches be long enough for a mollegabet with a 26"draw?

[lesken2011]

I'm no expert, but have made a couple of shootable mollies. It would probably depend on your ratio of working limbs and levers. I have a 27" draw and made mine 66" ttt and 64 n2n with a 4" handle, 2" fades, 16" working limbs, and 11" levers. The hard maple is still shooting well.  Osage should give you more flexibility. I used Adam's hbo build a long as a guide at this link.


http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=5129.0

[JW_Halverson]

Don't take much 'sage to make a bow, Weylin!   

But since I got no dog in this fight, you do what you feel comfortable with doing!  Either way, I am sure you will knock this one outa the park. 

[gstoneberg]

Most of my osage staves have borers.   You can fill the holes with epoxy and sawdust, I've done it even in the working part of the limb or on the limb edge. I even made one bow with a borer hole clear through the limb and left it open.  However, if there's enough stave depth I always go down to a clear ring, No sense tempting Murphy.

Good luck,
George

[Weylin]

Thanks for the sage advice, fellas. I've decided to shorten the stave to 64" which places the borer holes in the handle. I packed them with sawdust and superglue.  I'm thinking I'd like to go for a mollegabet design. I'm following some dimensions that Half Eye posted a while back in this thread, http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,17521.0.html
I hear he know's his way around a molle. 
I was inspired by Blackhawk's Three Eyed Molly that he posted a while back. I may try to design it with that in mind as well. http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,32585.msg430900.html#msg430900
But this being my first osage and my first molle I'm definitely open to advice and input. (well, I'm open to it regardless, but you know what I mean.)

[lesken2011]

You are right. I couldn't lay my hands on Half Eye's Molle posts right away, but he has done a number of them with great success. I think Ken75 has done some, too!!

[Weylin]

One question I have at this point while I'm laying out my bow on the stave is about the limb lengths. When I make a normal longbow my top limb is 2 inches longer than the bottom limb. I laid out this molle the same way out of habit and because of the placement of the bug holes. Is it acceptable to have a difference in limb length on a molle or should I make them the same?

[Weylin]

As I peruse the various molle's on the site I see that many have already done the offset handle. I guess that answers my question, at least good enough for me. I'm going to start roughing her out and see where it goes from there.

[Gus]

Cool Thread and nice Stave...

I admit that I caught the Molle Bug about a month or two ago as well.
And used Half Eye's and Blackhawk's dimensions and builds as reference when laying out my Osage Molle.
Shooting her in and refining the levers now, should be finishing it up in the next week or so if I don't have to back her.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

-gus