Osage Stave came today-Critique & advice please.(pic heavy)

[Blaflair2]

I'd leave your handle square like that for niw. Fits on a tiller tree better.

[The Gopher]

I can tell you are an engineer, i like the sketches.

[rockrush69]

Ideally you want to try and do all the bending around the same time.  I would say get twist out first ... then reheat and recurve . Maybe with clamps to hold curve and twist out till cooled .  . But . Very fine stave indeed . Props man . And i agree with others here that have said to make it thinner.  As a rule . Osage is really tuff stuff and a bow of the same size of say hickory would be much weaket . I would not go so thick . If the stave is 3"thick or more you may even be able o get 2 nice bows out of it . !!!! Also uou should take some wood off of the limbs befor heati g and bending . It will just make it physically easier on you . Lets work with our heads and not our backs . But .... good stave and you seem like you know what your doing bro . Congrates

[Capt]

Ok, another 6 hours straight making a work bench then Draw knifing, rasping and sanding until i got dizzy... literally i was so dehydrated that i nearly passed out a couple of times.....

But putting in the elbow grease was worth it 

I got the stave worked down to my dimensions some progress with the handle and thinned the limbs down to 9/16" give or take a thou of an inch...

It's starting to bend against the floor and i feel ready for the bends tomorrow... Got to make a bloody frame to bend it over first unless i can find anything around the house with a nice radius that i can clamp to.....

I'm going to start a new thread for the rest of the build...... and post some pics of progress.... BTW Does anyone know if all the osage dust can do me any harm? i havn't been wearing a mask....its too hot here i tried but couldn't breathe from the heat........??

[Blaflair2]

Orange boogers for a day or two

[Poggins]

Well Capt if that orange dust is bad then there is a lot of us in trouble , I don't wear a mask nor have I ever seen anyone working with Osage wear a mask ( you should see how much orange dust flies when there are three band saws and two belt sanders going at the same time ) , besides the doctors say fiber is good for you don't they.

[seminolewind]

Im really enjoying this thread theres a lot of good info here. I have an osage stave that looks almost identical in quality and size back home and I plan on doing much the same design when I get back. For me my biggest questions have been the layout and I have had a lot of questions answered here. Keep it up I see a self BOM in the works here !

What part of Mexico do you live in? I spent a good part of my childhood growing up in Sonora.

[mikekeswick]

If you are outside working on it you'll be fine.
Inside is a different story altogether. I do long distance runs (upto 70 miles) over big hills so know what my lungs should feel like - even small amounts affect you but you would never notice in the short term....I always wear a good quality mask indoors and have the fan on if there is no flow of air. I also cut a door into the back wall of my shop so that I could get a really good flow of air through by opening both front and back doors.
I'd also recommend making a proper form and not trying to bodge it. This is a step where you could ruin the whole stave so be careful! 

[Capt]

Im really enjoying this thread theres a lot of good info here. I have an osage stave that looks almost identical in quality and size back home and I plan on doing much the same design when I get back. For me my biggest questions have been the layout and I have had a lot of questions answered here. Keep it up I see a self BOM in the works here !

What part of Mexico do you live in? I spent a good part of my childhood growing up in Sonora.

Glad you Like this Thread / Topic... Me too it turned out great, Loads of Valuable information for sure... 

As this topic was really all about the stave and the project has progressed now to the point of almost being a bow i'm moving this project on to a new thread titled - 'Capt's 2nd Bow, Osage - recurved tips'

Please keep following there'll be lots of good info there too... already has been, a whole page debating arrow-shelfs, lots of real savvy chaps chimed in with great info...

BTW I live in Baja California Sur, i've got quite a few friends from Sonora.... I'm English though, from Gods County "Yorkshire"

[Parnell]

Was just going to add a couple things:

1.  I've learned over time on stiff handle bows to leave the handle area alone until you've got the bow basically braced.  Do you really know what limb you want for upper and lower until that point?  I don't like to reduce the width of the handle area until then because if I'm going to do a cut out arrow shelf...it can all depend.

2.  Thin tips are IMO where the experienced bowyers stand out.  I constantly am working on thinning my tips down.  I spend time looking at Mullet's bows and keep telling myself.  Get them thinner...get them thinner.  But that's stuff to be done near the end of the process.

Enjoying the thread.  Cool to see pictures of your area.

[Capt]

I not plan on keeping the limbs this thick until I get the bends In that way if and any slight splinters lift during bending I have plant of wood left to sand them out....

Bests and thanks for the input...

Capt

[seminolewind]

BTW I live in Baja California Sur, i've got quite a few friends from Sonora.... I'm English though, from Gods County "Yorkshire"
[/quote]

Well "Ey up me duck" youre a long way from home ! Oh and one more thing we wont be upset if you post more pics of the girl in your last thread