Osage rings??

[wood_bandit99]

I agree. My wide (.5" wide growth ring) staves have made slow bows. My last ones with less late wood is far faster. I think the late wood is super heavy compared to the light stuff making it a lot more heavy in the limbs. They seem to take more set and be slower than my tight ring osage. Whatever it is I make wide ring bows wider since I have found they take more set.

[Badger]

   I am a recent convert to thin ringed osage. I will take all I can get. I like to see a good ratio as mentioned but I have worked it as mentioned above like fine ringed yew and they come out great. If ther ratio is good it is also just as dense as any other osage, which varies quite a bit from tree to tree.

[toomanyknots]

 I think I get better performance from the thin ringed stuff

I second that. Thin ringed osage has grow slower and denser most of the time. It is more springy and takes less set (if any). I find this true in lots of wood I work as well, and I figure it wouldn't just be true in only yew. The best stuff around my area I know of grows high up in the hills of kentucky from smaller and tougher trees, not the stuff growing around flat farmlands where most people get their osage. (I have been on a lot of Craigslist powered osage adventures, haha  )

[toomanyknots]

Here's a pic of a chunk of the best osage I have ever come across:

[Joec123able]

Of course im no "osage selfbow expert" but My favorite Osage bow has almost 50/50 ratio of late to early wood, it has zero string follow after countless shots. Probably just got lucky with it.

Here's what the rings are like on that bow this is the same piece of wood it has no string follow like I said I shoot it a lot pretty tight rings on the wood it was made from

[TimBo]

I hope you guys aren't cutting your bows in half to prove a point!

[Joec123able]

I hope you guys aren't cutting your bows in half to prove a point!

Lol well I didn't that was a piece I cut off the bow when cutting it to lenth

[Badly Bent]

I like that osage in the pic you posted TMK. My best osage bows have come from tight ringed, darker colored, dense osage like pictured in that end cut view. Late wood rings small but early wood rings really small. This is just my opinion
as no real science and very little advanced thought happen when I'm making a bow.

[toomanyknots]

as no real science and very little advanced thought happen when I'm making a bow.

Glad I'm not the only one! 

[Danzn Bar]

Boy ....... I've got quite a few thin ringed staves in my stash that you guys have got me thinking about again.  I'm going to get that stuff out and take a look at it.
I got real discourage with it a while back,  I had about four bows in a row out of the same tree raise splinters and then fail.
Thanks for firing me up again on the thin stuff.
DBar

[SLIMBOB]

Like it all, but tight ringed with very thin early wood is superior in my opinion.  Add in reaction wood with some set back and a bit of a crown...it's what dreams are made of.  Lower mass, more speed, less set than the thicker ringed staves.  As an aside,  this also matches the description of the staves most likely to explode during construction, at least for me.

[TimBo]

This has been a very interesting discussion, as I was definitely of the "thick rings are better" mindset...but the tension wood thing makes a lot of sense. 

[osage outlaw]

With all this talk about thin rings I'm going to start looking at some different trees to cut next year.  I usually try to go after the ones I think will have thicker rings.  I wouldn't mind making a few bows with yewish rings and see how they perform.

[burn em up chuck]

    rps3 has a trade bow i made for him w/rings around 1/32&1/64 thick. mostly late growth. I don't have the experience as some others. all i can say for sure is that bow is the best I've done so far. my fist thin ringed I'm  happy, i will try another soon. just my two sents 

                                                                                              chuck

[Badger]

  The bow I shot the world broadhead record with was very fined ring. I built it with about 5" reflex and it held 4. They just don't seem to take any set.