Osage.. Grrrr Ftzzzz Hisss

[Del the cat]

A tale of woe.
A while back a guy at the club gave be a half an Osage log, I said I'd split it and make us each a bow.
Well, I started on a shortie Choctaw bow like on p2 of TBB vol2.
I ripped off the bug addled sapwood, followed a ring, found it got lost in a nasty hump at one end. Dropped down a ring or two and followed it all the way back.
I'd got the shape marked out and I wondered...
"What's that pencil mark on the edge of the bow?" I don't remember marking out there.
Yup, it was a damn split between two rings, I tried flexing it an flooding with superglue, but it had about as much structural integrity as two sheets of lasagna
The split then came up and out of my pristine ring followed back 
Long story short, it's rapidly turned from 1 5/8" wide to barely 1" wide. It will probably end up being a kids bow.

So... the big question. Would I be better cutting the rest of the log into slices quarter sawn so that the rings run back to belly? I did that on a tiny Osage shortie I made from an offcut a while back.

I'm fairly philosophical about this sort of thing, but I'd already wasted Friday day collecing and sawing down some Yew with rot between heart and sap (I'd even given the guy a good few quid for the stuff... a triumph of optimism over experience on my part)

What really irritates is I'd wanted to give the bow to this guy unfinished so he could do a nice paint job and gip. He's just retired and is keen to get into doing more bow stuff.
Not much room for a nice paint job on a 1" bow.
Hey ho, could be worse, I could be living in Somerset where they are all flooded out.
Del

[half eye]

Del, I have recently built six bows in the "rectangle section" vein of the plains self bows. For a bow in the mid 50's long, an inch wide and 5/8" deep will easily hit the mid-upper 50 pound range at 26 " of draw. That was with yellow birch, American Beech, and hard Maple. They were also all "double curved" ( slightly set back grip areas ) with and without re-curved limb-tips. If any of that sounds like it would fit your stave I can post the dimensions for you. If you make the bow longer you would probably need 3/4" thickness at the grip to make moderate weight.
rich

[SLIMBOB]

Yeah, but we'd all be shooting someone else's bows if each of us didn't have a bit of that optimism.

[Del the cat]

Del, I have recently built six bows in the "rectangle section" vein of the plains self bows. For a bow in the mid 50's long, an inch wide and 5/8" deep will easily hit the mid-upper 50 pound range at 26 " of draw. That was with yellow birch, American Beech, and hard Maple. They were also all "double curved" ( slightly set back grip areas ) with and without re-curved limb-tips. If any of that sounds like it would fit your stave I can post the dimensions for you. If you make the bow longer you would probably need 3/4" thickness at the grip to make moderate weight.
rich

Hi Rich, I was hoping you'd chip in   
I've actually tillered it, but there was a bit of a hinge waiting to start where it was V thin on one edge. I've done a belly patch just for the heck of it (degreasing with lye first) I can treat this as an Osage learning exercise.
I think it was just one of those logs that, by the time you'd cut away all the sapwood, checks and splits and weird dips there wasn't much left.
The skinny sucker still actually pulls quite nicely, and I on'y wanted about 40# at 26" anyway. I'd just fancied a bit more width so my friend would have something to paint.
This was the worst quarter of the log, but even the best seems to have a fair few checks.
I'll see how it goes, but I'm begining to think I'd have ended up over weight or wafer thin if I hadn't narrowed it. It's got a lot of Ooomph per square inch that Osage compared to Yew, but pound for pound they are prob about the same as Yew is about half the weight.
I was really wondering if I was going to get less wastage going quater sawn? But then I'm the one with the log! I s'pose we all stand or fall by or decisions.
Maybe to get the authentic proportions but at the lower draw weight I'd be better going to Yew or a whitewood, mind, then I'd end up moaning when it chrysalled
Cheers
Del