Re: Need Help with an Osage Bow(Finished Bow with Pics)

[Drewster]

A friend of mine gave me this Osage stave and thought I might like a challenge.  And since this is my second Osage bow, it has indeed been a challenge.   Here's the stave after I had removed the bark and sapwood and was in the process of chasing a ring for the back.



The only way to get a bow out of this stave was to cut it in half, flip it end for end and splice the handle together.  Here's the bow after roughing out the profile this morning.  The left side has about 25° of propeller twist but the right limb is what I need help with at the moment.  The limbs are about 1" thick.  If I don't have to reduce the length, this bow should finish out at 66" ntn.



And some close-ups of the tip.  Big growth rings in this stave.







Since one tip is almost flipped, I'd like to flip the tips on this bow.  Should this be done after floor tillering?
How do I deal with this double curve?  I have flipped the tips on a couple of bows, but nothing with this kind of curved end to deal with.  What radius form should I build?  How thin should I make the tips before trying to flip them?  1/2" and leave them 1" wide or more?  I plan to use dry heat.  Does the belly need to be a single growth ring?

Any step by step help would be appreciated for sure.

[IndianGuy]

I'm not sure that's Osage I've never seen one so light in color, and the end growth rings in the last pic don't look like osage to me? Looks more like hackberry..maybe mulberry?
E

[Drewster]

It is absolutely Osage.  With the lights in my shop, my camera didn't do a good job depicting the color today.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Id leave the kink as is, I wouldn't try to move that. Then Id flip the other end to an equal amount, not necessarily matching shape. Id get it somewhat floor tillered first, just so your not trying to bend waste wood.

[Springbuck]

  Anything you do to "correct" that stave, had better be done after thinning it as far as you dare.  You could recurve the tips or whatever, but with that flip-dee-doo at the end, you have a job ahead. 

I'd thin the heck out of it, maybe even chasing a ring on the belly, and flip it right where it already wants to by just straightening the tip.  That'll make an angular semi-recurve.  I'd leave it wide as you can and try to get the limbs to 1/2" thick or a tad more at the tips before doing  this.  I'd also clamp some of the twist out of the other limb and heat treat the belly (once thinned) to make things less complicated.

Cool as heck stave, though.

[Drewster]

Any other thoughts on how to deal with this stave?

[osage outlaw]

I would cut that inch or so off of that tip where it flattens back out.  If you did it would look like a perfectly flipped tip.  I'd cut the other one off and flip it to match. That's what I would do if I was working that stave.  Of course I only have a 24" draw length so there would still be plenty of length left.

What kind of draw length are you wanting from it?

[Stringman]

Honestly, I'd have no problem reducing the stave to rough dimensions then correcting the right tip to a nice evn flip. Probably use steam to make sure I got a good bend on it. Then turn it around and do the left tip to match. A little steam work and that stave is gonna look top notch.

[Drewster]

I have a 29 1/2" draw, so was trying to leave it as long as I could.  With 1 5/8" wide limbs, could I get that draw with a 64" Osage bow?

[Drewster]

Honestly, I'd have no problem reducing the stave to rough dimensions then correcting the right tip to a nice evn flip. Probably use steam to make sure I got a good bend on it. Then turn it around and do the left tip to match. A little steam work and that stave is gonna look top notch.

Stringman, you would use steam instead of dry heat in this sitution?

[Stringman]

Yes. I've used both to great effect on osage, but with this specific situation you will have trouble trying to get the short tip to cooperate and bend to fit any kind of radius. That's why I would try steam to give yourself the best chance to have a successful bend. If you can make the right tip line out into a gentle flip then copy it on the other side, you should have no problem reaching a 29" draw with this  stave. Think flipped, not statics.

[Drewster]

Thanks very much Scott......big help!!!

[lebhuntfish]

Sounds like the got your Bending problems squared away.  The only thing I could add is that with rings that thick be careful about making it too thin unless you are tillering. I've had some experience with huge ring Osage. They tend to be softer. Meaning that with the thick rings it will take more thickness to hit your weight. I have one going right now with similar size rings that is almost an inch thick in the fades and about 3/4 towards the tips. It is almost floor tillered. It's not as wide as yours but the thick rings just seam to be softer. Also when I have removed prop twist from thick ring stuff I've had it Crack along the liner grains a little. Always in the center and not anything that would hurt the bow. I found that if I can remove the twist in a longer section I didn't have the cracking problems. Hope this helps you a bit and like I said that's been my experience with the thick ring Osage. Patrick

[Drewster]

Patrick, valuable info that will help me out for sure.  Thank you!  This stave is definitely exposing me to some new learning curves.  Really appreciate everyone's help.

[lebhuntfish]

Your welcome buddy! I like the thick ring stuff. It makes a nice little bow. Just seams to want to be a little thicker when it starts to bend. Can't wait to see your progress! That one should be sweet looking!
By the way, you should have no problem hitting your draw length if you cut the little cruk of the end like Osage said. Patrick