Almost 20 years ago, a generous member of another forum gave me a near perfect Osage stave--my first good one and probably the best I've ever had.
I had made maybe two dozen white wood bows and was very much a beginner. So... I flattened the back of this stave (because I was an ignorant beginner) and began working the stave in the "pyramid" design, aiming for 50 pounds at 28 inches.
All went well up to about 27 inches, then I witnessed my first bow explosion. Ten inches or so of the tip end of one limb was scattered around my tillering post. I was glad I was using a rope and pulley.
I was pretty discouraged, but thrifty as I was, I figured I still had more than half an Osage bow. I shaved about 3/16" off what was left of the back on that limb and put the remnant in a corner to think about it. Well I did think about it every time I noticed it over the next 14 years. Then we moved from Maine to western Kentucky. The remnant came along in a box with other odd unattached bow limbs.
A few months ago I saw it again in the box where it had remained for the last 4-1/2 years. I had tapered the belly from about 10" beyond the handle in a straight line to the shaved back surface. So I cut an Osage lamination and glued it to the belly taper. That brought the belly to full length again.
Next I cut a hickory backing and glued that to the back of the limb. It reached from mid-handle to the tip.
When the glue had cured, I trimmed the glued-on pieces to the original outline and thinned them down to just a little thicker than the unbroken limb and started floor tillering. I got it to brace height by that means and it was very close to right.
I made a good string and finished the tillering by scraping. The tips were out of line more than I like, so I heated the handle and brought them in line.
I've put about 50 arrows through it and it holds about an inch of reflex when just unstrung and only a little more than that after resting. It's 68-1/2" ntn, 45# @28".
In the photo with the red line, that area is the new belly lamination.
The photo of the back of that limb shows the hickory backing that has an undisciplined streak of heart wood showing.
It's been a long time coming to this and I'm pleased with the outcome.
