Osage sapwood

[Mafort]

So haven’t made a bow from Osage orange yet but I did have a question for those who do. I have a failrly decent stage of it with no grub holes or anything in the sapwood. Can I thin the sapwood like yew and use it for the back of the bow? Should I just go ahead and rip it off of there? Leave it full thickness? It’s fairly narrow which is why I ask about an inch and a half at most and maybe the same in thickness. Any tips?

[sleek]

Sap makes a fine back, done it lots of times, all the way to a 95 pound bow.

[dylanholderman]

Agreed, I made a 90 degree static recurve recently that had a sapwood back.

[SLIMBOB]

Not me. I rip it off looking for a good clean hardwood ring. Tried one years ago that way and it was ugly as sin. Personal thing perhaps.

[bassman]

It works either way as stated above. When I use Osage ,Black Locust, and White Oak I chase to a hard wood ring. Just a choice.

[ohma2]

I like a sapwood osage back forlooks ..i have a 62 "flatbow right now that has pin groups and rolller coaster in   almost the full length  its a plleasing bow to shoot and look at.build what you like .

[Pat B]

Yes, you can use osage sapwood on the back but unlike yew you'll need to have a good, clear sapwood back.
Osage sapwood is probably stronger than a lot of the whitewoods.

[sleek]

I'm going to make an intuitive statement,  based on a few bows. Sap is very tension strong. I have hinged a bow recently that would have broken a heartwood bow, but rather than break  it took lots of set in the area only. I feel it's actually very good back but not as performance enhancing as heartwood as its more fibrous and hydroscopic.

That's just from experience, not any intentional testing. However,  I have bent just sapwood strips almost into a U shape ( with lots of set ) without breakage, heartwood wouldn't stand for such torture.

[Hamish]

When you thin the sapwood of yew, you are usually only able to get a relatively even layer of sapwood, rather than follow one ring because the growth rings are much thinner than good osage.

When thinning osage sapwood you want to follow one ring on the back, because it is a ring porous wood.

As its your first bow from osage, you probably don't have the insight or experience to get the potential benefit from a sapwood/heartwood combo, that someone like Sleek is interested in exploring.

If you said the stave was thin and that there mightn't be enough heartwood by itself to make a bow, I would say sure go ahead and use the sapwood.
In the end its your stave and your choice, and I admit the combo of osage  sap/heart also makes a nice looking bow, so whatever you make it will turn out good.

[bradsmith2010]

if there is not much wood,,sapwood is fine,
if you have a bigger stave,, the sap wood next to the heart wood is almost turning to heart wood,,
if you have ever looked at old osage,, the sap wood will rot off,, but the heart wood will not rot,,
I have used it successfully,  but prefer heartwood if I can,, or the sap wood right next to heart wood,,,,
on a small peace with really no option,, of course go for it with the sap wood,,

[bjrogg]

I've got a couple just like Brad discribed that I really like.
Bjrogg

[sleek]

Brad has a solid point there, it's best to thin the sap down. Mostly so the bow remains about a 50/50 ration of heart to sap, or less sap if possible.  You dont need to chase a ring on sap, or heart for that matter, you can just decrown.If it's super thin ring, you dont need to worry about following the grain much at all, just treat it like yew.

[SLIMBOB]

The one I made with sapwood was just ugly. I know that beauty is in the..yadda yadda, but the back was a...urine color, and when I put a finish on it there were little cracks everywhere. Never so much as tempted to try it again. I was a beginner so could have been my fault.

[sleek]

The one I made with sapwood was just ugly. I know that beauty is in the..yadda yadda, but the back was a...urine color, and when I put a finish on it there were little cracks everywhere. Never so much as tempted to try it again. I was a beginner so could have been my fault.

Those cracks are why I called sapwood hydroscopic. It soaks water up, then cracks when it dries. Even high humidity and dew will crack it like thousands of checks. Also a heat treat will crack the back from rapid moisture loss through the back. I havent had one fail from it, but it sure looks suspicious.

[SLIMBOB]

Yeah, it was literally covered, handle to tip with these cracks. They were not visible until I put TruOil on it, and they were everywhere. It held together, but it looked like death eating a cracker.