In a change of fate.....

[BeePrimitive]

Just like it was meant to happen, my father in law called today to see if I would be interested in an osage tree he was cutting down! Um, yeah!!!

I had never seen an osage until today and did not realize that they were thorny! I sliced my palm pretty good trying to pull a smaller piece out of the way! Anyway, this clump of trees was not real big but I think there may be some potential here. I wanted to see what you guys thought!


This is after the tree was cut. I'm not sure you can tell but it only goes up about 4.5 feet and splits off.



This is that 4.5 foot section. The rings are really big but the heartwood is about 6" in diameter.


Im thinking about splitting it like this. I know the short staves won't do much on their own but I was thinking about splicing them together to make it longer. I think I have seen some do that before.


I also got a few branches that seemed thicker but they were mostly sapwood so I am not sure what I can do with those.

So, do you think I have a bow in this?

[Pat B]

Anything 2" or over will make a good bow, even those ones that are mostly sapwood.

[BeePrimitive]

I didn't know that! Maybe I did do pretty good!

So with sapwood, I would just chase that grain and have the sapwood as backing? How much heartwood would I need to make a sturdy bow?

[Hawkdancer]

Looks like you did better than good!  Get the bark off and seal the ends and back!  Oh, also, if I remember correctly, one of the names for Osage is "thorn Apple" .  Good luck with the staves!
Hawkdancer

[BeePrimitive]

Thank you, Hawk! It’s a rainy day today, here in Virginia. I am goin got work on them!

[Eric Krewson]

As has been stated ad nauseum, if you take the bark off the sapwood has to come off as well as it is prone to checking even if it is sealed. If you plan to make a mostly sapwood bow I would leave the bark on until you make the bow.

Your osage has very wide rings, it has been my experience with wide ring osage is that it is just OK but doesn't have the snap of osage with 1/4" or 3/8" rings.

[paulsemp]

Those Rings almost looks like Mulberry

[sleek]

Those Rings almost looks like Mulberry

I agree. Either way, I would treat it like mulberry due to those fat rings. In my experience ( not set in stone, I have shot bows that are exceptional with fat rings ) fat rings make a slower bow with more set, than a thinner ringed bow. Still, it does make a bow and a good one.

[BeePrimitive]

I think I will strip the big one because I don’t need the sapwood on that. I’ll leave the bark on the smaller pieces so I can use the sapwood.

A guy on Facebook also said that it looked like mulberry. I talked to my FIL and he advised that they planted the Osage seeds about 15 years ago. They grow all over the place in and around the courthouse square and that is where they got the seeds.

[sleek]

I think I will strip the big one because I don’t need the sapwood on that. I’ll leave the bark on the smaller pieces so I can use the sapwood.

A guy on Facebook also said that it looked like mulberry. I talked to my FIL and he advised that they planted the Osage seeds about 15 years ago. They grow all over the place in and around the courthouse square and that is where they got the seeds.

It is possible for Osage to look like this. It must have been perfect growing conditions for it. Still, id bet it will make a slightly wider  longer, thicker bow than most Osage. You may have only one ring in it. You should try that for a bow, a one ringer