Author Topic: Bark Or No Bark (Read 1880 times)

Piddler · « **on:** May 18, 2020, 07:16:26 pm »

Guys I have two questions. I got clearance to cut a couple Osage trees. Question is do you guys prefer to take off the bark and seal the back or leave bark on and seal the ends. I had some bad luck with bugs on some Mulberry last year. I will store these inside my shop this time instead of out in the open shed.
Question two. I plan on spraying them with insecticide so what kind do you guys prefer. I actually sprayed the Mulberry with Bifin IT but still got bugs.
Thanks in advance for any replies
Piddler

Pappy · « **Reply #1 on:** May 18, 2020, 07:50:53 pm »

Bark off and seal back and ends, I have left it on and had good luck and very bad luck, ant worth the chance, anymore I debark it all before I put it away.

It's a lot of work but actually it comes off much easier when green. Also be sure to take it to yellow wood before you stop. It will check bad and in a hurry if you leave the sap wood on, sealed or not.

Pappy

Pat B · « **Reply #2 on:** May 18, 2020, 08:34:12 pm »

Bark and sapwood off and seal the back and ends.

NewBowyer · « **Reply #3 on:** May 18, 2020, 08:35:20 pm »

Pappy does that rule apply to any of the non-white woods? I'm thinking specifically of black locust. I have 2 that I debarked & sealed but didn't remove the sapwood.

HH~ · « **Reply #4 on:** May 18, 2020, 09:27:11 pm »

Only time i leave bark on is small dia stuff anymore. Leave it for a few months , then peel and seal.

Staves all get debarked and sealed. Suks when you got a truck load to do but you’ll be happy when you grab a nice stave after it cures and your not fighting petrified sapwood! Keep wood boogers off them as well.

HH

Pappy · « **Reply #5 on:** May 19, 2020, 05:48:17 am »

In most cases yes, but would depend on time of year, heat and humidity , if it is hot and dry , or you put in a hot dry place it will usually check in the sap wood and most times travel into the heart wood.Nothing is a for sure or at least not many things in wood bow building but from my experience most times it will check.

i even like to take the bark off white wood if it is the time of year that it comes off clean, just eliminates the risk of bugs and helps it season/dry quicker.
Pappy

HH~ · « **Reply #6 on:** May 19, 2020, 06:41:49 am »

Yep Pap

Glad you had peel all that stuff. I saw what happens in long run if you don't. Seems like a lot of work all at once but it's nice to grab two clean billets and get to work. I would think it would be worth more if you were selling it as well. You see what yer getting and the tough work is done.

HH~

Piddler · « **Reply #7 on:** May 19, 2020, 04:56:12 pm »

Thanks Pappy, Pat B and HH.
Got the first one cut split and carried out of the woods. It was downed but hung up in another tree. Sealed up the ends and a couple inches up the sides with glue. Gonna get the bark and sapwood removed then glue the back and probably go over that with polyurethane for safe keeping. I have them inside my shop this time. Still have nightmares looking at the mulberry I had in the shed after it turned in to bug food. Hope I have a couple days on the debarking. I have some more carpentry work on my daughters house tomorrow but shouldn't take all day. Gonna cut up the other downed one some day soon. It's already dead and has been for a while but something may be salvageable.
Thanks again fellas
Piddler

Piddler · « **Reply #8 on:** May 20, 2020, 08:43:39 pm »

Another question to go along with the rest. I am going to put down a layer of Glue then cover it with Polyurethane. Does that sound like a decent plan or would you guys prefer two coats of glue or only Polyurethane. My thinking is since the glue comes off easier, especially with water, it will be easier to remove later on when its time to start working them.
Thanks again,
Piddler

Eric Krewson · « **Reply #9 on:** May 21, 2020, 07:18:30 am »

You don't need the poly if you put two coats of glue down. I prefer shellac. easy on, easy off, it get real brittle as it dries and scrapes off easily when it is bow making time.

Hamish · « **Reply #10 on:** May 21, 2020, 04:35:57 pm »

How big are these logs? I ask because if they are from large logs, even if split into quarters, can still be large pieces of wood that can check when sealed.

Piddler · « **Reply #11 on:** May 21, 2020, 05:09:58 pm »

Eric,
I may try the Shellac thing or just stick with glue. May try both options. I had the polyurethane so thought I would use it.
Hamish,
These staves aren't from a very big tree but there is a big one on my hit list as soon as I get time. The big one will have to be smaller than quartered for sure.
Piddler

bassman · « **Reply #12 on:** May 21, 2020, 05:59:54 pm »

I don't know. Maybe I am just lucky, but my last batch of wood is Birch,and Elm. The trees were all about 4 to 6 inches in diameter.The Elm I cut right down the middle with a chain saw, and split the Birch green. I have forms ,so I got 6 staves down to floor tiller ,and straightened ,and clamped them to forms. I let them dry on the forms in the basement at 62 degrees.The rest I left the bark on, and Painted the ends. I have since been taking a stave at a time,and debark it, and go through the same procedure to make a bow.No checks,and no cracks, or bugs in the wood. All that I use is paint to seal the ends.

gumboman · « **Reply #13 on:** May 21, 2020, 07:42:26 pm »

Quote

Bark and sapwood off and seal the back and ends.

In my experience this is the best approach. I removed the bark and sapwood from 6 staves in spring of 2019 immediately after harvesting. This task was easy and everything peeled off without much effort. i sealed ends and back. They have cured wonderfully. Made a couple of bows with good results. In the last 30 days I have begun debarking some of the staves I left in the natural state to dry. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is much more difficult and laborious to take bark and sapwood off of dried staves. In fact it is a pain. In the future I will cut only enough osage that I can split into staves and remove bark and sapwood and then seal in a couple of days. This is much less work and less wear and tear on the body.

Eric Krewson · « **Reply #14 on:** May 22, 2020, 07:20:07 am »

I agree completely Gumboman, I cut everything in sight when I first started out and often got myself overloaded. I lost a lot of osage by leaving the bark on and sometimes taking the bark off and leaving the sapwood. One time I pealed logs in all my spare time for a month, my hands swelled up like sausages.

I even bought an arbortech cutter for my angle grinder to try to speed things up, it didn't work as well as I had hoped.

Finally a light went off in my head and I started cutting one tree at a time, processing it and moving on to the next one.

Here is the arbortech in action, it threw a nice rooster tail.

Primitive Archer