Osage orange pig in a poke

[Buck67]

I was enjoying a cooling beverage while in camp at the NMLRA Spring shoot last Friday when a woman, eyeing my Archery Gear, asked if I wanted to buy some Osage Orange.  Of course I said yes.  She drove up to my camp with SUV full of OA.  Said she'd cut it last year.  They were all sizes and branches.  I bought two 4" logs for $40 each.  The logs had not been painted on the ends and they were about 6' long.  She also threw in two 5' long branches about 2" wide.

Got them home, threw them on the patio and commenced to unload and unpack the truck.  One of the 4" logs had a bad case of Powder Post Beetles.  So now I have one $80 4" log and two 2" branches.

I split the 4" log, it split cleanly to the center of the log with no runout.  Peeled off the bark, painted the ends and stored in my Air Conditioned basement.  One 2" branch split to the center but with a 1/3 and 2/3 split.  In peeling off the bark I found signs that the 4" piece spent some time on the ground and I have black stain on part of the wood.

So what's next.  I think my options are:

1 - cut the log halves in half again on my bandsaw to get 4 staves
2 - let them dry until this Winter
3 - turn the one with powder post beetles into firewood
4 - turn the 5' long branches into either kids bows or Horse Indian bows.
5 - Sudbury bow or Holmegren bow

I built 14 bows this last Covid Winter.  12 board bows and two Hickory Bows.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to tackle Osage Orange yet but here I go.  Just want to know what I'm missing, and free advice.

[Eric Krewson]

I post this every time people ask about powder post beetles. It they go in one side and out the other your wood is fire wood. You may work you way down and get out of them if they haven't been at work too long.

I found this while splitting some firewood that the beetles got to first.

[Hamish]

 Don't leave osage with the back unsealed even when you think its relatively dry, it can still check.

[Eric Krewson]

Yep, I got way too many unfortunate surprises early when I thought a dry looking piece of osage wouldn't check on the back.

[BowEd]

Usually post hole beetles get into my hickory here if left on the ground long enough but not into osage.I've got wood wasps here that'll get into the osage.I say go for it with yours.That's a lot of bows you made.
I left an osage log I cut on the ground way back in the woods once.Forgot about it.1 year later I ran across it and split it up.The bark just fell off with the sapwood looking in good shape and a little cambium left on it.Sapwood was a bit stained from the weather and rain but it looks sound.No bugs no nothing wrong with it.Very odd as wood wasps are here.My concern was if the sapwood was sound.It is'nt crumbly or decayed or dry etc.It looks good.I'll try to make some sapwood backed bows from them.I sealed back and ends good with shellack.Oddest looking prepared staves I've got of osage.
Nice staves that'll I'll try to make bows from later.

[Buck67]

Thanks for the warnings. 

I'll paint the backs tomorrow.  Some checking already. 

Glad to know the discoloration is not cause for disposal.

[Eric Krewson]

I had a half trunk of osage I put in my basement, a few weeks later I saw powder post beetle sawdust on the floor and moved it back outside. I had a dark green ping pong table near the where I stored the osage. A few weeks later I could see powder post beetle dust on my ping pong table, the dang things had migrated into my floor joists.  It took$600 worth of bug treatments with Boracare to my basement to get rid of them.

[SLIMBOB]

I made 2 bows from a stave that had layed on the ground here for 9 years. “Old Wormy Osage”. You can look it up if your interested. Wood wasps (larvae) had worked on it, but 5-6 rings deep it was perfectly sound. So far as Powder Post Beetles go, they will attack my Hackberry, and never touch the Osage right beside it. I suppose the bugs may operate differently where you are, but I would question if what you are seeing is actually worm holes. 1/8” to 3/8” holes?  That’s worms. The beetles, at least here leave little pin holes all over with powder everywhere.

[BowEd]

I made 2 bows from a stave that had layed on the ground here for 9 years. “Old Wormy Osage”. You can look it up if your interested. Wood wasps (larvae) had worked on it, but 5-6 rings deep it was perfectly sound. So far as Powder Post Beetles go, they will attack my Hackberry, and never touch the Osage right beside it. I suppose the bugs may operate differently where you are, but I would question if what you are seeing is actually worm holes. 1/8” to 3/8” holes?  That’s worms. The beetles, at least here leave little pin holes all over with powder everywhere.

That's my experience with post hole beetles.Very small little hole with saw dust powder left behind.

[JW_Halverson]

Grab a drawknife and start ripping off damaged wood until you either get to good wood or you determine it is behind salvage. Paint or shellac the backs and spray bug killer all over'em before returning them to rest and cure out.

Good luck. And remember, it don't take much osage to make a bow.