Osage sapling

[Muskyman]

Got permission to harvest a nice Osage tree from a neighbor’s property. Also there is a small sapling shooting out of the same trunk.. how small is to small with a sapling. This one is probably 3 to 4 inches across.. they want it all removed. Just wondering if it would make a bow..

[Pat B]

I've made 45# to 55# bows with a 2" diameter Osage "pole". I would saw them in half, lengthwise and bound the halves back together with small spacers between them to allow for air circulation. Once dry I remove the bark and use the sapwood as the back. These are somewhat bendy handle bows so I use thick shoe leather(or other flexible materials) for the handle riser so it bends slightly.
 If I can find a pic I'll post them here.

[Pat B]

I found these pics of "Pole Cat"...






...one other thing I did with these pole bows was to add a rawhide backing just for insurance.

[BowEd]

From a 3 to 4 inch sapling it's possible to get a couple stiff handled bows.Depending on how much sapwood you want to remove.Some saplings have more than others and it does'nt hurt to leave the sapwood on either.Most people who make bows have a lot of respect for a sapling bow being very resilient and perform well.If dried out properly.
Here's a couple from a sapling such as yours.Both rawhide backed but not really necessary.I just wanted to have a blank rawhide face to stain on.Both bows around 48#'s@ 28".One completely center shot and a joy to shoot with many different arrows.0 heat treatment on either bows.1 with a rounded belly and 1 with a flat belly showing the versatility of hedge.

[bownarra]

Nah...far too small...don't bother....send it to me instead



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Nice bows above

[Muskyman]

Turns out I was wrong about the size of the sapling. It’s smaller then I thought. I stopped by and looked at my tree today just to look at the sapling and possibly harvest it and it’s pretty small.  I did look the tree over pretty good and I think I should get some good staves out of it. One section of it from the bottom up is probably 6 to 8 feet and has nice straight bark with no limbs. It’s kinda got two main trunks coming up from the bottom. I’m really anxious to cut it down. Should I wait till fall or does that matter?

[George Tsoukalas]

Bowed, those are awesome bows.

I once made a 49# bow from a 1 inch from an osage bow with about 3-5 inches of reflex. I just left the  sapwood on.

I gave it away.

Jawge

[superdav95]

Super nice bows Ed.  Love the stain job! 

[BowEd]

Well muskyman if you can get 1 good one more power to ya.There known be spunky bows.
Yes George I had a sliver of osage 1 and 1/8" wide I pretty much gave away.It pulled 65#'s@ 28".
I didn't shoot that weight any more....ha ha.

[Muskyman]

I’m hopeful but, not going to count my chickens before they hatch.. no matter how many good staves I get,if any and I can make one good bow with it / them, I’ll be beyond happy.
I’ve been trying to make one that shoots and have one that I’ve been shooting. Made it from hickory.
The main thing I’ve learned so far is that I need to learn patients. Unfortunately I don’t have a lot of that. If I do harvest the sapling I’ll let you know how it goes

Thanks for your insight on my questions

By the way, those are some great looking bows in the photos.

[bownarra]

Cut it now but then search for how to dry osage safely and properly.
Make sure you have some wedges, a sledge, a good drawknife, plenty of pva, time and energy.

[BowEd]

You'll do fine.
Down the line through your journey as you acquire more and more staves be sure to date them and store them under cover in the shade out of the wind.I put them in my steel tractor shed up on a rack.
Proper steps along the way to storage will serve you well for the future to making a bow from them.It's not complicated rather just common sense.
Lets hope you become a hoarder like the rest of us.....ha ha.

[Muskyman]

Got the wedges, draw knife but, not the sledgehammer. I do have a splitting maul I used for firewood. Not sure what pva is though. Got a couple places to store them but the patients to wait for it to dry is lacking to be honest. I dried the hickory I cut down for a day over coals from a fire and some charcoal after shaping it down to about floor tiller. I’ll probably try to get one of my Osage staves like that then let it set for a while. Need to get a moisture meter so I can see about where my staves are as far as drying..

[Pat B]

PVA is wood glue like Elmer's or TB.
 Trying to dry osage too quickly after cutting can lead to checking. Cut it, split it and seal the ends for now. In a few weeks or so you should be able to remove the bark and then seal the back well.

[Muskyman]

Good to know. I have some tb 3 glue