Osage drying checks

[DV IN MN]

I made a harvest of some Osage this weekend and the bark all peeled off very quick and easy. The white cambium right under the bark was slimy and very wet and peeled off easily with the draw knife. There seemed to be another cambium layer or two directly under the very wet slimy layer. I sealed the back of that and the ends, then kervfed it into quarters. I noticed it still checked in one spot overnight. So, I quarter split it this morning. Since appears to be early growth still on the wood on the stave and with it sealed and quarter split will it still check? Plan to draw shave the early off each stave int he next 2 weeks.

[Muskyman]

Just went through the same thing DV. The white wood under the bark is sap wood. You need to get it off till you start seeing the orange wood underneath. This is the advice of the people in the know on here. It’s a ton of work but needs done. Check out my hickory harvest post. It also has some info about this very thing and some photos as I went through the process..
Good luck with it.

[DV IN MN]

Musky

Your post has plenty of good info. Done Osage taking down to late growth just thought MAYBE when I took the slippery layer off, which was around 1/8 in thick, and then put sealer on the next layer and quartered that it would force moister out of the belly rather than the back and get me some extra time before having to pull the rest of the early wood off. Strange thing is on the layers under the wet slippery layer it almost appears like 2 growth rings never seen it before.

[Muskyman]

Yup, I know what you’re saying. Looking at the end it seems like you could be at a growth ring. If you really look at it you can see it’s white looking before it gets darker. I’m pretty new at it so I’m trusting the guys on here that have many years experience with Osage and how to get it ready to stash away..
It’s a ton of work for sure, but it makes nice bows.

[JW_Halverson]

Yeah, that danged sapwood checks crazy fast. Throw another coat or two of sealant on it and maybe put it somewhere that doesn't have much heat or air movement for a few months. Slow some of the initial drying down just to save the hard work you have already done.

[DV IN MN]

Once the sap wood dries for a day or two it's pretty east to remove. Teh bark just slips off this time of year. So I bit the bullet took maybe 11/2 hrs to remove it off the 4 quarters.

[Muskyman]

I feel your pain DV. It’s a ton of work for sure. Good looking Osage staves though, should make some nice bows in the future. I just tucked mine away in my shop today. I’ve got a few more to take the bark and sapwood off of. I sprayed them down with bug spray just in case. Will be getting to them in the near future..

[DV IN MN]

When its summer season is not that hard to peel the bark off. I put one coat of poly on and let them sit for 2 days to get some of the moisture out so that would be a little dry then the sap wood peels off pretty easy. I coated with 2 coats of Poly and three on the last six inches and ends should be good until I get to them hope to add a bunch more in the next year.
Will SEVEN work as a spray if you leave the bark on? Guess I should add some diversity since we have a bunch of good strait ironwood on our property also.

[superdav95]

When its summer season is not that hard to peel the bark off. I put one coat of poly on and let them sit for 2 days to get some of the moisture out so that would be a little dry then the sap wood peels off pretty easy. I coated with 2 coats of Poly and three on the last six inches and ends should be good until I get to them hope to add a bunch more in the next year.
Will SEVEN work as a spray if you leave the bark on? Guess I should add some diversity since we have a bunch of good strait ironwood on our property also.

Good straight ironwood is rare.  At least for me here it is.  If you’ve got some straight iron wood it’s very good bow wood.  Are you talking about hhb?   

[Muskyman]

Don’t know about the seven. I used spectracide. I’m planning on getting to the 5-6 I have left pretty soon. 4 of them are billets and a couple full sized. Can’t have to many staves. Good luck with your harvest.

[DV IN MN]

Superdave
yes HHB. We have a bunch on property in IL, and good % is actually pretty strait. At this point we have been eradicating it from the property and just cutting and dropping.