Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Ross.m. on August 06, 2014, 05:07:21 pm
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I ordered a 71 inch very straight grained Osage stave with no major knots on the back. The seller said it was reduced to one ring on the back, and that I need to reduce it further to get the back of the bow. But when I counted the rings on the back, one side had 18, and the other had twenty, and even more strange, the end with the 18 rings had a thickness of 1 15/32", and the end with 20 rings was 1 12/32" thick. I would expect it to be thicker on the side with more rings, but apparantly not...... How should I get it down to one ring and have the same thickness?
Also on a side note, I have never seen an Osage bow longer than 67" on here, should I cut the stave down to that?
UPDATED QUESTION: As I stated earlier, the guy who I got the stave from had reduced it to one heartwood ring on the back, but he said that for optimum results I should take it down another ring because he wasn't that careful when he did it initially (looks good to me, though) So I go to the tip that I intend to cut and start scraping away wood as practice (never chased a ring before) when I got into the next ring, I saw no change in color. How am I supposed to remove a whole ring if I cannot tell the difference between the two heartwood rings? Also I am doing this in very bright sunlight so that is not the issue.
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Disregard the ring count and thickness. Establish one ring on the back first, then get the limbs an even thickness without regard to the number of rings.
I like 62"-64" myself. 27" draw.
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Make sure you are not counting lunar rings. That sounds like thin rings on osage. Not saying it's not possible because I have worked with some tight ringed osage. Do you have a picture of one of the ends?
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Rings in a tree vary in thickness, and even within a stave. Like already mentioned, just establish your bow back, and your thickness will sort itself out throughout tillering.
length depends on your draw length and whether you want a stiff handle or bendy
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20 ring end 1 12/32
http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/rossmartin98/DF89EFC7-522F-434D-A309-614F6D15C29C_zps5nyjimwv.jpg
18 ring end 1 15/32
http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/rossmartin98/65BB0B4E-6BAA-42A2-9A39-215A7779D3DC_zpstiboysbn.jpg
I've got a 28 inch draw, so I should cut it down to about 67"? What are the drawbacks of keeping it long?
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That is a beautiful piece of osage. You may well already have a pristine 1 ring back and the difference in ring count could be on the belly side. As matter of opinion the work done on the stave so far has been diligent so I'm guessing my assumption is correct. Let's see the back.
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http://s771.photobucket.com/user/rossmartin98/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F5C29305-03FF-493B-A297-AB3F78B07F78_zpsc8rerwad.jpg.html
http://s771.photobucket.com/user/rossmartin98/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F5C29305-03FF-493B-A297-AB3F78B07F78_zpsc8rerwad.jpg.html
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It's hard to tell without seeing it in person. You may be on a different ring but it sure doesn't look like there is a difference of 2 rings.
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Is there any sure fire way to check?
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Find someone close that has experience chasing rings and have them look at it. Where are you located?
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Toledo ohio.
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working the rings on some staves is tricky,,do your best to get it to one ring,,a sure fire way would be send it to a bowyer or friend that is experienced and have them do it,,,, but I have a feeling if you do you best and post pics,,, you can rawhide back it and have a great bow,,,, deer hide is my preference,,I would keep the bow at 68,, that will give you a margin of error,,,
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Point the stave towards a strong light(sun or incandescent artificial light) and if a ring is violated it will jump out at you. Get one continuous ring on the back and tiller the bow until the limbs bend evenly and together and the draw weight is achieved. The ring "flames" on the belly don't indicate even wood removal.
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You might get some help from this recent thread.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,47523.0.html
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Rings are usually thinner on one end. Have you ever seen a tree that was not bigger at the bottom? Don't sweat the stuff you can't control... Have fun making shavings!
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You are over thinking this stuff, depth and ring count don't mean much. Like was said, look at the stave in the evening light outside to see if a ring was violated. You have plenty more to chase if you need to.
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The only reason I was worried was because I read it in the Osage flatbow section of the bowyers bible, but I guess that it isn't as important as the book makes it seem.
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A continuous, clean back ring is the strength and durability of the bow.
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If you don't already have it, buy Dean's book "Hunting the Osage Bow", no misinformation, just the facts. Lots of opinions in the TBB series, some wander away from actual facts.
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If you don't already have it, buy Dean's book "Hunting the Osage Bow", no misinformation, just the facts ??? :-\ ::)
Like has been said don't worry about ring count or even thickness,root end is always thicker,just locate a good ring and
follow,slow and easy if this is your first time chasing with good light,if you loose site of where you are before moving on stop and look from side to side or change the angle you are looking until you fine where you are at and move on. :) :)
Pappy
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It may have one clean ring on the back and cut through two rings on the belly , as long as you have one clean unvialated ring on the back you shoul be fine .
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Update, question in original post.
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Well I would say you should have left it alone but seems you need the experience and mistakes will be your best teacher. Bright sunlight can be your worst enemy. You need the sun coming in at an angle so look at the stave from different directions and don't hog wood off until you are sure. If you look at the side of the stave you should be able to see the top ring the entire length.
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With your drawknife, scrape slowly and carefully until you hit the early growth setting right on top of the ring you want. The early growth has a different feel and texture to it than late wood. Kind of a "Cheese Puff" baked to a crackly crisp feel. Some have described it as corn flakes like material. It is noticeably different. Then just shave it off like you would shave the hair on your arm with a pocket knife. Lite pressure so that you expose the Late wood beneath it without cutting into it. Start on one end and work to the other. Slow and easy. Good lighting as mentioned can make the job so much easier. Not just bright light, but the angle of the light is key. Move the stave around in the light and observe the change as you go. You will find the right angle.
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Thanks, slimbob. When I look at the back that was worked down to one ring, then I see some of the rougher, grainy texture you were talking about. If I take off those few spots, will I be safe making that the back of my bow?
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If it were me, and someone else chased the ring and suggested that I do likewise, I probably would. If however it appears as though you have a good clean ring, with no violations where it has been cut into the next ring, you should be good. Shave the early growth off with very lite pressure on your drawknife, or just lightly sand off the early wood spots. I do both. Drawknife it until it is pretty clean and then sand the back spotlessly clean from there.
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could we see a picture,,,??
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Ross the picture you showed of the back, just flip it so you can see the side. You should be able to see that top ring the entire length. it should look like one solid line. Check both sides.
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I am working on a snaky stave and it is tight ringed , one limb is chased to a single ring but the other is giving me fits , using a scraper only and still violated rings twice ( maybe a third time also , got frustrated and put it down last night ) , I don't have the thickness on the first limb to go down any more so I'm stoping in the middle of the handle and going to senew wrap it under a leather grip , basically it will drop two or three rings in the handle .
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Poggins, put a rawhide backing on it as it is now. That's what I do with thin ringed osage if I can't chase a back ring cleanly.