osage checking

[ksbowhunter]

Cut osage in early march. Debarked and removed sapwood, and sealed ends and back with cheap white glue. some of the backs are checking badly. Any suggestions would be grateful.

Thanks    Shaun

[osage outlaw]

Try multiple coats of shellac, polyurethane, or wood glue

[Hamish]

 Always use at least 2 coats of pva to seal the backs. If osage is left in large sections like quarters it can check, even when sealed. If you haven't done so already split and trim into actual bow blanks.
 Also keep your staves out of direct sunlight, away from exposed wind.
I have had checking problems in hot summers despite sealing, not in winter though. Not a good idea to keep large fresh staves inside a heated house either.
 Hamish.

[Joec123able]

Yes you need to seal the hell out of it Osage I have found checks worse then any wood I've worked with

[osagejack]

try to go down a few rings and seal with two coats of tite bond ,,that plain white wood will not hold I found out the hard way..

[ksbowhunter]

Thanks all. Ive not had osage check like this before even with cheap white glue. I ran into town tonight and got some shellac and coated, will coat again tomm.

Shaun

[osagejack]

any more I just get the good tite bond 3,,its higher but still only works out to a dollar a bow,,not bad for the security,,

[mikekeswick]

The best thing for sealing wood is parrafin wax. It's the stuff that all expensive wood has on the ends.   

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

+1 on the parrafin wax.  never a failure when using wax

[Will H]

I always use wax on the ends of my Osage. I still prefer tb3 on the back for bellysplits.

[Eric Krewson]

OK, here I go for about the hundredth time, DON'T USE GLUE, use shellac, the best sealer out there.  Easy to scrape off when you start building a bow, clear, you can see the condition of the back(did I take that stave down to one ring?), dries in 10 minutes so multiple coats go on quick and easy.

So, here is my experience with white wood glue;

Best osage I ever cut, arrow straight, flawless, knot free, removed the bark but not the sapwood, coated the backs and ends with multiple coats of white wood glue, placed staves in an out building. About a month later I checked on my staves, every one was checked from the back to the belly, huge checks you could drop a quarter in and all was now firewood.

My not removing the sapwood played a major roll in my woods demise but trusting wood glue
played an equal part. No more wood glue for me me since and no more bad checking.

[twisted hickory]

OK, here I go for about the hundredth time, DON'T USE GLUE, use shellac, the best sealer out there.  Easy to scrape off when you start building a bow, clear, you can see the condition of the back(did I take that stave down to one ring?), dries in 10 minutes so multiple coats go on quick and easy.

So, here is my experience with white wood glue;

Best osage I ever cut, arrow straight, flawless, knot free, removed the bark but not the sapwood, coated the backs and ends with multiple coats of white wood glue, placed staves in an out building. About a month later I checked on my staves, every one was checked from the back to the belly, huge checks you could drop a quarter in and all was now firewood.

My not removing the sapwood played a major roll in my woods demise but trusting wood glue
played an equal part. No more wood glue for me me since and no more bad checking.

How about Black locust? PM sent.
Thanks,
 Greg

[PEARL DRUMS]

I leave all the bark on mine and seal the ends with whatever I can find, they still split. I store them all indoors. Quite often I find the sapwood cracked all the way to the heartwood, on rare occasions I have to take a ring or two off to to find a good back. Most often the cracks are gone after I get the sapwood off.