osage ELB attempt some pics

[dismount]

This is out of my comfort zone, and I want to thank Pat B. and others for help in getting started. As you can see I left a 1/4'' sap on after chasing a sap ring. Since the pics I have the stave down to 74'' and about 11/8 wide, and started rounding the bow. It is like hand making a 6' pole. should the width of the bow determine somewhat the thickness??? All ELB's seem to be almost perfectly round. Don't know whether to taper with the belly thickness or limb width. Does that make any sense?  Phil

[attachment deleted by admin]

[medicinewheel]

Hi Phil! - Nice stave you got there!
No, ELB's are not necessarily round, a lot are more or less rectengulare in cross section.
You would taper both width and thickness in more or less a straight line towards the tips.

[Okie]

Hey Phil, how ya been? That's a nice lookin piece of 'Sage ya got there. Sorry I'm no help with an ELB.

[medicinewheel]

Ps: I don't know Osage very well, but from what I know you should take the sapwood off.

[Dano]

The sapwood can be left on, you don't don't hear about it much but it will work. I'm with John, that is a fine piece of hedge.

[Pat B]

As long as you know the sapwood is sound you can leave a few rings on the back. I did it on the ELB I made and on other bows too. I have made all sapwood osage bows with good results.

[dismount]

Hey Okie1 been a rough 2 months at my house, sorry i've been absent some! Medicine wheel, thanks, I will taper both sides and belly. The osage stve is a sister to one I sent island piper. that tree was so straight, I've got 9 staves like that from it. only problem is the thin rings. Pat, I've got a few cat faces on the stave near the edge, but maybe leaving the sap will help. If it doesn't go Kablewy on me I'll post more pics cuz I really don't know what I'm doing with it!!!  Phil

[dismount]

 P.S. Dano, Are you coming to OJAM this spring? I might bring a stave or two from that tree. The wood should be cured, I cut it in 2004. Also can I sample your homemade lemonade everyone raves about?  I get thirsty  scrapin' wood!      Phil

[Dano]

You bet Phil, as long as you don't play with sharp tools, you can sample all you want.

[Pat B]

Phil, put a rawhide or simple cloth backing just for insurance.  I generally do that with thin ringed osage anyway because I am never sure about the soundness of the back ring on the thin ringed stuff.

ps, no sharp tools with Dano's lemonade!

[bigcountry]

Is there any benefit on leaving sapwood on?  Or just looks good?

[Pat B]

No real benefit. I started doing it with some staves because they didn't have much heartwood to work with. Actually my first one was a 2" diameter pole with only a pencil sized heartwood at the very center. The first timer I met Tom B and his son Patrick I gave that bow to Patrick.
  I like to use sapwood sometimes to prove to the non-believers that it can be used but you MUST know it is sound because it doesn't have the insect and fungal resistance that the heartwood has.

[Dave 55]

That is really interesting,I thought you had to remave the sapwood also,best of luck with your build.

[dismount]

O.K> Thanks Pat, I will hide the back,  cuz thats alot of lumber to detonate.  Sounds like grannys rumatize medicine! May just have to taste it once, wouldn't want to fall in the creek and not find the way back to my teepee   thanks all  Phil

[medicinewheel]

I should look great to leave the sapwood on, especially when the heartwood darkens!