crooked and cracked yella stick

[sadiejane]

seems i end up with too many of these crooked arse bits of osage
but i get all my wood free so i try to work with it


ok so that can all be taken out with heat when i get er down to bow dimensions
but the crookedness is not really my concern
ive been able to straighten out equally twisted wood

the cracks and nasty early growth rings are
first some info that might make this easier to figure out
the stave is about 66" long at present
only 7/8" wide as this bit of wood had lots of damage from splitting and hacking before i started on it
the rings are nice and thick

so that gave me some hope
but as i took it down to its current back ring, the early growth in between was really dry, brittle, discolored.
it just flaked off in chunks
here you can see the next early growth layer on one limb looks to be the same(the back of the bow is at bottom of pic)

there is enuf wood i think, to take it down one more ring
but then i run into this coming up from two rings down right thru top of the next ring(back of bow is at top in this pic)

so here is what i see as my options-
cut off the dry brittle early growth end and make it a 52" bow
take it down another ring but risk that crack peeling up
just go forward as is and hope for the best-gluing the cracks
maybe do both, cut er off, take down another ring and make it a lightweight kids bow...

what yall think???

[Josh B]

That early growth looks like a laminar separation. No good that.  Its a tough call, but I would probably chase a ring to get rid of that and take my chances with superglue followed by a sinew wrap if that check is threatening a runout. Its hard to commit to a plan of action on that one, but if there is a will there's a way!  I got faith in ya!  Josh

[sadiejane]

one other bit of info
a pal built his first bow outta very similarly cracked bit of osage
we glued the cracks while he was finishing it up
upon completion one limb had a very similar crack too close to running up to the back for my comfort
so i wrapped with sinew(for the length of the crack and about 2" past both ends) and it has held up over a year of shooting so far....
and we did some heat straightening on that bit of wood too
the nasty early growth ring worries me more than the crack...
am i correct in feeling this way?
ive seen that sorta early growth ring issue before but always had enuf wood to get rid of it
sure appreciate any input you fellas might have to offer

[sadiejane]

thanks josh-yup that early growth ring gives me the willies.....
and yup, that crack can be glued and wrapped
my thinking exactly
but i really wanted someone else eye/opinion
if it holds while heating and twisting
outta hold from then on with a good sinew wrap

thanks!!!

[johnston]

sadie didn't you cut some nice hickory a while back? Or do you just have a tender spot
for twisted up, perverted, over rated piss yeller wood?

[toomanyknots]

That looks like some hard correcting jobs right there. Good luck. I will be watching (and learning, ).

[JonW]

Sadie I say go short and make a bow with the good wood, but that's what I do on a regular basis as I like 'em short anyway.

sadie didn't you cut some nice hickory a while back? Or do you just have a tender spot
for twisted up, perverted, over rated piss yeller wood?

Surely you jest?!

[tattoo dave]

That's way past my skill level Sadie, so no advice from this guy. But I'm looking forward to seeing that stick turn into some kind of bow! Keep us posted.

Tattoo Dave

[sadiejane]

well, i took gun docs advice and removed the top ring.
still plenty of wood to make a bow
i tend to like em shorter myself
but will likely leave this one at this length for now
will now get er down to bow thickness and begin the untwisting
if all those cracks hold up to that
then it oughta make a bow

and yes, i got a few nice sticks of hickory-working on one right now-will likely posts some pix when i get it done
also got some dogwood, that gnarly bit of yew i showed yall a few weeks ago
a really nice looking stick of ironwood gun doc gifted
a cupla sticks of hackberry
and my neighbor is fixing to take down an old walnut to build a house
there are some great looking big limbs on that tree
(10-12" and some are 10 ft+ lengths with no smaller limbs and looks prudy straight from the ground)
anxious to get my grubby paws on a bunch of those sticks
have seen a cupla gundocs walnut bows that were amazing and beautiful
but yes, that old yella wood holds a special place for me
and as long as i have it available it will be my goto wood


thanks folks-yr input is always appreciated