chasing rings osage and black locust, green vs dry wood?

[rapaport]

I am new to osage and black locust. What are your opinions on chasing rings on these two types of wood? When is it best to chase rings? After completely dried or is it easier to chase when still green? Which of the two are easier to chase rings on? Is black locust similar in characteristics to osage when chasing rings? I have a 7" to 8" diameter  6' long straight and no twist osage log from what I can see. I will split in half. Ends are sealed with two thick coats of polyurethane. Im trying tobe very careful and need to  make sure I doing things right. So if u guys could help me out with green vs dry ring chasing for both. Thanks.

[JonW]

You will likely get differing opinions on this topic. I personally let them dry with bark on and ends sealed. I don't chase rings until I'm ready to make a bow. As far as BL vs Osage, I think Osage is easier to chase a ring on although BL isn't real hard to chase.

[osage outlaw]

I like to rip the bark and sapwood off, seal them, and put them up to season.  When I'm ready to make a bow, I'll even the back up with the drawknife and then rough out the bow on the bandsaw.  Then I'll chase it to the final ring very carefully.  I figure why chase a ring on the entire stave when I can do it on a bow sized piece of wood instead.  After I get the back to a single ring then I'll cut it out to thickness.  That's with osage.  I haven't used BL yet.

[blackhawk]

As an experienced ring chaser I find locust easier to chase than osage because its not as dense and doesn't require the force osage does...I actually chased and laid out a locust and an osage stave today(seasoned wood). I season hedge n locust with the bark on and store it indoors to keep them away from bugs and never had a problem

[okie64]

Much easier to chase rings on dry osage or locust especially if the earlywood rings are thin. I store both inside with bark on. When drawknifing either one of them green they tend to peel instead of crunching.

[George Tsoukalas]

If you decide to work wet Osage or bl be sure youseal the backs when done  for the day. Jawge

[DavidV]

Dry, I've had it check and ruin a stave of osage because I forgot to seal when I was done.

[rapaport]

Very good info.  what about a stave with really thin rings? Will a dry stave make chasing a thin ring easier? My log seems to have very thin rings but the log is straight with no twist. Im afraid of cutting through the ring. How about draw knife sharpness? Dull enough to not to cut but sharp enough to only grab the earlywood?  is that how it works?

[Pappy]

It kind of a double edged sword for me,it's much easier to get the bark and sap wood off wet but I had rather chase a ring when it's seasoned, When I get time I will take the bark and sap off to the yellow and seal the back and then chase a ring later,most of the time I just seal the ends and do it all when I am ready to use it,it will also dry quicker with the sap wood off. Just be sure to get all the sap wood off if you start,it will check really bad,sometimes even sealed if you leave the sap on wet.
   Pappy