Osage Stave came today-Critique & advice please.(pic heavy)

[Capt]

Well i finally got my stave after it getting stuck in Mexican Customs and then locked up in the post office for a long national holiday weekend...

I got it home about 5 hours ago and got stuck straight in... 5 hours scraping and sanding trying my best to get down to one growth ring then shaping it up a bit and sketching out a layout (please let me know if it looks like i violated the ring on any of the pics and how badly it might effect if so) ..... right now i just have center point, handle section and limb width....

Its 63" overall and i'm going to rough it out 1 and 7/8" inch wide from tip to tip to get started.. ill be leaving a 4" handle section + 2" either side for fades... thinning the limbs after the fades to about 5/8" all the way...

from there i want to shape her up with some heat...

One of the tips is already kind of naturally recurved with a bit of twist so once i have it totally roughed out i was going to make the next step to shape with heat my tips and take out the twist.... i want to try and get the twist out as i recurve the tips... What do you all think....

[Blaflair2]

I think it's easier to get the twist out once u recurve them. I'm new but it seems like simple leverage. A lot less force. It doesn't look twisted that bad. Usually I see ppl line up the tips once recurred. How wide is it? What's your lay out?

[wood_bandit99]

Where is the bumps and roller coasters?? The back looks ok for all I can see and I lay mine out 1 1/2" at fade 1 1/8" halfway and 1/2" at tips.

[osage outlaw]

I like to get a bow floor tillered and smooth all the edges before I make any heat corrections.  Less wood is easier to heat and bend. 

[Capt]

I like to get a bow floor tillered and smooth all the edges before I make any heat corrections.  Less wood is easier to heat and bend.

Thanks Osage Outlaw - Exactly the kind of tip / advice im looking for... ill get it floor tillered and smooth then get it on the form...

[Joec123able]

That is a freakin gorgeous stave wish I had a piece of Osage like that

[4dog]

I cant even see a pin on it..am i looking wrong??  Lol nice stave right there

[Capt]

That is a freakin gorgeous stave wish I had a piece of Osage like that

No comment of violation.... must have done ok with the chasing a ring stage then???

Here are a couple more pics of the back...

[Eric Garza]

I'm curious why you want the bow to be so wide? Most people make osage bows on the narrower side. I usually lay mine out to 1-3/8 or 1/1/4 wide through the middle 3/5th of the bow, then taper the tips down narrower.

And that is a very nice stave. I'm curious where you got it from?

[okie64]

Good lookin stave. I also get my staves floor tillered before I do any heat correcting, its just easier that way. Looks like you could probably get a belly split off of it too.

[Capt]

Heres my idea for the layout.. As you can see i've got option #1 and #2 for the limb design..... i kinda like the idea of being 1 7/8" out of the fades so i get less set because of all the humidity and heat down here..

Also i plan on putting in a shelf so this will give me more wood around the handle section to play with???..
(after my first bow the Tzalam pyramid with shelf i just really like shooting off a close to center shelf...)

Another reason is im shooting for a 60# @ 27.5" draw weight bow... this one is coming hunting and the pigs up in these hills are tough little buggers....!

Let me know what you think?

[Bryce]

#2

[Capt]

Yeah i think #2 too.... im heading upto the ranch this week to get some rattlesnake skins for the working limbs....

Do any savvy folks know if i should get 60# Draw weight from the tapered limb design easily enough if i tiller for it?

 

[osage outlaw]

Was that stave split or sawn out?  You won't be able to use the string trick for finding a center line on snakey staves.  If that stave is split and its that straight it will work fine.  If not, you will need to follow the grain.  Are those pin knots in that one picture?  Looks like you might have a little tear out on the back side of them.  It doesn't look like its to bad, just pay attention to that area.  You might want to soak them in superglue.

[Capt]

Was that stave split or sawn out?  You won't be able to use the string trick for finding a center line on snakey staves.  If that stave is split and its that straight it will work fine.  If not, you will need to follow the grain.  Are those pin knots in that one picture?  Looks like you might have a little tear out on the back side of them.  It doesn't look like its to bad, just pay attention to that area.  You might want to soak them in superglue.

Its split.. never seen a saw... the grain is super straight there is twist in one end but i plan to straighten it out..

As for the pin knots the only knots on the back i've taken another picture of... The one with a tiny bit of tear out is on the section that i plan to recurve and it wont really be working? What do you think?