First piece of osage to cross my bench. Opinions please.

[dwardo]

Ayup all,

This is the first bit of osage I have ever seen in the flesh and its lovely stuff. I have a bench full of bright yellow/orange shavings The stave has a very nice early/late and is clean and straight. Only down side it its pretty narrow. I would think at best 1,3/8 wide, 62 inches long.

So thoughts please? This is my one and only osage for a long while as I had to actually pay for this! Never done that before 

[Pat B]

Pics would help but 1 3/8" is plenty for a 60" osage bow. I'd kick the tips just a bit to help prevent stack and it will make a sweeter bow.

[dwardo]

Pics would help but 1 3/8" is plenty for a 60" osage bow. I'd kick the tips just a bit to help prevent stack and it will make a sweeter bow.

Thanks pat, I dont want it too heavy. 50lb or so at most. Do I have enough wood to put in some recurves?
Will get some pics up a.m. but its near pipe straight.

[wood_bandit99]

Here is my thoughts from the longbow biased kid, how long of a draw do you have? I would say keep it as close to 1 1/2" at the fades as possible. Cut the limbs in quarters and go from 1 1/2" to 1 1/4" to 1" to .75" to 3/8" at tips. This is my go to design for osage and it will definitely make a fast, low set bow. I made a bow recently to these specs, tillered until I could get a short string on then put 3" or so reflex starting from 12" from the tips. Depending how experienced you are, you could make it pull out to 28" unless it was backed. After that I think it would be risky.

[dwardo]

Here is my thoughts from the longbow biased kid, how long of a draw do you have? I would say keep it as close to 1 1/2" at the fades as possible. Cut the limbs in quarters and go from 1 1/2" to 1 1/4" to 1" to .75" to 3/8" at tips. This is my go to design for osage and it will definitely make a fast, low set bow. I made a bow recently to these specs, tillered until I could get a short string on then put 3" or so reflex starting from 12" from the tips. Depending how experienced you are, you could make it pull out to 28" unless it was backed. After that I think it would be risky.

If I could stitch on some extra wood it would be great to have it 1.5 inches wide. 

Just wondering if the width was enough for a static handle plus some small statics or maybe just a few inches gentle recurve. If the handle has to work then no worries I will pull it in.

[bushboy]

I made a 62"ttt,recurve.i-1/2" for most of it's lenght and slight deflex in the handle and came out @ 65#@ 28",so I think it's quite doable.treat it like and elm stave with heat treating is my best advice.

[bushboy]

It's by far the nicest one I have built to date!

[Pat B]

I think you can make the bow you want if you bring the working limbs right up to or through the handle. I like to feel the handle give a bit just as I hit full draw.
 In the "ARCHIVES" thread I have a 60" elm static recurve I made a few years ago. It is wider than 1 3/8" but its elm and not osage. 

[blackhawk]

I'm with pat and his last response,and what I was going to suggest,but he beat me to it...you have plenty of width and wood there to pull it off with your experience level

[SLIMBOB]

+1 blackhawk. That's enough.

[toomanyknots]

Ayup all,

This is the first bit of osage I have ever seen in the flesh and its lovely stuff. I have a bench full of bright yellow/orange shavings The stave has a very nice early/late and is clean and straight. Only down side it its pretty narrow. I would think at best 1,3/8 wide, 62 inches long.

So thoughts please? This is my one and only osage for a long while as I had to actually pay for this! Never done that before 

What? That is one well deserved piece of osage. 

[half eye]

Hey Dwardo,
      I have made several "sliver" osage bows. Most were finished out at 1" wide. There were 3 in all and 2 of them had "slow bend" recurves. (that means that the string did not touch the limb at brace) and the other was straight limbed. The strongest of them was 57" and just at 60# @ 28". They were all bend through the handle types with a circular tiller. Like most all my bows the limbs were low crowned back and belly (natural back and low crowned sectioned belly)
      I don't think you will have any problems at all, judging from your other bows. My most recent osage bow is a 46" ntn, 50@ 25, Odawa scalloped bow....it is 1-3/16" wide at the outside of the scallops and a little less than 1" wide inside the scallops. I didn't post it but if this would help any be glad to email you some photos. This bow is straight limbed of course so may not help on the recurve question.
rich
rich

[Poggins]

With a clean straight peace of osage then a little narrow wont hurt you , a little snake in the stave would be a little tricky but it being straight you should be fine .
Others familur with osage may chime in but I think you got some good advice .

[dwardo]

Thanks for the info all. Pat thanks will give it a shot, osage from reading seems to be a wood you can push.
If this had of been elm I would have wanted more width, ash I would have been looking at very low 40`s which ever way. Yew I would have gone for it a bit more having made bows around the 60.

Think I will avoid a static and thing more reflex just working a tad if possible.

Rich, after this I am going D bow and giving the statics and short recurves a break for a bit to concentrate on D bows like yours. I have 3 elm staves just screaming to be scalloped bows.



I like to whittle, burn, smell bend and break new wood to see what it feels like. Osage is lovely hot clean burn that smells clean or sweet. Great weight in the hand and great under a sharp tool. 

[Poggins]

WARNING!!!!! 
Some say that yellow wood is addictive ....

I have a pile of it myself , been dabbling with some other wood but still working with osage at the same time.