osage staves

[Vincenator]

Just got a hold of some Osage logs that I split out. I am storing them in my garage and have treated them with a pesticide to deter wood borers.My question is do I leave the bark on or take it off?

[JW_Halverson]

Six of one, half dozen of another.  The main thing is that you split it out and treated for the bugs!  Good job!

[Badger]

  The majority of guys who harvest osage remove the bark and the sapwood right away.

[Mad Max]

Just got a hold of some Osage logs that I split out. I am storing them in my garage and have treated them with a pesticide to deter wood borers.My question is do I leave the bark on or take it off?

The pesticides you get at the home stores I don't think are strong enough any more.
I used Diesel

Just my 2 cents

[osage outlaw]

I try to peal and seal all of my staves.  Its cleaner to store them, they take up less room, and the bugs don't mess with them.

[IndianGuy]

I seal the ends,leave the bark and let them sit.
E.

[hunterbob]

I do the same as indianGuy

[blackhawk]

How soon do ya need/want to use the wood? If sooner than later then peal bark n sapwood n get some reduced down to parallel dimensions width and thickness to get some drying faster....if ya don't need it for another year and you can store them indoors then just leave the bark n sapwood on for now just sealing the ends

[Eric Krewson]

If you take the bark and sapwood off while the stave is still green you will be patting yourself on the back somewhere down the road, green stave bark and sapwood removal 1/2 hr tops, dry stave, at least twice as long and maybe several hours.

[adb]

I take off the bark for sure. Sapwood optional. Some guys like to leave the sapwood on their finished bows.

[Pappy]

Either way will work, Bugs and the fact,like Eric said much harder to do later,I take if off if I have the time. Be sure and seal the back if you remove it or it will check quickly.
   Pappy

[Bogaman]

You're getting lots of good advice. Either way works. For me I like to get the bark and sapwood off of hedge and then seal the ends and back also just for insurance, while it is drying. Like Eric said, it is sure a lot easier to skin it green that it is after it dries.
Plus I'm not crazy about using pesticides on any thing.
You should difinately seal the back if you just take the bark off and leave the sapwood. It will check in a heartbeat as it dries.

[Eric Krewson]

Where I live the green sap wood will check with 4 thick coats of shellac on it, every time. If you cut most of it off but still have a thin ring or two left it will generally survive without checks.

[Vincenator]

No problem on the pesticides I use,as I am a district inspector for a pest control co. I don't think the wood borers have a chance!
As for coating the staves with a sealing agent,will thinned down  carpenters glue work?
Thanks ,I will be taking the bark off tomorrow.

[Eric Krewson]

I used wood glue for a sealer at first and did have some checking in the Alabama heat. I switched to shellac as recommended in the Dean Torge's book "Hunting The Osage Bow" and have had no checking unless I leave the sapwood on. The bottom line, your wood is valuable and sometimes difficult to obtain. Spending $15-$20 on a quart of shellac is money well spent, your wood deserves the best.