Stave harvesting tips and tricks in Nebraska

[Deerhunter21]

Hey guys so I live in Nebraska and I was wondering if any of you guys around or in Nebraska (or great plains) could give me tips or your routine on how you get your staves. Also what woods grow here? Thanks! 

[Hawkdancer]

DH,
Should have plenty of hickory and Osage, maple, various fruit trees, maybe persimmon.  Other woods may be  within driving distance.  There are several bowyer/members you should chime in!  I left the region many years ago.
Hawkdancer

[bjrogg]

Deerhunter21, I really can't give you advice about gathering staves from your area. I will give you a few tips in general though.
1- don't overdo it. Looking for cutting and hauling logs out of woods is the easy part. Preparing the staves to cure is time consuming and time sensitive.
2- look for nice straight sections of tree with straight bark and no limbs or knots. Twisted bark usually means twisted staves. They very rarely look better after you remove bark. Usually you find more imperfections after the bark, cambium or sapwood is removed.
3- plan for when you have time to take care of them. It's best to remove bark and cambium right away. Then split staves lengthwise. Then seal backs (side that bark was on) and ends (where you cut) with some type of sealer. I kinda like shellac but there's lots of options. White woods harvested during growing season will slip bark and cambium. It can pealed of. Yellow wood like osage, mulberry I like to remove bark and sapwood but it doesn't peel off. You have to scrape or split if off. The bark will help keep back from drying and checking but bugs live in it and can ruin your staves. It all has to come off to make a bow anyway and I figure the sooner the better. And seal backs and end at least one more time. Don't seal belly. It's actually best to remove some off the belly wood. We want stave to lose its moisture through belly. If it dries to quickly from back or end it will shrink faster than center and cause drying checks.
3- store for a couple weeks in a dry but not overly dry area. After a few weeks the drying process can be sped up a bit.
4- leave em dry for longer than you'd care to. I've speed dried some because I just wanted to start the learning process. I had plenty of staves and feel it was worth the lose in quality to start the process but if your looking for good quality Bow you need dry staves.
5- there's lots of other things you can build or aquire while your waiting for staves to dry. Tillering tree, maybe caul for straightening a or curves. Try a board bow to learn the process. Learn the vocabulary. Look at full draw and profile pictures to see what a good tiller looks like.
6- enjoy the adventure.
Best of luck
Bjrogg

[willie]

you are in osage country? one of the two most desired. bow woods. although from what i have seen posted, there is an art to selection and care, and more so with some species than others.

wish i knew more about some of the possibles in your area. I would look for a species that is known to split easily and straight

[Deerhunter21]

Thanks guys im going to get staves in the spring. Do you guys know if you can make staves out of the honey locus? If you can I would never run out of staves! 

[Pat B]

Honey locust will make a bow but there are better options.

[willie]

what else is common where you plan to cut?

[Deerhunter21]

there might be some oak. I dunno. I haven't been there in a while and when I was there I wasn't looking at what trees they were. Is there places where you can cut wood that's not private land? I would have a wider selection then. 

[willie]

if you are just looking for a 3" diameter sapling, sometime your options are broader than logging on private land

I have found staves along railroad tracks, in swamps behind industrial parks, overgrown road right of ways etc.

look for overgrown areas that were cleared  last about 20 years ago. thickets make for poles without branches (big knots)

[Morgan]

You should have hackberry. I highly reccomend that.

[Hrothgar]

The Lakota used  a lot of ash from what I understand, don't know if ash grows in your part of the state.

Ditto what bjrogg said, good advice.

[Jim Davis]

You might have black locust...

[Deerhunter21]

I was going to check today but im sick!  but that gives me time to check the internet and be on here!

[Deerhunter21]

I checked what hackelberry and i have so much around its not even funny!

[smoke]

I live in Lincoln and own a small farm near Tecumseh - where I get my wood.  As noted, Hackberry and osage are plentiful.  Hackberry is the easiest for spring harvest with the bark popping off easily.  Osage is tough stuff but still very doable.  After I down a tree, I cut off the trunk usually 6 to 6.5 feet in length and split into staves.  With hackberry, I pop the bark in the field but with osage, just leave it on.  I dredge the ends in shellac and dry them in my basement.  Hackberry is usually ready for bows in 3-4 months but I let the osage dry for 1 - 2 years before I use it.  Shoot me a pm if you would like more details - good luck!! Don