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Drying Osage-need guidance

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Oldvol:
About 8 months ago I was given 3 Osage trunks 3-4” in diameter. I band sawed all 3 in half. Debarked one and left the bark on the others. Sealed the ends with titebond and the backs of the debarked with PU. Strapped the half’s back together with wedges in between. All the staves have cracked along the belly (see pic), and the debarked stave cracked along the back and the belly. What should I have done different? Are these staves ruined?

Pat B:
Poles will always check along the pith if it isn't removed.    The one end shoot looks like you still have good bow wood it you split it along the end check. The other one will still make a good bow as long as the checks don't run off the stave. How deep are the back checks? You may be able to chase a ring below it or fill the checks with supper glue and continue on.

Oldvol:
Thanks Pat B. The back checks look to be as deep as the white wood so I may have good wood underneath. Can this be avoided in the future?

Pat B:
Remove the sapwood when you remove the bark and seal immediately. Once you remove this sapwood seal it.
 Any time I remove a back ring I reseal no matter how seasoned the stave is. I keep spray shellac on my work bench just for that reason.
The moisture in the wood fluctuates as the R/H fluctuates so even seasoned bow wood can have moisture to loose and that is what causes checks.

Oldvol:
Thank you

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