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Removing bark from winter osage

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Pat B:
Also, before you cut this new tree study the bark well to be sure that it isn't growing twisted. Even if the trunk is straight the bark may spiral around the trunk and the wood inside is doing the same. It would be a shame to go to all the work only to find badly twisted staves.

bentstick54:
I will be glad to post photos, but the reason I was asking is this property started out as a close in place to do some deer hunting. Small 40 acre parcel. When I went to meet landowner, as I was pulling up to the drive looking out the window I thought the heck with deer, look at all that Osage. When I told her I would be hunting with Osage selfbows she perked up and got very interested. Said she had been reading and had seen some shows on how people were making them. She said they were trying to thin them out anyway and walked down and started asking what I needed to make bows out of. I showed her a bunch the size that was easiest for me to handle, how to read the bark, how to watch for flaws, branches and such, and how long of sections would be my preference. Even showed her how to look at the growth rings, late wood vs early wood ratio. She promised to educate her husband to watch any that they cut, and save back any that might meet my criteria instead of cutting them into firewood.
Then she proceeded to ask me if there was a limit to how many deer a person could kill on private property. I hope I can take a few of them so I don’t lose my Osage cutting privileges. I’ve never been faced with this kind of a problem before.

PaSteve:
Sounds like you hit the jackpot benstick54. Good luck on the staves and the deer hunting.

Selfbowman:
I like drying with bark on. Less risk of cracks. Just a gut feeling but I also have a band saw!

Pat B:
Unlike whitewoods like maple, hickory, hackberry and others where you use the sapwood under the bark for a bow with osage you generally always remove the sapwood to get to a usable heartwood ring for your bow's back. So, whenever you have access to osage or locust or mulberry is the right time to cut it for bow wood. Like said before removing bark and sapwood while it is green is way easier than when it has dried.

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