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Osage drying checks

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DV IN MN:
I made a harvest of some Osage this weekend and the bark all peeled off very quick and easy. The white cambium right under the bark was slimy and very wet and peeled off easily with the draw knife. There seemed to be another cambium layer or two directly under the very wet slimy layer. I sealed the back of that and the ends, then kervfed it into quarters. I noticed it still checked in one spot overnight. So, I quarter split it this morning. Since appears to be early growth still on the wood on the stave and with it sealed and quarter split will it still check? Plan to draw shave the early off each stave int he next 2 weeks.

Muskyman:
Just went through the same thing DV. The white wood under the bark is sap wood. You need to get it off till you start seeing the orange wood underneath. This is the advice of the people in the know on here. It’s a ton of work but needs done. Check out my hickory harvest post. It also has some info about this very thing and some photos as I went through the process..
Good luck with it.

DV IN MN:
Musky

Your post has plenty of good info. Done Osage taking down to late growth just thought MAYBE when I took the slippery layer off, which was around 1/8 in thick, and then put sealer on the next layer and quartered that it would force moister out of the belly rather than the back and get me some extra time before having to pull the rest of the early wood off. Strange thing is on the layers under the wet slippery layer it almost appears like 2 growth rings never seen it before.

Muskyman:
Yup, I know what you’re saying. Looking at the end it seems like you could be at a growth ring. If you really look at it you can see it’s white looking before it gets darker. I’m pretty new at it so I’m trusting the guys on here that have many years experience with Osage and how to get it ready to stash away..
It’s a ton of work for sure, but it makes nice bows.

JW_Halverson:
Yeah, that danged sapwood checks crazy fast. Throw another coat or two of sealant on it and maybe put it somewhere that doesn't have much heat or air movement for a few months. Slow some of the initial drying down just to save the hard work you have already done.

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