First Selfbow - Osage Orange Bendy Handle

[CypressCreekKnives]

Morning all!  I have frequented this forum for many years and have done a lot of reading on selfbows. This week I  finally had the time to start on a selfbow thanks to custom knife orders being slow

I decided on a bendy handle design. The bow is made from some osage that I harvested back in 2020. The bow design is pretty simple, 1 1/4" at the handle and tapers down to 3/4" at the tips. The bow is 59" ntn and is ~47lbs at 28". Unfortunately, this stave was harvested from a dead standing osage tree and it has some pretty several deep vertical cracks in the upper limb. That resulted in me having to narrow the upper limb significantly. This also lead to the upper limb being thicker than the lower limb to compensate. The upper limb also has natural deflex, I think that in addition to the narrow and thick profile is the reason for the hinge midlimb.

I'm certain the bow won't last very long, but it was a great learning experience. I feel like the bow, though accurate, is a bit of a slow shooter. I need to shoot it over the chronograph to see.

Please take a look at the photos and give me your thoughts/criticisms. I'm already anxious to start my next build. Unfortunately, the osage staves I have aren't very good. So it looks like I'll be doing some board bows until I can harvest and season some hackberry and osage!

https://imgur.com/a/i4jZv2Z

[willie]

I'm certain the bow won't last very long, but it was a great learning experience.

welcome CCK, looks like a challenging stave that turned out with a nice bend and some character.
is it modeled after a Native American example?

[CypressCreekKnives]

[/quote]

welcome CCK, looks like a challenging stave that turned out with a nice bend and some character.
is it modeled after a Native American example?
[/quote]

Thanks!  I was going for a cherokee style bow. Not sure if I hit the mark, but it was fun nonetheless. I need to find some books on native style bows.

[Pat B]

Welcome CCK. You should have posted pics of the stave before you reduced the width. I built 2 bows from Osage that had plenty of checks(longitudinal cracks), some went all the way through the limbs. I filled them with super glue, doing it in sessions so the previous one cured before adding more. Both bows came out pretty well and as far as I know they are still shooting. Below are pics of the checks after fixing.
Also if, when you are posting pics, you click on the BB Code, message boards and forums, second from the bottom the pics will come up on the screen and not just a link.

[willie]

Also if, when you are posting pics, you click on the BB Code, message boards and forums, second from the bottom the pics will come up on the screen and not just a link.

Hey Pat, where/how do I find the the place to configure or enable BB code? I do not think my editor window looks like yours.

[CypressCreekKnives]

Welcome CCK. You should have posted pics of the stave before you reduced the width. I built 2 bows from Osage that had plenty of checks(longitudinal cracks), some went all the way through the limbs. I filled them with super glue, doing it in sessions so the previous one cured before adding more. Both bows came out pretty well and as far as I know they are still shooting. Below are pics of the checks after fixing.
Also if, when you are posting pics, you click on the BB Code, message boards and forums, second from the bottom the pics will come up on the screen and not just a link.

Looking at your photos has me thinking I probably could've gotten away with the checks I removed. I wish I had a photo of the original stave! 

Thanks for the tips for the photos. I'll try that on the next go round!

[Pat B]

Willie, it is with the Imgur a free photo hosting site. When you click on the pic you want to post you have 6 options and one is the BB Code for web sites and forums.
CCK, it doesn't take much Osage to make a good bow. Even crappy staves can usually be manipulated into a bow with a little imagination and a lot of patience.

[CypressCreekKnives]

Willie, it is with the Imgur a free photo hosting site. When you click on the pic you want to post you have 6 options and one is the BB Code for web sites and forums.
CCK, it doesn't take much Osage to make a good bow. Even crappy staves can usually be manipulated into a bow with a little imagination and a lot of patience.

The staves are pretty knotty and twisted. It'll take some time and effort to chase a ring and work out the twists, but I have some renewed confidence after this build. Most of my staves have very thin rings, 1/16-1/32". Unfortunately, my best stave (straight and no knots) has growth rings that are indistinguishable from one another. I won't be able to chase a ring on it, but I guess I could back it with rawhide...

[Eric Krewson]

Your bow cracks are called wind shakes, really common in osage, when you split out your staves you can try to avoid them, sometimes this is not possible.

When you click on the BBC code when you pull up a picture on Imgur it will copy, paste the code in your text as you type your text, when you hit post, the pictures will appear in your text.

I use Imgur a lot because I like to post my pictures as I write a paragraph, not have them all at the bottom of the page like the PA picture version does.

[Pat B]

CCK, many years ago when I was first starting to build wood bows someone gave me 3 Osage staves. They should have been firewood but I figured that osage was so rare to me that I would try to see what I could do with them. I worked on these staves all winter. Between the three they had about every malady an osage stave could have. I worked slowly, thoughtfully and when I got frustrated I put them aside and walked away. By spring I had made 5 bows from these three staves. They all shot but were pretty ugly; crooked, twisted, etc,  but they worked like a bow should. I learned more about making wood bows that winter than before or since. There are lessons in every stave if you take the time and interest in looking for them.

[CypressCreekKnives]

CCK, many years ago when I was first starting to build wood bows someone gave me 3 Osage staves. They should have been firewood but I figured that osage was so rare to me that I would try to see what I could do with them. I worked on these staves all winter. Between the three they had about every malady an osage stave could have. I worked slowly, thoughtfully and when I got frustrated I put them aside and walked away. By spring I had made 5 bows from these three staves. They all shot but were pretty ugly; crooked, twisted, etc,  but they worked like a bow should. I learned more about making wood bows that winter than before or since. There are lessons in every stave if you take the time and interest in looking for them.

Sounds like I’ll be breaking out my junky staves and learning an exercise in patience lol!! I’ve got to admit, most of my frustrations come from chasing a ring. I think I need to make a jig that will allow me to add a little backset and take out twists.

[Pat B]

If the rings are that thin you might try using your scraper to do it. When you break through a ring circle around it with a pencil mark and stay away from that area til you can blend the rest of the back with it. On thin rings it is difficult to get a clean back but do the best you can then add a rawhide backing. That usually does the trick.
 Here is a pic of one of the cauls I use. You can remove lateral bends, twists and up and down bends using a heat gun, a few wood wedges and clamps. I also like to oil the area I heat for corrections. I use cooking oil. I think the oil helps prevent scorching, holds the heat longer and allows the heat to penetrate better. You can always remove any residual oil with a wipe down with alcohol or acetone.