Osage orange design?

[WhistlingBadger]

I scored what appears to be a nice Osage orange log from a friend.  It's been sitting in his shed for around 20 years, he says.  It does have some extensive checks--I won't know how bad until I get the bark off a stave and start working it--but I think I was able to avoid the worst ones with judicial splitting.

So, I've never worked with Osage before...I seem to remember reading that narrow and deep, with a D-cross section and fairly bendy tips is the way to go.  Is that right?  All my successful bows thus far have been flatbows, so this is new territory for me.  Recommendations?

I'm hoping to get a c. 60# bow that will draw smoothly, be reasonably forgiving of my creative ineptitude, and cast a 600-700 grain arrow with authority.

[Hamish]

Osage is A grade bow wood. You can go narrow, thin, like a longbow, or you can go wider, flat and shorter in length.
What diameter and length is your log?

[Eric Krewson]

I don't know about "bendy" tips, I have never done that in about 150 osage bows.

You can make any design out there with osage, like was said; wide and flat, narrower with a slightly rounded belly or full on ELB with a D cross section.

I make mine 1 1/4" wide, non bending handle, 64" NTN for draw lengths up to 28". I have a slight radius on the belly that transitions to a more D profile at the tips. I make my tips narrow and a little deeper for strength. I always add a tip overlays because I think they enhance the looks of a bow.

Belly and tip, the extra groove is for a parachute cord bow stringer, very safe and won't slip off.

[JW_Halverson]

If it has nice rings (i.e. thicker late wood than the lighter colored early wood) then you can get away with as narrow as inch and a quarter at the fades. I prefer at least inch and three-eighths, but I've had the narrower limbed bows take a little more set but shoot just fine.

If you find checks that got into the heartwood, don't lose hope! Just get to the very first layer of yellow, give it a light sanding with 150 grit, and try laying out a bow that avoids a check that runs out the edge. If you don't get it, don't fret it. Carefully try the next growth ring, and repeat trying to find a layout that avoids checks that run out the edge.

More than once I have been able to lay out a bow with one limb on the far right edge of a stave and the other limb on the far left edge of a stave. So what? Lay out those lovely limbs and draw in a handle that connects the two. You'll wanna make sure the grip and fades are a little more robust, but you can still pull off a bow even if the center lines of the two limbs don't connect in the grip area. Osage is pretty forgiving stuff.

[Pat B]

Like said above, you can make any style bow from Osage. Please post a few pics of the log, stave and end grain. Also, after you remove the bark and sapwood be sure to seal the back and ends. Even if it is a 20 year old log it still has some moisture in it and it can check if you don't seal it. I like to use spray shellac but any shellac will do. I like shellac because it is easily removed later with alcohol.

[bjrogg]

My first encounter with Osage was a wet log. At first it seemed like an incredible amount of work for what seemed like a crooked rubbery piece of wood. My stave was reduced to close to bow dimensions and the back and ends sealed right away. I didn’t pick it up again for several months.

I couldn’t believe the difference. It was stiff and springy. Even though it was incredibly crooked I could easily manipulate it with dry heat on the belly. What seemed like a sliver of wood I didn’t know if I could get a kids bow out of made my Simply Orange bow I still hunt with today.

You can make any design you want WB. And it is definitely worth the effort. Like Pat said. Remove the bark and sapwood before you narrow up your stave to much. You need to have a ring chased before you really know what you have to work with.

I honestly don’t measure anything except the center of the bow. I lay my Osage out with my draw knife and let it follow the grain. I don’t know if you want to try that, but I love how Osage works with a draw knife. All staves aren’t the same though and some tear out.

I also like reducing by taking belly splits. It really helps with the rapid reduction and I often get a belly stave that is often big enough to make a bow.

Getting the bark off an aged stave can be a big job.and hopefully no bug damage. If you have bugs you need to chase ring below the damage.

I looking forward to seeing what you create.

There’s a reason I still use Osage even though I’m allergic to it.

Bjrogg

[Selfbowman]

If the log is 69” long build a 67” flat bow . You can’t go wrong if you have built selfbows before. I suggest 1-1/2 to 1-3/4” at fades. But most any design works on Osage

[WhistlingBadger]

If the log is 69” long build a 67” flat bow . You can’t go wrong if you have built selfbows before. I suggest 1-1/2 to 1-3/4” at fades. But most any design works on Osage

My frame of reference is hickory self bows and sinew-backed juniper.  I'm guessing this is going to be a lot different from either of those.     The staves are around 84" long; some of them have a bend at the end I'll have to remove or work around but otherwise it looks straight, no knots, no twist! 

The ends are sealed with glue, so I will have to do a little sawing to see what the rings look like.  I'll try to post a few pics later.  I'll probably try to split off some of the sapwood on the most likely looking stave this weekend.

[bentstick54]

I’m with Arvin, aka Selfbowman. I wood trim the ends enough to see what the rings look like, mark how you want to try to split, and reseal the ends. I like 67” ttt , or 66” ntn flat bows. 1-1/2” to 1-3/4” wide at the fades tapering to 3/8” to 1/2” tips. Produces a durable, good shooting bow at about any draw weight. Once split, bark and sapwood removed, and the back sealed, set aside to dry. When you get ready to make a bow, get the limb thickness thinned to 5/8” to 3/4”, and dry heat will take out the bend in the end.

[JW_Halverson]

I cant wait to see pics of whatcha got there.

[WhistlingBadger]

I cant wait to see pics of whatcha got there.

I'm out of town this week, but hoping to get and end sawed off this weekend.

So, all you guys talking about resealing the ends and letting it dry...this log has been in a buddy's shed for 20 years, in Wyoming, which has some of the dryest air in the Union.  Is that really necessary?  I kind of suspect if it isn't dry by now, it's never going to be. 

[Del the cat]

Don't go for bendy tips!!!!
If you want to make the tips work a bit, you can always ease them off once the bow is tillered... but I still think it's a bad idea!
I've never seen a whip tillered bow that performed well, But I have seen stiff tipped bows that did!
Del

[superdav95]

Don't go for bendy tips!!!!
If you want to make the tips work a bit, you can always ease them off once the bow is tillered... but I still think it's a bad idea!
I've never seen a whip tillered bow that performed well, But I have seen stiff tipped bows that did!
Del

+1

[sleek]

Bendy tips have some advantages, in some cases, but its rare to need them and they cost you in power. They can help with efficiency. Sometimes power alone wont get you where you need, so you flex the tips a little at the expense of power. I dont think thats what you are going for here.

[Hamish]

I cant wait to see pics of whatcha got there.

I'm out of town this week, but hoping to get and end sawed off this weekend.

So, all you guys talking about resealing the ends and letting it dry...this log has been in a buddy's shed for 20 years, in Wyoming, which has some of the dryest air in the Union.  Is that really necessary?  I kind of suspect if it isn't dry by now, it's never going to be.

It all depends how big the log is. There is dry and then there is dry for a bowyer. Once you have roughed it into a stave you can floor tiller, any residue of moisture should leave pretty quickly.
Also osage is a weird wood. I have had old osage develop fine  drying cracks after roughing the bow's back down to one growth ring, and not resealing it with a thin coat of shellac. It may or may not happen to you, but after experiencing its a small price to pay to ensure it doesn't happen by resealing the back.