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Author Topic: dark yellow and oily osage  (Read 3981 times)

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Offline dismount

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dark yellow and oily osage
« on: October 11, 2008, 10:19:39 pm »
Hey, has anyone used dark yellow and really oily osage for a bow? I cut a tree 4 yrs. ago and started making bows from it and to me the bows take very little set and seem to have better cast.  Is it just my imagination? Or has anyone else ran into that? the rings are really thin and No doubt to me it makes a prettier bow than my lighter osage.   Dismount
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Offline Pat B

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2008, 12:12:48 am »
I have some in my shop and have made a few bows with it. Makes great bows but because of the thin rings mine took some set. I love the color.     Pat
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline JackCrafty

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2008, 01:44:56 am »
Yep, I got one like that.  Works fine.  Stains everything it touches yellow.
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Offline YewArcher

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2008, 12:26:41 pm »
Hmmmm......I am not sure that I have ever used any like that. Tell ya what, send me some and I will let you know my findings  ;D

Steve
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Offline dismount

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2008, 09:11:57 pm »
 Steve, I would gladly send you a stave but I have one left and not even my wife could make me pry my grubby yellow fingers off it! Besides I would'nt want you to stain any of your clothes working that nasty wood!  But if I find some more......!!!!    Phil
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Offline Pappy

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2008, 06:40:56 am »
Phil that is the kind I look for,I like it much better that the bright yellow stuff.It just
seems to be much denser to me. :)
    Pappy
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Offline YewArcher

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2008, 08:58:24 am »
lol.....good! You just helped my wife keep my shirts white instead of yellow.

Steve
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Offline Eric Krewson

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #7 on: October 13, 2008, 10:38:01 am »
I have had mixed results with the dark, oily stuff. Some has made the best bows I ever made, some just wouldn't respond well to heat straightening and would crack easily when I tried to make a correction, made real sluggish bows as well.

Over all I would much rather work with the butter colored, hard as a rock stuff. It heat corrects easily, holds the correction well and is the most durable of any other osage I have. Always a consistent, low set, high performer as well.

Then there is the extra light colored , chalky, low density stuff, not very good for selfbows but will work in a bamboo backed bow. 
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Offline Badger

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #8 on: October 13, 2008, 11:45:00 am »
  I recently received some osage from the Houston area of south Texas. Very dense, huge growth rings but the grain has what I call splaying where it takes of in many directions like a sunburst making splitting very difficult and also creates hazard zones near the sides of the bow. I am presently at about a 50/50 success rate with it. Takes very little set but somewhat brittle. Steve
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Offline Pappy

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #9 on: October 13, 2008, 12:01:05 pm »
Ya Steve we ran into some of that for the first time at the Classic,it dose create a problem,luckily these were fairly low weight bows and didn't have any problems but did have me a little concerned
weather they would splinter up at the grain flare outs. :) Hope I don't have a lot like that in the barn. ;) :)
   Pappy
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Offline Pat B

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #10 on: October 13, 2008, 12:40:00 pm »
Most of what I have has thin rings, is dark in color and brittle. I have made flat bows and an ELB style with it with good results. I usually add rawhide backing as the rings are too thin to follow successfully. I would love to have some medium colored osage with 3/16" rings but beggars can't be choosers!         Pat
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline dismount

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #11 on: October 13, 2008, 07:26:56 pm »
Wow! Thanks for all the feed back.It's amazing how ya' can get opinions on one subject from all over the U.S.!  I guess the same kind of tree is different depending on geography. I take what I can find in osage, but I can't tell a oily tree from a lighter tree!  Found a tree yesterday, the owner will let me cut. The land owner thought he was going to have to call 911, my eyes got glassy and had uncontrollable drooling, the only thing I could say was "Gik,Gik, Gik". trunk is 15' thick, not knots or inclusions for about 78". phone pole straight with straight bark! 20 yard from his driveway. Geat rid of all those dang trees, I hate mowin' over those apples he said. I have to help him out, I feel it's my duty as a fellow human being. Pappy, like reading about your tenn. bunch.Hope to get up there sometime.    Dismount
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Offline Pat B

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #12 on: October 13, 2008, 08:31:30 pm »
After you cut the tree ask the owner if you can maintain the shoots that will sprout next spring. They won't drop apples for a long time and you can have more good bow wood in 5 to 8 years. ;)   
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Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline Sidewinder

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #13 on: October 14, 2008, 10:00:51 pm »
Thats a good Idea Pat. I like it.  Danny
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Offline dismount

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Re: dark yellow and oily osage
« Reply #14 on: October 14, 2008, 10:41:16 pm »
Pat, Do I just keep trimming limbs as it grows?  Phil
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