Author Topic: Osage Warbow?  (Read 5253 times)

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Offline Ringeck85

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Osage Warbow?
« on: June 06, 2019, 01:50:10 pm »
How would I best make a light warbow of somewhere in the range of 80-100# draw weight at 30" made of osage orange?

Would it need to be backed by boo or something like that?  How would I rough out the dimensions to make it work well? A flatter or more rectangular cross section?  How long should OAL be? 74-76"ish like the Mary Rose examples or should it be shorter/piked to make best use of the material?  How thick at the handle, mid limb, tips?  And can it have self nocks or is that a bad idea even with osage?  What about antler tip overlays?

Just wondering about design options and ideas if anyone would have them. If anyone has tried this before please share your experience and what you learned from it, if anything. I have a few osage staves that are a little over 6' sitting around and I would love to make a warbow to work my way up to (I would probably use it at first more as an exercise bow to get stronger on both sides before I shoot something like that regularly, so its shooting capabilities do not have to be exemplary on the first atempt, it just needs to be durable!)

(apologies if there is already a good thread on this topic and I just haven't seen it)
Edit: Looks like there's a great example, similar draw weight and dimensions that Toomanyknots did a few years ago!  I'll see if he still frequents this forum and send him a pm.

Thanks ya'll!

-Ren in SW VA
« Last Edit: June 06, 2019, 03:11:12 pm by Ringeck85 »
"It is how we choose what we do, and how we approach it, that determines whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art."
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

(Ren', in Wytheville, VA)

Offline peacefullymadewarbows

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Re: Osage Warbow?
« Reply #1 on: June 06, 2019, 06:41:30 pm »
I made a 103lb @ 31" osage warbow some time ago that was 73" nock to nock. For under 100# with a round arc tiller you could probably go as short as 69" ntn. Osage is great stuff. Jere Nystrom made a 140# osage bow that was only 73" ntn as well. Handle dimensions to start with could be like 30mmx27mm to start and tiller down as you please. Tips can be pretty narrow because of the density of the wood. 

Offline Ringeck85

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Re: Osage Warbow?
« Reply #2 on: June 06, 2019, 08:19:47 pm »
Peacefully’, Awesome!!

In your opinion, Is it better to leave sapwood on for Osage? (just be sure to chase a sapwood ring correctly for the back) or do heartwood only (removing all the sapwood)?

I guess I can experiment with both.

For the handle area: Clarification: Is that 30mm wide and 27 thick/deep? Or 30 thick/deep and 27 wide?
"It is how we choose what we do, and how we approach it, that determines whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art."
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

(Ren', in Wytheville, VA)

Offline peacefullymadewarbows

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Re: Osage Warbow?
« Reply #3 on: June 07, 2019, 06:13:07 am »
Sorry yeah 30mm wide and 27mm deep. You can do either. I’ve made them both ways. I have a slight suspicion that the sapwood is even a little bit better in tension than the heart wood but either combo is perfectly functional. Just make sure the sap wood has not experienced any rot. Do both so you can have an orange one and a two tone just for fun.  ;)

Offline Ringeck85

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Re: Osage Warbow?
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2019, 10:35:15 am »
I will do my best and try both (width/thickness ratios And sapwood line vs. heartwood only)!  I will start roughing out a couple of my 6'+ staves to be a bit bigger than I will need, then wait at least a couple months and start tillering later on in the fall (to make sure the wood I have is fully seasoned, etc.; it was cut last fall and has been drying in my concrete floor basement)  I think they'll need to be straightened too as I go, so I will take my sweet time on it.  I will post my progress as I go even if I fail epicly haha.
"It is how we choose what we do, and how we approach it, that determines whether the sum of our days adds up to a formless blur, or to something resembling a work of art."
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

(Ren', in Wytheville, VA)

Offline peacefullymadewarbows

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Re: Osage Warbow?
« Reply #5 on: June 07, 2019, 01:57:02 pm »
Sounds like a good plan. 2 months roughed out should be plenty. Taking your time will create the best product. Can't wait to see it. Osage steams and heat bends well so near dimensions you should have no issue getting them straightened out.