Here's the start of an osage flatbow I stared working on last night for a silent auction benefit at the school where I teach. It's 68" ntn, 1.5" parallel limbs until midlimb, then tapers to 1/2" tips, 4" handle, 3" fades. My brother-in-law and I cut and split the log into staves about a year ago. Very nice, clear stave. Great early-late ring ratio with nice thick rings. Only one tiny pin knot in the entire thing with a "mild meaner" in one limb. I couldn't get the tips perfectly in line, but really don't want to straighten it. It should come out that the string will lie just inside the handle on the left side. Aside from felling the tree with a chainsaw, there hasn't been a power tool involved. Ah...no sawdust and 10 finger intact!
My brother-in-law with his prize find:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Splitting%20Osage%20Log/Splitting%20Osage%20Log/HPIM2407.jpg)
Cured stave:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3284.jpg)
Roughed out with hatchet:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3285.jpg)
A look at one end. Although the end was sealed, when I cut it off I found a rather unpleasant check. Proved to be no problem, though.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3287.jpg)
And now the other end:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3288.jpg)
Down to one growth ring on the back:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3289.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3291.jpg)
Shaped to rough profile.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3293.jpg)
A few more pics:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3295.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3296.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3300.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3302.jpg)
A look down the side of the bow. I like to get it to a uniform thickness by using a combination of measuring from the back and following a ring on the belly (providing they're fairly uniform in thickness along the length of the stave.) After that, I'll taper the limb in thickness over its length. In this case, the depth of one single growth ring from the end of the fades to the tips.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3304.jpg)
First look at the long string tiller. Got a ways to go, but that ain't bad for a first look.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3317.jpg)
Your right limb is a bit stronger than the left and the left has a nice bend to it. Mid limb on the right looks flat. After you get it even, go to a short string and a 4" brace. That will show you where the string lines up.
I don't believe there is an advantage to having a continuous ring on the belly unless you plan to recurve the tips with heat. With selfbows the ring thicknesses are too different to depend on them for even limb thickness.
I like osage rings big enough so you can see the lunar rings. Nice piece of osage. Not much that nice around.
Thanks, Pat. I appreciate your help. Truth be told, I don't finish the bow with a continuous ring on the belly. Rather, I only use that technique initially as a starting point for tillering. The gentleman who taught me to make osage bows uses the rings on the belly as a way to help achieve an even tiller, providing the rings are similar throughout. This stave only varies about a 1/64" from one end to the other in the three-ring stack I'm working with. However, in the case of this bow, they're so thick that the taper didn't actually exceed the span of one growth ring.
Thanks again, Pat. You've always got some great comments and helpful advice. Your contribution to this site and all that comes from it is most appreciated. You, Dano, George, and so many more are sure nice to have around. What did Mark Baker and his buddies do before the Internet? Burn up the phone lines, I guess. Ha! Thanks, again.
That's a good start. :goldtooth:
I love a nice clean piece of osage. Looks like a good'n.
I don't under stand you reasoning for not straightening your limbs. You should heat treat (not temper) the whole bow to help prevent warpage later on (like from being left in a hot car during the summer months). That lateral drift to that one limb is liable to get worse without heat treating.
Ain't going to say nothing 'bout that gosh long tillering string.
I don't mean to sound like a downer, lots of work and skill to get that stave to the point and I can respect that. Love your work man! ART
I corrected the tiller and got it on the short string and found that the string tracked where I though it would...actually a little more toward the center of the handle than I planned. However, the limb with the slight meander made the straight limb move more laterally than I had thought. (So, looks like it's going to get straightened, Art! :bigsmyl:
Looks good. I like it. Stop stringing Art along. LOL. :) Jawge
lookin good forest, that sure is some fine lookin osage keep us posted
Love it.
Since I started making osage shavings a month or so back I have notice that there is more osage than I can shake a stick at around my place. Can't hardly watch the road for looking for the sage, LOL.
LOOKS GOOD I agree the the no heat.I quit useing heat on any of my bows along time ago.If you want a straight bow build a glass bow.But to each his own.
Looking good. wish i could find a piece that nice to work with
Ben
Very patiently awaiting more pics :goldtooth:
what an superb stave!! looking forward for more pics :)
Lookin good
What would happen if I took a semi dry stave to rough shape and flat belly? Would there be a risk of the belly checking?
Jim
Rough it out and seal the ends and back. Leave the belly clean. Put it away to dry until it stops losing weight.
p.s. Never mentioned this before, but thanks for your service!
what Tom Said, but also clamp that stave to a 4X6 to keep it from warping as it dries.
You are welcome Tom, its an honor.
What do you mean by leave the belly clean?
A 4x6?
a 4X6X72" board.
Hey Jim,
They are talking bout not sealing the belly area of the stave.
You can chase it down to a ring and seal the back and the ends with shellac leaving it off the belly area so the moisture can escape.
4x6 ?
I'm assuming a 4x6 post.
Jim: Often times Native American tribes would work their green staves down to bow dimensions, which was much easier with primitive tools than working with seasoned wood. They would floor tiller the bow green, which really won't cause any damage to the green wood, and then coat the stave in fat, grease, etc. Many times they would store their bow in the tops of their dwellings where smoke would waft around it. They allowed the stave to season this way.
Today, I often do something very similar. The more wood that is present, the higher the risk of checking. I split my staves down to a bit more width than I need for one bow, but leave them several inches longer than needed to allow for possible end checking. I then take the bark and sapwood off the back (unless it's a whitewood stave, in which case I just take off the outer bark). I then immediately seal the ends and back will paint or glue. I will then work the bow to very rough dimensions with a hatchet, leaving the back and plenty of length on the ends in tact. If I need to correct a limb twist or desire to add any reflex/recurve, I will clamp the bow in the position. If not, I clamp it straight to a 2x4 and allow it to season. The benefits are as follows;
1) Green wood is easier to work (unless you're working with seasoned osage, which I find to be a dream to work with hand tools)
2) You can correct twists/add reflex without heating or steaming the wood
3) You stave is seasoned in a fraction of the time it would take if left as a log or even full stave.
4) You reduce the chance of checking.
Now, I did NOT use this method on this bow, as the tree belongs to my brother-in-law. We simply split the log into staves (LOTS of them!) and sealed the ends. The stave above did suffer from some checking, but leaving it thicker and longer than the future bow insured the checking would not jeopardize the future bow.
To each his own. There are as many ways to season wood as there are bowyers. Many will disagree with my method, and that is okay. Maybe some other guys will post some things we can all learn from. Good luck!
You could use a 2x4 on edge as a form to clamp your stave to. With a little shaping you could make your form so your stave will dry with a slight reflex.
Jim, even if the belly checks a bit it is not detrimental to the health of the ultimate bow. By taking the stave down to floor tiller stage you have reduced and evened out the thickness enough so the drying process is more uniform than if it were thicker and with the uneven, wedge shape of a raw stave. It is the differences in drying rates between the inside and outside of the stave that causes the problems.
Here's some updated pictures of the straightening process. Each limb had a slight propeller twist, and so I reversed the twist. In the second picture below you can see they've been slightly overcorrected in the opposite direction. Also, one limb had a pronounced curve to it. You can see that it, too, has been overcorrected slightly in the opposite direction.
Here's a picture of the stave being straightened and given a little reflex. I rub oil on the stave, heat it up with the heat gun, begin to move the limb and clamp it once it starts to give, heat it some more, and then move the clamps some more until I get it to where I need to be. Then I wrap the entire limb in foil and give it a thorough heating again.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3338.jpg)
Here's what it came out like:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3340.jpg)
Then, in order to add a little more reflex at the tips I put it on another jig and do the same the process, only this time working the last 12" or so of the limb:
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3342.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3344.jpg)
I guess we'll find out in three or four days how it all went. I fear I may have to give the limb with the curve a little more correction in the opposite direction to get it to end up straight. But, we'll see! :)
Now it's starting to look like a bow. I got it rehydrated and have been working on retillering this evening. The limb straightening worked well, and so far it appears I added just the right amout of over correction. I shot the bow about 40 times, and it hasn't budged since pulling into line during retillering. Here's some pictures of the progress. The first three were taken just after unstringing. The tips are dead even just after unstringing and then settle back to about 3/4" of reflex.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3360.jpg)
(It looks like a pin knot in the upper limb in the picture, but it's just a pencil mark.)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3361.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3362.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3371.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3372.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/33673369.jpg)
The outer third of the limbs are working more than they appear in the full draw pic. It shoots very well and is pulling 46# @ 26".
Good job!
Mike
Real nice 4est! Now aren't you glad you straightened that puppy up? :D ART
Great looking bow!
Thanks for sharing
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Glenn
What a beauty! Great work.
that's a fine bow with a beautyfull tiller!!
I'd like to see the tips a little narrower tho :rolleyes:
I completely share your thoughts about working on green staves. It's much easier and faster, simply said.
If you do it correctly, you'll need less than half the efford of bringing a stave down to bowsize when wet. If you leave the limbs nicely wide, the bow a little longer, and tiller it for a few inches, the stave could be fully dried within 2 weeks. 2 months after floortillering should be plenty.
I usually wait 2 months, tiller it halfways, then give it a nice temper. after a couple of days to a week of rehydatation, the bow is perfectly dried, tempered, and ready to rock'n roll.
I'm going to work on some oak staves soon, trying to get a nice oak-stave bow buildalong. Hope you're gonna like it!!
Nick
Thanks, Nick. The tips appear to be tree trunks in the picture, but my camera is skewing the view a great deal. The tips are just a tad under half inch. The fades are just over 1 1/4". That's all I could get out of this particular stave. I would like to have more width at the fades, but it's only 46# @ 26"and a few inches longer than necessary, so it'll be fine.
Going to finish up the wenge tip overlays, sand and burnish, finish the handle, sign it, and then it's off to my brother-in-law for his Christmas present. He's a crack shot with a bow, and hasn't shot more than a dozen times in his life. He's a real natural, and kicked everybody's butt at the last 3D shoot I took him to. I let him shoot my osage character bow and he drooled so much on it I decided to give him one of his own so he wouldn't ruin the finish on mine. :bigsmyl:
Fine job. The tiller looks great. Your brother-in-law should be thrilled.
Wish we had osage growing around this neck of the woods.
Well done 4est!
great job Curt... your friend will be very happy with that bow.
Merry Christmas.
Bob
What about if the limbs are a little snakey? Do you profile the limb with straight edges or let it follow the grain?
With selfbows you always follow the grain and the up and down undulations along the back are mirrored along the belly too.
Very nice 4Est, don't forget some finished pics especially with your brother in law playing with his new toy.
My brother in law loves his bow. Actually, I do, too. This one was a little hard to give away. I'll post finished pictures later. His first question was, "So when are we going turkey hunting?". Now he's speaking my language!
Looking forward to the finished pics, nice job. Again!
Here's some finished pictures, minus a few details. It's got 5 coats of wax now, but will get a couple more. I used finishing wax for the first three coats, and then Birchwood Casey's Gunstock Wax for the all the others. I'll cut then shine when the finals coats are applied. I put on a floppy rest, my absolute favorite. The tips overlays are wenge.
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3387.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3388.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3389.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3392.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3393.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3395.jpg)
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3402.jpg)
Wow, that is pretty.
WOW!
Great Job.
That is an awesome looking bow.
I am definitely going to have to give that a try some day.
Thanks for sharing.
Great job...x mas presents dont get any better than that.
Beautiful bow, 4est. Don't worry about giving this one up, your next one will be better!!!
WHAT!! no full draw pics.
Good job! I like the locator grip best!
Sulphur: Full draw pic is on page 2. :)
This is my first post!Had to say this is a great post,full of good info!I like when a post has a lot of pictures with them.
thanks Ernie
Really nice job and I love the simplicity of the natural wood and wax, handle, the whole thing. Great build a long as well going from the log to the bow. Nice thing to think about is all the other great bows in that log!
Way to go! She looks great.
extremely nice
Congratulations
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Glenn
That is one amazing bow, you really did a wonderful job. One of the best looking bows I have seen in along time. I love it.
Forgot to add this finished side profile shot. By the way, my brother-in-law, whom I gave the bow to, came over last night to shoot in my basement. Not only does he have a nicer bow than me, but he outshot me half the time. I may have to rethink his Christmas present. Or, maybe I'll just make his some really gnarly arrows that don't shoot worth a hoot to keep him in check. LOL!
(http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae321/isaacscr/Osage%20Flatbow%20For%20Steve%2009/HPIM3421.jpg)
Very nice work!
Very nice job. I like it. Jawge
Excellent job........
Really nice bow!
Very nice indeed! One of my favorite designs. ART