To selfbow or not to selfbow, that is the question.....sorry for the repost:
Snowy and 20F out today...perfect day to get out and walk......I glanced off the trail and see an Osage limb about 12" thick and 8' long exactly laying to the side of the trail. It was trimmed by the city. I see the bend in it, but I was thinking I should split it into quarters and take it home. What do the experts say? It has minimal checking in one section, that's it. The other end has barely any checking at all.
DONOR TREE:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/th_6e3e2dc7.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/?action=view¤t=6e3e2dc7.jpg)
AS IT LAYS:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/th_1384db80.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/?action=view¤t=1384db80.jpg)
ONE END:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/th_30103473.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/?action=view¤t=30103473.jpg)
OTHER END:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/th_fad6a084.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/?action=view¤t=fad6a084.jpg)
My thought is hand split it into quarters and season it indoors with the bark off. I'll run woodglue on the ends to seal it. With the checking present at one end, do I need to split it up in a certain fashion to avoid the checked part?
that long and you could just cut the ends off and reseal. heck yes what find, almost better than a lottery.
Take it, split it with the checks if you take the bark off make sure to seal the back.
Nice find !
OK so leave the bark on. No need to screw with that. I'm going to go split it in a bit and just not be in a hurry. I'm lacking wedges.....time to get creative. I have some 2x6s that I could make into wedges......
Short of bringing all the bugs in it indoors with me, can it cure in my garage?
In your garage will be fine. Stack it on some 2x4 to keep it off the concrete. If you leave the bark on spray it with insecticide to kill any critters tha might be overwintering in the bark. Can you get the doner tree too? Looks ugly like it is.
Pat you mean missing a limb?
:thumbsup: Very nice find but if you need a place to keep it, you can use my place!!! :laughing: :laughing:
Kelly, it is missing more than a limb. It is missing it's crown. d;^) I wouldn't call this piece of osage a limb. It is the upper portion of the trunk. The bottom portion of the trunk is still attached to the roots as it appears in the top pic.
My home made wedges failed. I couldn't get them to stay intact! They all broke. Plan B. Find some real wedges. The trunk is on a public trail with no vehicle access, otherwise I'd haul the log home intact with some manpower. This thing is HEAVY.
Looks like Northern tool has forged steel wedges and a forged steel maul for about $30 combined. I'll take a second run at it tomorrow AM. Gotta go to work........
If I didnt have my son(too cold to drag him out right now) I would drive over and help you. I have a maul, and hatchet but no wedges yet. Good luck with it.
:biglaugh: White pine VS Osage Orange :laughing:
I was going to ask how that went!
I do see several bows in your pics and would not pass it up.
If you have a harbor freight in your area you might be able to get some wedges and a maul cheaper or even a sledge.
White pine -5
Osage 5
Osage is the winner....
Thanks for the offer Brian!
No doubt. You don't stand half a chance w/o some good wedges. Again awesome find, that's exactly how we got some of our staves.
Hush up Chris. Nobodys supposed to know about our "stolen staves". :-)
Wood Rustler's!
I think it is more a creative reallocation of natural resources, for the greater good. :)
PatB I don't think the rest of the tree is ugly more likely it is just jealous of where its other half is going.
I guess ugly was the wrong word. More like out of place or lonely! d;^)
If it was me I would be going after all of it even if I had to pack it out one split at a time.
Pat it definetly looks out of place and lonely.
Right before I went to get that bunch of elm, I went down to the hardware store and bought two 5lbs wedges for $10 each. I thought that was a lot of $$ for a chunk of iron, but now that I've split a dozen logs with them it's some of the best money I've ever spent.
I already had two splitting mauls and an axe because we heat the house with wood, but those wedges really do the trick.
Be sure to let us know how it goes!
CJ
our harbor freight in raleigh has a sale until the end of feb 5lb wedges 4.99$
I DID IT. 8lb maul and three 5lb steel wedges. Now that was some work. Oh my god was that stuff heavy and hard to split, AND THEN I HAD TO GET IT HOME!
Initial split, not sure why the center had the woody brown core and looked like some insects had gnawed it a bit:
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/th_316547d4.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/?action=view¤t=316547d4.jpg)
quartered as best I could and ready to transport, HEAVY :
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/th_ed8e0e2c.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/?action=view¤t=ed8e0e2c.jpg)
HOME!
(http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/th_ead05371.jpg) (http://s53.photobucket.com/albums/g69/alexeinspruch/?action=view¤t=ead05371.jpg)
I put the first coat of paint on the ends and will reapply spar varnish, ASAP. I'm working until 11pm.
Awesome work there.
I really tried to split it evenly but the tree won't let you, as this was my first time, with one end in a ditch, and that 8lb maul kicked my behind. I can do 35 pull-ups, and that maul smoked my arms.
Now what do I do? These things are 8' long and still 6-8" thick....
I might go back and saw that remaining tunk off too. Nobody said a word to me while they passed and I was splitting logs like a madman.
Cheers!
Nice work there! Forget the gym. You've had your workout.
I'd go back for that trunk myself. You have a nice set of staves there.
Congratulations.
CJ
GO BACK! Good work man!
The first couple osage tree's I split taught me many valuable lessons.
You can kerf it. You can start a split in the middle, You can start a split on the small end. Lots of little tricks to get it to do what you want it too with in reason.
Good job! now go get the rest.
...but if the tree grew twisted it will split twisted. Not too much trouble with osage because it corrects well with heat.
Yeah pat's right you do have follow the grain.
In recovery and will cut that trunk on Monday when less people are on that trail....in the meanwhile I need to go get some spar varnish and get a couple coats on the ends, but my car is in the shop and wife's working today.
Keep us posted!
CJ
I've sprayed three coats of varnish over the black hi temp spraypaint I used initially. Some smaller chunks will go to the knife shop this weekend.
QuoteOriginally posted by highpoint forge:
I really tried to split it evenly but the tree won't let you, as this was my first time, with one end in a ditch, and that 8lb maul kicked my behind. I can do 35 pull-ups, and that maul smoked my arms.
Now what do I do? These things are 8' long and still 6-8" thick....
I might go back and saw that remaining tunk off too. Nobody said a word to me while they passed and I was splitting logs like a madman.
Nice job, welcome to my hell....I mean my world. :knothead:
Semo- I just noticed hundreds of dead ants, large ones, all sprinkled under the billets. I have the billets up on blocks in my garage. These bugs are definitely dead and seem to have fallen from the bark.
Any recommendations?
Those are probably carpenter ants. They live in the voids in the wood and eat any rotten wood. Actually the ants will eat any grubs that may be trying to eat your wood.
I went back out and saw them also walking on the bark....so cheer them on, or remove the bark and sapwood and seal?
You don't want carpenter ants in or near your house. Out in the woods OK! If you have time remove the bark and sapwood and seal the back.
Pat is right, don't let em get in your house!
I stomped all the ones that crawled outta the stave I had that was infested with them. I'm not so sure they don't do some burrowing of their own Pat? I didn't see any other grubs, but then the ants may have already ate em all too?
I sure didn't like the looks of them so I wasn't taking any chances. That's the last thing I need after we just had the place treated for termites last year! :(
Well they are dropping dead in droves beneath the billets. Wonder why? Maybe the spray spar varnish?
Went away on Fri for the weekend and came home today. More dead ants curled up under the billets. None walking around on the billets as before. Something killed them!