Print Page - My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...

Title: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 02, 2013, 09:48:00 PM

just got my first piece of osage i ever laid hands on today. I think its a pretty good stave, rings look good, its 7 feet long by about 3-4" wide on average, and 3-4" thick. several pin knots, and only one big knot... but its kinda conveniently located the way im envisioning a bow layout. its got a little snakiness, and moderate character, but im thinking its probably not too challenging for a first timer... after all, im gonna have good teachers...right Roy?! anyway im hoping to get started on it this weekend, I will make another slow and long build along out of it i guess if there are no objections. my first question would be, is it adviseable to work the entire stave down to a ring before even thinking about a layout.... or should i start removing some wood... towards a rough bow shape, then chase a ring? second question: the guy that sold me the stave (actually he pretty much gave it to me, when i saw the shipping cost, he didn't make much! im gonna make it up to him though) took moisture readings at several places on the sides and belly of the stave, readings as low as 10% and as high as 16%. the back and ends are currently sealed with log wax. how do you guys recommend i dry and care for this stave? it has been drying for several years, and is a sister stave to the guy's own favorite bow.

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130502_211405_520_zps152895fd.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130502_211405_520_zps152895fd.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130502_211552_073_zps9fc87039.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130502_211552_073_zps9fc87039.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130502_211510_821_zps970d000d.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130502_211510_821_zps970d000d.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130502_211524_916_zps11d12916.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130502_211524_916_zps11d12916.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 03, 2013, 02:38:00 AM

Glad it came in for you.

I haven't seen a stave with that type of grain before..both sides kinda dip to the middle.
Maybe that's a good thing....I've never touched one either...lol

I'm curious what will be recommended.

Good luck with it.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: JEFF B on May 03, 2013, 02:52:00 AM

if thats a Beer on the table ya aint going do to much on the stave LOL!!!! :biglaugh: :laughing:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 03, 2013, 07:29:00 AM

Jeff B i was just pondering it at the time lol!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 03, 2013, 08:32:00 AM

I've gotten a whole heck of a lot of work done with a beer on my bench.

Staves with a concave back like that can be tricky to chase a ring. It looks pretty bumpy and well seasoned so lots of patience, good lighting, and scraper work are in order.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: okie64 on May 03, 2013, 11:03:00 AM

I usually take mine down to one ring and then lay out the front profile just in case theres any hidden problems that might show up on the edge of one of the limbs. The earlywood is thick enough on that stave that ring chasing should be fairly easy although like John said its gonna be a little tricky with those concave rings. I would drawknife the edges and then work the middle down with a gooseneck scraper. If you have trouble staying on the same ring clean up the sides of the stave and mark your ring all the way down the side of the stave with a sharpie.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 03, 2013, 11:54:00 AM

yeah i was figuring on using the scrapers alot... i do have a gooseneck. because of the thickness of the stave, and number of good rings, i should have several tries at getting a good back ring. im going to work down the first ring that will run the whole length of the stave... for practice if nothing else. and i guess i will see where i stand after that.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 03, 2013, 12:01:00 PM

GOOD LUCK MAN!

Doing that kind of work is something I'd really have to mellow out for.

Just relax, drink a beer, a take it easy kind of work.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 03, 2013, 12:08:00 PM

I HAVE A QUESTION FOR YA STAVE GUYS...

Normally the growth rings dictate the back of the bow is from the outermost of the stave.

This particular stave is different.
He could make a bow with the back being from the inner part of the tree with the belly from an outer part...
..I hope I'm explaining this well enough.
Is there anything bad about making it the "opposite" way?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on May 03, 2013, 01:00:00 PM

I'm not a stave expert, Eric:) But by all means ya gotta have beer:)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 03, 2013, 01:14:00 PM

You can make a backwards bow. It's not quite as intuitive though. Also, the concave portion is likely only going to be in certain areas and other areas will be more typical. It's a bumpy stave with a wild back.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 03, 2013, 01:37:00 PM

That makes sense John.
Didn't think of that.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: takefive on May 03, 2013, 03:16:00 PM

I don't know anything about staves, just that osage is beautiful wood. Bet you're gonna like it Eric. Good luck!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Draffish on May 03, 2013, 03:46:00 PM

Good luck Eric looking forward to another 30page plus build from you enjoyed the last one immensely gave me the kick I needed to start looking for wood for my own bow this one I'm sure will blow it out the water :bigsmyl: thanks in advance for doing another build along

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 03, 2013, 07:54:00 PM

Draffish I ain't doing this for "you guys". Im just trying to get as much help as i can! :help: :laughing: Nah it's awesome if it helps anyone even a wee bit. in my "dreaming and reading" phase of bow building, i would get frustrated at all the skipped steps in build alongs... as someone with no woodworking background, there were always tools and processes i just needed to see to understand. i tried to put the entire process out there as i learned it. I will try to do the same with this one. im about to either go get to scraping, or at least get the workshop cleaned up and ready to go for the weekend.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 03, 2013, 09:24:00 PM

well i started scraping on one end. enough to get me thinkin that if i dont reduce the size of this stave to something aproaching rough bow dimensions im gonna go nuts! so i started thinking about a layout. i got this knot about mid stave.... and ifs over 7 feet long so i have alot of leeway as to where its going to end up in the bow. but i think that if i follow the grain around it.... and put it at the arrow pass.... its going to bring me damn near centershot. of course i will be locked in to a top and bottom limb if i do it that way. what you guys think?

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130503_211123_655_zps9be0340c.jpg)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 03, 2013, 10:11:00 PM

cool theory.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 03, 2013, 10:54:00 PM

well.... after 3 beers and 3 hours... and all my CCR albums.... i have exposed about 2 or 3 square inches of the desired growth ring with a cabinet scraper set. if there is a better way to chase this ring than a cabinet scraper... fill me in! i have anywhere from 1 ring, to 3 rings and sapwood above the ring im chasing. and its all full of dips and wiggles. not complaining... its oddly soothing to slowly shave down to a growth ring.... but... I ain't retired like ole Roy, and this is going to take a loooooong time at this rate, and doing it around work and school and family.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130503_223253_689_zpsfb8010f0.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130503_223253_689_zpsfb8010f0.jpg.html)
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/56d67c02-eae4-4733-ac94-5b05bf062bda_zps9ca4fb47.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/56d67c02-eae4-4733-ac94-5b05bf062bda_zps9ca4fb47.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: vanillabear? on May 03, 2013, 11:31:00 PM

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: WestTexan on May 04, 2013, 12:24:00 AM

You can eat through rings in a flash with a draw knife but sure gotta watch the lower rings. I may do it all wrong but for me I get under a ring and peel it off working towards me with the draw knife flipped bevel side down with a 45 or even higher angle to the wood so I can control the amount of wood I'm shaving off.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 04, 2013, 09:01:00 AM

Definitely a draw knife, bevel down, for the majority of the ringchasing work. With those rings, you should not have a problem. Chase them one at a time to get the feel of it.

I would put that knot in the dead center of a non-bending handle and forget about it. Cut through it, shape it however you want, as long as the bow doesn't bend there it should not casue a proble, If it is really punky and will fall out, you might have to eliminate it or leave some extra on the side.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: George Tsoukalas on May 04, 2013, 09:51:00 AM

Shave hooks, curved scrapers, lathe chisels (used for wood turning) will all help scoop up wood from concave areas. Avoid straight scrapers and tools because you'll just violate rings adjacent to where you are working. Check my site.
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/osage.html

Jawge

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 04, 2013, 12:33:00 PM

im just keeping at it with the gooseneck scraper. what a great tool! i have it down to a ring on a whopping 7" of the stave! so..... dealing with knots.... i have a few.... im finding it difficult to follow the ring over it.... im not punching through it.... im just not getting down to it. so i have about two extra growth rings on the knot..... and the wood is much harder there... and it doesnt scrape very well.. there is an urge to take a dremmel to it.... but fear not.... i shall resist. so is there a trick to that? or an easy way maybe? i know not to punch through the ring on the knot..... i just cant seem to get to the ring im chasing. this knot is right near the end of the stave... and its not likely to end up on the bow.... so im calling it a learning knot.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 04, 2013, 12:37:00 PM

George I've already read every word on your site several times! and i thank ya for it! :notworthy:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Bowjunkie on May 04, 2013, 01:18:00 PM

Yep, wood is harder at the knots. You're doing fine, just continue to take your time, and follow that ring wherever it leads. Enjoy yourself. Chasing rings is therapeutic. Sometimes I'll switch tools often between the gooseneck and straight scrapers, Bowyer's Edge, drawknife, whatever I think is most appropriate.

Oh, unless the stave is down at or below 10-12% moisture content, seal the back with shellac when you're done chasing for the day, otherwise it can check on the back and you'll have to start all over again.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 04, 2013, 01:27:00 PM

thanks bowjunkie. good tip. would elmers glue work just as well as shellac?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 04, 2013, 03:52:00 PM

Here's how I rough out a stave including chasing a ring.

http://sticknstring.webs.com/roughout.htm

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 04, 2013, 07:52:00 PM

thanks John. can anyone point me towards a demo or explanation of working around a large knot?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on May 04, 2013, 10:29:00 PM

Cut that stave into billets and make a real BBO bow:) That's all the help I can give ya on staves.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 06, 2013, 02:08:00 PM

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130506_133453_081_zpsf0e12d26.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130506_133453_081_zpsf0e12d26.jpg.html)

made a little more progress, about a foot done now. I didn't take the big knot at the end of the stave all the way down to the ring because thats just to much work for a knot that i almost know for certain is not going to be on the bow. the two pin knots in the middle of the worked area were much easier to work than that big one. Here is what I have decided about chasing a ring:
It is not hard... its just hard work! I did fool around with the draw knife a little, but i haven't really found it useful, as this ring has been entirely concave so far. i have been using just a gooseneck scraper for the most part, and while it is slow and tedious, it is very precise... and not only have i not gone through my growth ring anywhere, but i have barely scratched the surface of the latewood. the scraper takes off Bible page thickness shavings, and id say it probably takes something on the order of 3-4 dozen scrapes to go down 1/16".

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 06, 2013, 03:55:00 PM

Keep at it. You are doing a fine job. Fingers sore? Are they black?

I once made four matching bows for an elk hunt I was doing with 3 friends. Every one of the bows had bumps and dips and goofy crap going on. Almost all of the ring chasing was done with a scraper. They were super cool bows but I swore off concave staves after that :)

Since this is your first stave, you are doing it the right way. In the future, you can chase to one ring the best you can a couple rings above your desired ring quickly with a drawknife. Then lay your bow out and cut it to rough shape and minimize the amount of actual scraping you have to do.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 06, 2013, 06:01:00 PM

fingers aren't sore yet, but my right hand middle finger tip gets hot during heavy scraping sessions, (the scraper heats up close to the edge from friction). No, they aren't black, and not sure why they would be... am i doing it wrong? lol! If i have to chase another ring below this one it won't be as bad. viewed from the end of the stave this was the first ring down... but once you get into it its a little deeper, you can see there are a couple rings above it where i haven't scraped much yet... and i think some of it is sap wood, the latewood in the ring i have followed has a different consistancy than the next one up. Im coating the scraped portions with wood glue between scraping sessions, and the rest of the stave is waxed to prevent checking.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 06, 2013, 06:05:00 PM

Good work!
You have more patience than I.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 06, 2013, 06:47:00 PM

Zradix I know it seems like it would take incredible patience for such a slow process, but it really is kind of relaxing. its not physically difficult, its not making me tired anyway... and i change scrapers or position of scraper enough where my hands don't cramp from being in the same position (you also have to kinda walk around the stave and go around the knots from different angles). And... it doesn't require alot of thought, i guess it would be comparable to ..... the best i can come up with is an old lady knitting.... or a kid coloring.

i guess its kinda the mindset too... im going into this thing expecting it to take over a month.... so if i don't make huge progress in an afternoon... it isn't frustrating. slow and easy, attention to detail. learned that in my last build. taking my time pays off big time. that BBI is my favorite bow, every bit as good a shooter as my fedora, and damned if it ain't almost as fast!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 06, 2013, 07:54:00 PM

I think I can understand.
great to hear how much you like your BBI.
...Just spoke with Matt today... :thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 06, 2013, 08:31:00 PM

nice! he have anything that strikes your fancy?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 06, 2013, 08:36:00 PM

He's checking on the ipe..didn't have any right now, but he thinks later in the week.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 06, 2013, 08:52:00 PM

cool. i really like this wooden bow thing... might even be losing my interest in making glass bows....

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 06, 2013, 09:39:00 PM

If you have a spring steel scraper and sweat on it after awhile it turns you r fingers black. At least mine does.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 08, 2013, 11:06:00 PM

I'm working on my second OSB right now too. There is definitely a zen to making those beautiful shavings. Self bows never really struck my fancy... Until I made one. My be uploading some tiller shots this weekend. Hopefully will make a hunting bow. Have you a plan for your tips? My first one, the string started to split the limb at the nock grooves. I glued tip overlays on first thing for the new one. Good luck with yours. I'll be following along! Don't have the patience for photos and uploads that you do, but appreciate your threads.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 19, 2013, 10:41:00 PM

What happened? Am I a thread killer? ;) ;) Any progress on your self bow?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 20, 2013, 05:55:00 AM

yeah Steve just going slow. ran into a busy week and my time in the shop has been limited. im down to a ring for almost half the stave. didn't realize it would take this long to get started when i started the buildalong. I think things will speed up once i get past ring chasing and on to bow making.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 20, 2013, 08:26:00 AM

Good luck Eric.
Speed isn't your ally on that one.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 20, 2013, 08:15:00 PM

I know what you mean. I can only work on mine weekends. Ring chasing goes a lot faster once you get comfortable with it. Been doing most of my tillering with a sanding block. That's slow going. Trying to avoid the mistake I made on my first bow... taking wood off too fast.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 21, 2013, 10:31:00 AM

what is really making it slow is that its concave and there are i think 19 pin knots. if anyone can provide insite or perhaps pictures of a good way to work a pin knot that would be great. i know not to level them off. but i can't see how you could truly follow a ring over it. they are different color and texture. there is plenty of wood left on mine. can there be too much?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 21, 2013, 11:12:00 AM

Do you have pics of the pin knots? Depending on their size you can generally get down to a ring around them pretty successfully with a scraper. With a drawknife you have to be careful to work around them so as not to rip a splinter out near them. If you have them near the edge of your limb, you have to be very careful not to scalp them. As fat as those rings are you have a nice margin of error. Leaving wood from a ring above your desired ring is usually not a good idea. You can get them done, it just takes time; as you have found out.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 21, 2013, 02:21:00 PM

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130521_141411_238_zps5c5cc7c7.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130521_141411_238_zps5c5cc7c7.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130521_141340_658_zps072299b6.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130521_141340_658_zps072299b6.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130521_141245_631_zpsfed037bd.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130521_141245_631_zpsfed037bd.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130521_141300_397_zps93e7db93.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130521_141300_397_zps93e7db93.jpg.html)

standard #2 pencil for scale. these are some of the knots i have chased a ring around thus far. im kind of scared to take any wood off above a knot... so i have been following the ring right up to them, and around them... but not over them. i find that the deeper my ring goes in the stave, the taller my knots end up being. does a growth ring tend to maintain the same thickness over a knot?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 21, 2013, 03:13:00 PM

oh my...you're a more patient man than I..
Very curious to hear what others have to say.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 21, 2013, 03:31:00 PM

Zradix I don't know about that! i can tell you that so far... the bbi was more fun to build. this is TEDIOUS! but im going to finish it and im not going to rush it. the next selfbow i do is gonna have less character i can tell you that!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 21, 2013, 03:45:00 PM

Get it as best you can and then lay the bow out to avoid as many knots as possible. Once you get the bow cut out, then carefully remove the last of the unwanted material around the knots that are left. Try to keep knots a good distance from the edge if possible.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 21, 2013, 04:00:00 PM

John that's my plan... i just don't know how much or which material is "unwanted" if that makes since.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 21, 2013, 04:33:00 PM

Anything above the ring you are chasing. It's ok to leave the knot since the tree grows around it and fibers are therefore undamaged. Think of it as a rock in a stream. The grain flows around it like water. The pin or branch is not a risk to your back. The risk lies in violating the fibers as they go around the pin or branch.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 21, 2013, 07:42:00 PM

ok, going around it is no problem, so I don't need to worry about going OVER it so much? by the way thank you for your help.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 25, 2013, 04:21:00 PM

I know the light and the picture sucks, but im down to a ring to a little bit past the vice (going toward the saw) figured out the ring im chasing is already exposed in some places on this end of the stave... and it may be violated. might have chase another ring. oh my. :banghead:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 25, 2013, 04:22:00 PM

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130525_160718_701_zps6cb55846.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130525_160718_701_zps6cb55846.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 25, 2013, 04:34:00 PM

Well....think of it as darn good practice.
...I'm beginning to have my fill of practice as well...lol

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 26, 2013, 03:42:00 PM

well im almost to the end of the stave, going quicker now. the ring was exposed or very close to the surface on this end, so it's going quicker. i don't believe it has been violated, so thats good. I may go ahead and chase the next ring anyway... but that will be after i have layed out the profile and removed a bunch of wood. should be there by tomorrow night. then, gents, I will deliver a proper build along :thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 26, 2013, 07:47:00 PM

that's good news.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 26, 2013, 09:04:00 PM

spoke to soon. it was violated. its ok though. i got a good clean look at the stave so I am comfortable laying out the bow now. I cut some excess off the end, and im going to remove some excess off the sides so i have about half the surface area to work. and only one growth ring to remove this time. stand by for pictures.....

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 26, 2013, 09:06:00 PM

here is where the ring i was following was lost. all i did was scrape off the wax and i seen it. its very easy in the right light to see your growth rings. the shiny hard looking wood in the middle there is the late wood, the pithy lookin stuff around it is the early wood.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130526_201057_237_zpsaa3b9b77.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130526_201057_237_zpsaa3b9b77.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 26, 2013, 09:08:00 PM

I wanted to get a look at the anatomy of a pin knot, so when i cut off the extra off the end, i cut right through the middle of one. i can see now that i don't need to leave a massive lump of wood over the thing.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130526_205704_742_zps9557a08b.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130526_205704_742_zps9557a08b.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 26, 2013, 09:14:00 PM

i think this is what im going to do with the handle. the knot is there. can't do much about it so i might as well use it. laying it out this way will bring it closer to center... and i like the character. IF ANYONE WHO KNOWS MORE THAN ME ABOUT SELFBOWS (most of you will qualify) THINK THIS IS NOT A GOOD WAY TO DO IT... WARN ME SOON! Im in the mood for wood removal! by the way the lines i have drawn are 1" wide at the handle.. thats 4" long, the center being the "C" and then out to 1.5" at the fades. and im going to cut way outside the lines for now.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130526_205935_010_zps718544bc.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130526_205935_010_zps718544bc.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 26, 2013, 09:18:00 PM

and here aere some pictures of the out line. everything is following the grain. and its a pretty steady taper from 1.5" at the fades to 1/2" at the tips.... 72" tip to tip on my outline... but i will probably decide on something in the neighborhood of 68" ntn.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130526_210030_730_zps3218e34a.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130526_210030_730_zps3218e34a.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130526_210056_863_zps6a085974.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130526_210056_863_zps6a085974.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130526_210043_940_zps4d4be4dd.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130526_210043_940_zps4d4be4dd.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 27, 2013, 10:57:00 AM

cut some excess wood off well outside the lines and started chasing the next ring. quit at 0330 this morning when my fingers started cramping up. got about 2/3 of the way down the stave though. i love osage. it just feels like it wants to be a bow.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130526_215035_386_zpsf47e5f82.jpg)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 27, 2013, 11:33:00 AM

dang!
Just drawing the shape out on that would've had me stumped Eric.

How you guys can look at a wavy piece of wood like that and visualize a bow is amazing to me.

Even if i could somehow see the bow in it like you've drawn, figuring out how I'm going to straighten it and "make it happen" is so beyond me it's actually funny.

All I can do is wish you luck and wisdom while you work buddy.

:clapper:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 27, 2013, 12:13:00 PM

step by step that's all. doesnt take any creativity to lay it out. just draw a line down the middle of the stave following the grain and every thing is measured off of that.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 27, 2013, 12:16:00 PM

shouldnt have to do much straightening.... the tips line up with the handle so it should be pretty good. i think i am going to flip the tips though.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 28, 2013, 07:45:00 AM

what of my dimensions? 1.5" down to a half inch good for the limbs? I just want to stick with a proven design as this is my first one.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 28, 2013, 10:05:00 AM

I'm not crazy about that handle layout. I try to make my handle straight and lined up so the string bisects its length. This keeps torque down. I also do not narrow the handle until I get it tillered. If it were me, I would scoot my layout away from the knot. It looks like you have room.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 28, 2013, 10:30:00 AM

I do have some room, will have to look at that. is it ok if the handle doesnt "exactly" follow the grain? I can move the whole layout over away from the knot a good quarter of an inch, but the grain still curves around it. this isn't going to be a bend in the handle bow... so i guess its probably going to be ok if i don't really follow the grain right there.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 28, 2013, 11:34:00 AM

Since the handle will not be bending you can lay it out how ever you'd like, within reason of course.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 28, 2013, 11:56:00 AM

when i get a chance to get to it again, im going to finish chasing the ring, then i will redraw a new layout and post a pic to see what you thinks. Thank you for your advice... much needed and appreciated.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 03:12:00 PM

i devised a nifty method of quickly removing wood around a knot. sharpened a flat tip screwdriver with a file and just kinda slowly and in a controlled... two handed method, just chisel it toward the knot. you can really feel the difference in the early and latewood, when you get close to the bottom of the early wood it really gets crunchy... same as with the draw knife. if there are any soon to be first timers reading this, do yourself a favor and practice on a ring above the one you want with a draw knife, if you are like me you will have to be alot more aggressive with it than feels right. get the feel of the wood. you can feel it better than you can see it. anyway.... heres some pics

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_134344_250_zps1c5bb82e.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_134344_250_zps1c5bb82e.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_134358_525_zpsa58dfaa6.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_134358_525_zpsa58dfaa6.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_134651_690_zpsa4f5f66a.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_134651_690_zpsa4f5f66a.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_135054_900_zps55d01482.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_135054_900_zps55d01482.jpg.html)

the last one is all cleaned up with my favorite tool in the world... a gooseneck scraper.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 03:16:00 PM

and here she is, all cleaned up. no more ring chasing! anyway, i got about an hour before my wife comes home, so i have to go catch up on the honey do list :readit: really really fast... or im going to be in big trouble. later tonight after everyone is sleeping i will sneak back down and draw out a new layout to run by you guys! :thumbsup: Thanks for watching!

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_150020_355_zps838b798e.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_150020_355_zps838b798e.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 29, 2013, 03:16:00 PM

that's pretty cool man.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 29, 2013, 03:19:00 PM

Very nicely done. I have a couple little wood carving chisels that do about the same. Eric Krewson had a nice little tool he fashioned from a flat nail that was also really cool although it had more of a hook design if I remember right. It's coming along very nicely. Makes me wanna chase a ring.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 04:15:00 PM

Thanks John! I was going about it way to timidly the first time. once i realized i had to chase another ring i went ahead and attacked what i had left with the draw knife, just to see how close i could get to the first ring without punching through. made me alot more confident to go faster. the late wood is so much harder that tools really don't want to cut into it.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on May 29, 2013, 04:24:00 PM

I guess it's ok.. :laughing:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 04:39:00 PM

Pipe down Roy. You aren't a stave expert remember! Just sit back and watch. ya might learn somethin!
:laughing:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 29, 2013, 06:38:00 PM

So are you an uphill chaser, or downhill chaser? I found that pulling towards the ring/s you are removing rather than towards the ring you are revealing was a lot easier to control and protect the target ring from inadvertent digs.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 06:48:00 PM

ummmm...... yes. well, what i have done is i will take an area 4-8 inches or so... basicly just between knots.... and take it all down to a thin film of early wood over the ring... i will punch through it in spots so i know how close i am... kinda ends up splotchy. then i will lighten the pressure on the scraper and lightly scrape it mostly away. then i push the scraper rather than pull it which is what i do up to this point... and super lightly just go back over the whole area removing any tidbits of early wood that were left, and it also gets rid of any scraper marks that were there. im removing virtually no latewood this way.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 06:51:00 PM

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_184258_076_zps45eb019a.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_184258_076_zps45eb019a.jpg.html)

ok. the centerline is marked from tip to tip. stave is 73.5" long. the center of the stave is 1.5" left of the center of the big knot. i want a 68" ntn bow... so call it 70" ttt for now. where would you guys put the center of the handle? btw i can move the center line up or down about a quarter inch either way, and still keep the whole bow on the stave.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 07:34:00 PM

here are two options... using the center of the stave as the center of the bow. go with the grain and make my handle screwy or cut through the grain and make it straight..... both lines are on there..... use your imagination
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_190508_534_zps54ce36c7.jpg)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 07:37:00 PM

or.... i can move the center of the bow toward the left an inch, and put the curve around the knot in the fade.... i think i might like this idea... may move the whole bow up an eighth inch though, just to get away from the knot. what you guys think?
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_191828_435_zps2655f31b.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_191828_435_zps2655f31b.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 07:48:00 PM

alright hows this?
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130529_194721_057_zps79507aa3.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130529_194721_057_zps79507aa3.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 29, 2013, 09:25:00 PM

Where does that knot come through on the belly side? Is it perpendicular to the back or does it traverse through the stave towards the other side of the bow? Are you planning on a shelf? Or a thin handle with floppy rest? Looks like the latter from your lines. One strategy would be to leave your handle full width till you get the limbs tillered. Then decide which limb will be up. That might help decide how to deal with the knot rather than committing up front. Are you doing same length limbs or asymmetrical ala Dean Torges?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 09:35:00 PM

the knot doesn't go all the way through, but it is angled away from the bow... what i like about this layout above... is that either limb can be top. yes both limbs same length... thats all i know how to tiller and im not up for learning a different way just yet. oh and yeah thin handle and floppy rest or leather wedge under leather wrapped handle.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 29, 2013, 11:34:00 PM

1.5" down to 1/2" about the right dimensions for the limbs?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 30, 2013, 10:06:00 AM

That allows for a lot of margin but is pretty overbuilt. What are the full dimensions again? Draw weight, length, NTN length? Pyramid or are you carrying full width out to midlimb?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 10:17:00 AM

what i have in mind is 68" ntn 55-57# @ 28". i would rather error on the side of overbuilt.... but i really dont know the tried and true dimensions of osage selfbows. what dimensions would you use? what i have layed out right now is 1.5 at fades .5 at the tips and 1" at midlimb.
certainly will take any advice you can give.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 30, 2013, 06:54:00 PM

It will be a shocker for sure.

If I were you, I would go with 1-1/2" wide for 6" of the limb and tapering to 1/2" at the nocks. 64" NTN for a 28" draw. Rough it out to 5/8" thick knowing you will have to get it down to 1/2" or so. But you have shown patience so far.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 07:55:00 PM

64" ehhh..... hmmm..... ok im game. will draw that out tonight and post a pic. that guves me more room to put that wiggle around the knot somewheres else if i wanted to.... but i think right in or past the fade is probably ok. any opinion on that?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on May 30, 2013, 08:34:00 PM

Ok, if that were mine I would put that knot in the handle. If it goes straight through or towards the edge of the stave it looks like it will be gone by the time you finish it out. It doesn't take that much osage to make a bow :) The fades are under too much stress for a knot in my opinion.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 08:57:00 PM

the knot is going to be gone.... im just talking about the curvy gtain that goes around it.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on May 30, 2013, 09:09:00 PM

put it in the handle, grain orientation is less important in the handle. Unless it is going to be a bendy handle.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 10:07:00 PM

not like this?
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130530_220438_605_zps2becf756.jpg)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 10:11:00 PM

if i put it IN the handle.... there will be actual knot in the handle. i cant get a full inch and a half around it so i cant put it in the limb. it seems to me the only way to have no punky knot wood in the bow and still follow the grain is to place the knot next to the fade.... and let the fade follow the grain around the knot. is there a risk in doing it this way? grain is always followed and there is no knot in the bow.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 30, 2013, 10:12:00 PM

I'd put in the handle too. Its not bending there. Soak the knot in superglue if you are worried. Not that I'm an expert, but the fades are the foundation of the limbs and the most important part to get right. Why complicate things by throwing a big bend right in the fade?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 30, 2013, 10:18:00 PM

You can violate the grain in a non bending handle. Looks like the punk would be cut out based on the line you've got drawn.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 10:19:00 PM

wish you guys would have just agreed with me... :rolleyes:

oh well... I'd be a fool not to listen to ya, so, back to the drawing board!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on May 30, 2013, 10:23:00 PM

It's up to you. but it looks like there might be a little grain run out that way. There will a lot of stress right where the knot is with that lay out.

(http://i1357.photobucket.com/albums/q744/cardboard_duck/IMG_20130530_220438_605_zps7cacdf5d.jpg)

What's wrong with this?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 10:43:00 PM

you mean like this?
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130530_223929_582_zps99486715.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130530_223929_582_zps99486715.jpg.html)

haha i didn't think i could do it, but then... it fits. almost like you guys know what you're talking about.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 10:44:00 PM

Thanks guys :notworthy:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on May 30, 2013, 11:05:00 PM

I guess it's ok:)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 30, 2013, 11:15:00 PM

ya i guess you're ok too Roy. :) gonna have to leave it alone for tonight. bedtime. dont know if ill get much done tomorrow either... looks like weather and schedule will finally cooperate for my first time bowfishing tomorrow.... wish me luck!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 30, 2013, 11:30:00 PM

good luck!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 08:13:00 AM

Thanks!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on May 31, 2013, 10:21:00 AM

just read about your new B-saw.... :bigsmyl:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 10:43:00 AM

yeah.... its pretty sweet! ok fishing trip canceled due to unforeseen obligations of the other party.... but i already took off of work early... soooo..... time to get to work!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 02:06:00 PM

beginning to look like a bow now

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130531_135818_594_zpse834a519.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130531_135818_594_zpse834a519.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130531_135839_760_zps722191e7.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130531_135839_760_zps722191e7.jpg.html)

its roughed out just outside the lines, limbs are 5/8"-3/4" thick.
removed the bulk of the wood with the bandsaw, then touched up with the belt sander. all hand tools from here me thinks. going around now with a rasp and taking it all down to the lines and hugging the curves. I may need to straigten.... errr..... bend the limb closest to the camera to the left about an inch or two, by the eyeball it looks like the string will track right on the edge of the handle. is now the time to straighten limbs and flip tips.... or should i take the thickness down further first?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: TimBoA on May 31, 2013, 02:26:00 PM

I believe you want to have it floor tillered, or at least have the limbs bending a bit, before straightening or flipping - less chance of cracking that way.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 02:30:00 PM

string tracks down the edge of handle. which limb would you bend to bring it in line?
i think the limb closest to camera needs to come left... kindof in the same manner as the far limb.... what say the pros?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 02:32:00 PM

Timboa just seen your post... the limbs do bend a little, and inch or so.... im gonna keep working it down for now.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 02:33:00 PM

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130531_142744_541_zps27c897c3.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130531_142744_541_zps27c897c3.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130531_142701_228_zps9db93258.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130531_142701_228_zps9db93258.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 03:20:00 PM

Haha i just blew my nose... bright yellow boogers. Maybe i should wear a dust mask next time :laughing: i think i need to invest in a dust collector.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 31, 2013, 03:58:00 PM

Remember as you approach your lines, a rasp will cut thought the grain, while a scraper will follow it. You seem like a slow goer though so probably not as vulnerable to an impatient swipe of the rasp.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on May 31, 2013, 04:00:00 PM

I'd keep floor tillering until you can see where the string tracks once its braced. Might tell a different story under pressure.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 04:56:00 PM

you mean like get it to a short brace?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: DVSHUNTER on May 31, 2013, 05:41:00 PM

Definitly take it down a bit. You should be able to floor tiller to low brace. That means looking for an even bend and equal resistance in all the limb. Once you get it braced low, like three inches, check your alignment. Mark what you want and the make a form to add reflex and straighten it then.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 05:55:00 PM

what kind of form? do you know of any build along or do you have a picture illustrating that? and can i substitute a long tillering string for floor tillering? ive got the limbs down to 1/2 to 5/8 thick now.... and i can bend the limbs and they feel good.... but im not really sure how to see even bend except by looking at it on a tillering tree.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on May 31, 2013, 07:15:00 PM

http://sticknstring.webs.com/fixit.htm

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 07:42:00 PM

oh ok gotcha. Thanks John. can/should you flip tips on the same form?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on May 31, 2013, 08:34:00 PM

I made a form like this-

(http://i1357.photobucket.com/albums/q744/cardboard_duck/temporary_zps509d3961.jpg)

This I before I cleaned it up. It's just 2- 2x10s

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 09:37:00 PM

Nick does the full 2x10 on the back of that just add stability?.... do you clamp down against the form AND against the back for straightening the limbs left to right? and how does a form like that work when you have lots of knots and wiggles and high spots on the back of the bow? sorry so many questions guys.... i just don't believe its necessary to make and break a ton of bad bows as a learning process.... when there is so much knowledge out there. I feel like if i go slow and careful and listen to all you guys, my first selfbow can be a shooter and not just a learning experience.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on May 31, 2013, 09:46:00 PM

Yes you can induce reflex and straighten at the same time with it with the full 2x10 on the back. Knots and bumps don't really matter as long as you don't clamp the bow past the point of the high spot (if that makes sence...). You can put wedges in if you need to, to make up for bumps or to straighten.

-I copied this form from Pearl Drums :) thanks again Chris!-

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 09:48:00 PM

on a bow like this (64" ntn, 1.5" at fades and for 6", then tapered to 1/2" at tips) do the limbs end up fairly uniform thickness... or thinner toward the tips? I ask because i just put it on the tree with a long string and pulled it to 40#... got about 2-3" of tip travel, and almost all the bending was in the inner thirds.... the limbs are pretty uniform thickness.. cut about a 16th to an 8th outside of the half inch line.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on May 31, 2013, 09:50:00 PM

I just did this one on it and it has knots bumps and curves in it-

(http://i1357.photobucket.com/albums/q744/cardboard_duck/WP_20130527_0011_zpsa22c7a2c.jpg)

It's turned out pretty good so far.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 09:51:00 PM

Nick yes that makes sense.... any danger of putting too much pressure on those high spots and knots against the form... crushing fibers or something...... or is osage knot vs pine board no contest for the osage knot?... if that makes sense...

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 09:52:00 PM

Nick... nice.... yes thats pretty much what i have in mind.... just like yours haha!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on May 31, 2013, 09:56:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Echatham:
on a bow like this (64" ntn, 1.5" at fades and for 6", then tapered to 1/2" at tips) do the limbs end up fairly uniform thickness... or thinner toward the tips? I ask because i just put it on the tree with a long string and pulled it to 40#... got about 2-3" of tip travel, and almost all the bending was in the inner thirds.... the limbs are pretty uniform thickness.. cut about a 16th to an 8th outside of the half inch line.

When you get it on the short string at close to normal brace height it will put more stress on the outer limbs and they will flex more. As for the thickness question... All wood is different and you just have to let the bow decide on that. Just remove wood to get it bending right and don't worry about the thickness taper. It's not like a laminated bow where you can tiller it with a caliper :)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on May 31, 2013, 09:59:00 PM

yeah I understand that... it was more just a curiosity question. :)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 01, 2013, 08:44:00 PM

how long should the fades be? inch and a half? 2?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: vanillabear? on June 01, 2013, 09:07:00 PM

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 01, 2013, 09:38:00 PM

ok then im gonna go with 1.5 or 2.... because i feel like its kinda a short bow ( i know its not really) and i want as much working limb as possible.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 01, 2013, 09:43:00 PM

getting some bend now. here is at rest and pulled to 45# on the long string. about 6 or 7 inches of tip travel i think.

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130601_212957_971_zps2941ba8d.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130601_212957_971_zps2941ba8d.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130601_213057_493_zps1ba5fd55.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130601_213057_493_zps1ba5fd55.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 01, 2013, 09:47:00 PM

think im ready to start building that form... gonna pick up some 2x10s tomorrow i think. Nick do you have dimensions I can copy... or approximate?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on June 01, 2013, 10:00:00 PM

I loosely followed this post -

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,37851.0.html

I didn't go as aggressive as that one, make sure the middle 10" or so flat.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 01, 2013, 10:10:00 PM

nice! perfect.... THANK YOU PEARLDRUMS!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 01, 2013, 10:16:00 PM

Hi my name is Eric and I make 28 page long buildalongs :laughing:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 02, 2013, 02:18:00 AM

lol..
I love reading them.

This being the first osage stave bow I've watched being built...I'm really amazed at the draw weight you're getting right now..
I'm surprised how high it is.

Looking good man!
:thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Draffish on June 02, 2013, 04:25:00 PM

looking very good been away for a week looks like youve done some nice work while ive been away lots of nice reading to catch up on your 28 page mega build :)
again looking a beauty lots of character

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 02, 2013, 06:14:00 PM

just picked up a 12' 2x10, a steel yardstick, and a couple more clamps... you can never have enough clamps... gonna get to building the form in a little while

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 02, 2013, 06:56:00 PM

cool
:thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 02, 2013, 07:33:00 PM

how do i go about heating the bow on the form? clamp the center then heat 5-7" at a time for 5-7 minutes with a heat gun, then clamp and move to the next section? seams like i read something like that before, but i can never find explanations of how do do things like that when im looking for them.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on June 02, 2013, 08:36:00 PM

basically, heat section - clamp - heat - clamp and so on. Toast it till its brown, don't char it, but toast it good. As long as it's bending nicely at floor tiller you shouldn't have any problems.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 03, 2013, 07:34:00 AM

finished my form last night but phone was dead so i couldn't get the pics up... but here it is.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130603_061324_556_zps17cf70b5.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130603_061324_556_zps17cf70b5.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130603_061343_662_zps6eef36cb.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130603_061343_662_zps6eef36cb.jpg.html)

had to chisel out a little dip for the knot to sit in so the handle would sit flat on the form. fits nicely.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 03, 2013, 07:37:00 AM

then i figured i would try straightening a litle bit. basically just clamped the limbs up against the back of the form after heating... with some strategically placed wedges. sorry no pictures of the process... but here is the results:

before:
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130531_135839_760_zps722191e7.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130531_135839_760_zps722191e7.jpg.html)

after:
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130603_061440_110_zpsd41a8528.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130603_061440_110_zpsd41a8528.jpg.html)

may need a little tweeking later on, but at least the whole bow sits in the center of the form.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 03, 2013, 07:43:00 AM

the specs on the form are taken exactly from Pearldrums' form from the build referenced above. only thing i changed was the last two points.... mine are (31.25 , -5) and (33 , -6) and thats just because my bow is a tad shorter than his. also i cut off the corners of the back of the form to make room for my clamps for sideways clamping.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 03, 2013, 07:59:00 AM

I guess it's Ok:)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 03, 2013, 08:08:00 AM

Thanks Roy!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 03, 2013, 09:17:00 AM

Boy that looks a lot better.
:thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: fujimo on June 03, 2013, 12:49:00 PM

just one pointer, with that backing board on the caul, watch when you are heating the belly, as the heat deflects off that back board, and hits the back of the bow, an' you cant see that you are toasting the back of yer bow.
I have taken to drilling big( 1/2") holes on the backboard so that the heat can dissipate, and I try and run my heat gun more vertically and more from the closed side/backboard side- so that the heat is directed away from the backboard.

no one else seems to have had this problem on here- jus' me.
so its prolly operator error- but just watch for it.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 03, 2013, 01:00:00 PM

good tip. drilling holes is a pretty good idea. wonder if anyone has had that problem with the form itself and not the backing board.... could drill some holes down into it too.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 03, 2013, 01:15:00 PM

im hoping to get the bow heated up and bent to the form tonight. do i need to let it sit a few days to rehydrate before tillering again? seems like i read that somewhere.... but not sure.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 03, 2013, 03:14:00 PM

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130603_150357_815_zps0a04eb85.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130603_150357_815_zps0a04eb85.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 03, 2013, 06:38:00 PM

sweet

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on June 03, 2013, 07:14:00 PM

Fujimo, you aren't alone. I recently toasted the back of a self bow via reflected heat. Wasn't sure how I did it till I read your post!!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: fujimo on June 03, 2013, 11:25:00 PM

yup i was showing a friend how to straighten his stave( well- a stave i gave him!!) and we toasted the back a bit- but we cleaned it up pretty good without violating the ring- then backed it with some silk- and its still shooting well in australia- and has taken a number of goats with it already!

your bow and form are really looking great.
yup let it sit- thats the advice i got from everybody- i dont know how short a time you can leave it- if you are in a hurry to get going- i always leave them for at least 3- 4 days- sometimes way longer- just depends.
and i find something else to do!!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on June 04, 2013, 05:22:00 AM

Is it truly necessary to toast it till its brown to soften it enough to bend and straighten? Recently straightened a couple bow blanks without taking it that far. Just heated till it was too hot to touch but not enough to change color. Make sure you coat it with oil of some sort. I think that helps with moisture loss too so you don't have to wait so long to rehydrate? I didn't. But then again.... I'm new at this.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Bowjunkie on June 04, 2013, 06:05:00 AM

Steve, you're doing fine.... for bending, there's no need to toast it, just heat til you can't put your hand on it. I never heat them until they change color, and I never put oil on them. The fact that I've done it hundreds of times successfully without oil tells me it's probably an unnecessary step :)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 08:15:00 AM

managed to get the other limb heated and clamped this morning. didn't really have enough time so i had to be a few minutes late for work lol! had to do it though, cause i won't be able to get much done today or tomorrow. the first limb held it's shape very nicely. very little springback. Why did i always think that heat straightening a bow stave was going to be some really difficult and daunting task? easy day! Pictures this afternoon I promise!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 04, 2013, 08:33:00 AM

cool.

I'm kinda fearing any heat bending myself.
Glad to hear it's no biggie.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 09:01:00 AM

i did lightly brown the belly in a couple spots... mostly just to see how much it took to do it. I didn't use any oil and i didn't get any toasting on the back. did have some pine sap run out of my form in a few spots though. no big deal. Its pretty humid out right now, and the bow's in the basement so it should rehydrate pretty quickly. I will give it till the weekend at least. Zradix there really is nothing to it. i just heat up a little section with a heat gun for about 5 minutes or so and then clamp it down and move on. bends really easy... not like noodle easy.... more like green sapling easy... i have been letting it cool in the form for a whole day or night... don't know if thats neccesary... thats just how its worked out.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 04, 2013, 09:15:00 AM

INTERESTING.
Thank you

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 09:33:00 AM

can anyone reccomend a tradgang sponser for horn nock material?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 10:15:00 AM

nevermind... Horn is on order.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on June 04, 2013, 11:28:00 AM

Really you only need to cool it to room temp and its good to go. In his book, Stim Wilcox even mentioned using an ice bag to speed up the cooling process. I did some straightening by hand by just holding the bow in the vise and pushing/twisting and holding it till it cooled enough.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 11:35:00 AM

yeah i figured that was the case.... i just set it and go to bed, or set it and go to work.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on June 04, 2013, 11:54:00 AM

I have had bows blow when I didn't let them rest after heating. I have no scientific proof but I always let them rest a week or so if I have really done a lot of bending. If I am just flipping the tips or making slight adjustments, I don't feel it is necessary but if I do a lot of correction, I think it helps to let them rehydrate a while. I have even wetted the stave to help them along in really dry times. I usually do several blanks at once and don't work or sell them for a long time. I don't use oil except when doing really harsh recurving.

Toasting and correcting are different things. Correcting is, well, correcting unwanted bends. Toasting is "tempering" by really heating the belly wood to make it more plastic and then letting it cool in a reflexed state to better resist compression.

Don't, I repeat, don't toast the back. Use a form without sides so that heat doesn't bounce. Better yet, use a form without sides that is only as wide as the stave to eliminate reflection of heat onto the back while toasting.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 12:14:00 PM

I got ya John. i definitely haven't gotten it hot enough for that.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 03:39:00 PM

well here she is off the form. lookin pretty good i think. think this amount of reflex is extreme for a first selfbow?

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130604_153125_341_zpsaef491c2.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130604_153125_341_zpsaef491c2.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130604_153300_877_zpsfed22eec.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130604_153300_877_zpsfed22eec.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 04, 2013, 03:46:00 PM

ooooo..

It's on the tree!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 03:52:00 PM

haha just for the photo op. gonna give it til the weekend to start tillering. might put the overlays on before i brace it.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 04, 2013, 04:03:00 PM

ahh..
Let it rehydrate and stuff...

lol

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on June 04, 2013, 04:42:00 PM

That's more than I would add. It makes it tougher to tiller especially at first but you should be fine. Take your time :)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on June 04, 2013, 04:48:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Echatham:
haha just for the photo op. gonna give it til the weekend to start tillering. might put the overlays on before i brace it.

I just cut grooves in the sides (not the back) for tillering and worry about the overlays when I know it's good to go. Check floor tiller first, then long string, then short string after the tips are moving a bit. I know you probably already know this, but I just sounded like your were going to brace it after letting it sit :)

I have started tillering the next day after heating a bow on a form, but you will get 100000 different opinions, just go with what your gut tells ya :)

Looks good btw :thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 05:20:00 PM

oh yeah i wasnt going to just brace it right away. i think i want to get it moving about ten inches or so before i get off the long string. now.... i have read two different things on the long string..... and that is "never pull more than 10# under desired draw weight" and "pull to about 10# over draw weight" lol which is it? im sticking with 10# under unless i hear differently.

oh and another question.... on tillering.... do i want to leave the tips stiff.... meaning staying recurved.... or tiller so that the tips straighten out during the draw cycle?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on June 04, 2013, 06:08:00 PM

Never pull past your intended draw weight, and always exercise everytime you remove wood and before pulling to the next inch if everything looks good. I like to leave my tips stiff until the rest of the limb is bending the way I want it to, the you can get them to just give a little.

This is just my advice and everyone does it differently.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 06:18:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by CardboardDuck:
Never pull past your intended draw weight

yeah I just thought maybe it had to do with the long string having a different geometry... and maybe 45# on the long string stresses the limbs either more or less than 45# on the short string.
I should have my engineer buddy work that one out for me. lol

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on June 04, 2013, 06:23:00 PM

The long string doesn't stress the outer limbs as much as the short string, so the long string lies. That is why you should try to get it on the short string as soon as it looks good with 6" or so of long string tip travel. 45# of stress is 45# of stress, it is just stressing different areas because of different string angles.

When I say "long" string I don't mean so long that it hangs off the bow like some you see on here, I like my long string to touch the belly.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 04, 2013, 06:54:00 PM

Thanks Duck thats how i will do it then

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 03:40:00 PM

couldn't wait.... braced it at 1" or so and gave it a few pulls on the tillering tree. hit around 40# @ 16", with one limb a little stiffer, straigtened that out, and now i have it braced around 4" and its hitting 42# @ 22". tiller is close but not perfect yet, and im a little nervous cause i don't have a whole lot of breathing room, this is going waaaay to quickly i feel like. the limbs are bending close to evenly (I say that now... not having looked at the pictures yet) but how do they look?
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_152811_898_zps8a91cc47.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_152811_898_zps8a91cc47.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_152911_192_zps4a0169ac.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_152911_192_zps4a0169ac.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_153008_035_zps3c21e2ad.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_153008_035_zps3c21e2ad.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 06, 2013, 03:47:00 PM

Cool!
Looks like you modded your tree a bit.

You know I'm no expert Eric.
I'm seeing quite a bit of bend right at the right fade then almost straight for a few inches.

I'd be worried of compression fractures right at your right fade if the limb isn't weakened a tad.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 06, 2013, 03:51:00 PM

to me the left side looks pretty good..maybe the beginnings of a slow hinge in the middle...?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 06, 2013, 03:54:00 PM

I've seen "finished" bows that looked worse though...lol

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 03:59:00 PM

zradix im just not sure. there are so many bumps and wiggles that fool the gizmo that its just hard to tell. hoping a more experience eye can tell me something. not sure how i got to this point so quickly. probably not going to make 55#, 50 is probably more realistic at this point. wondering if i need to get the outer thirds bending more now. to me it looks like all the bend is mid limb

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 04:01:00 PM

yeah and i did mod my tree. used a piece of waste from the form and made a slimmer, less intrusive block that allows me to put the bow on with a shorter brace.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 06, 2013, 04:02:00 PM

Like I said man..I'm NO expert.

I'm sure better trained eyes will see the RIGHT stuff.

Those bumps would fool the gizmo..never thought about that..

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 04:06:00 PM

this happened so quick that i got to step away from it for the day. hopefully i can get a few professional opinions by tomorrow.

:help:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 06, 2013, 04:10:00 PM

Hoping to get on the tree tonight too.
...I'm gonna be asking the same questions...lol
The whole reflex tips tillering is weird to me.
The first one seemed good at first but I guess it was bad..lol

Hoping #2 goes better...lol

Very curious to see what the gurus have to say about yours here.
Much of the advice will pertain to my bow as well.

Thanks for making this thread!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 06, 2013, 04:13:00 PM

yeppers...
I've noticed that too.
When it's going really well/fast I think my brain goes to sleep a bit cause it's not having to concentrate enough...then BAM all messed up..lol

Walking away can be a great "reset".

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on June 06, 2013, 04:27:00 PM

Your right limb looks a bit hingy at the fade, but then is stiff to midlimb by my eye. Like the look of the left limb, but the right needs some work to match it. All the advice I've gotten is don't pull it any farther than you need to to reveal a flaw, regardless of weight. My first self bow came in way underweight. I gave up trying to make weight and just focused on getting it bending where it needed to. Second one, I went VERY slow. Tillered most of it with a sanding block with 120 grit. Hard to go too fast with sandpaper. As I understand it, the reflexed tips uncurl towards he end of the draw.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on June 06, 2013, 04:29:00 PM

To me it looks like the right is a bit stiffer in the inner third/midlimb, but I'm sure someone with more experience will chime it. Your fades look a little abrupt too.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 04:39:00 PM

i think you guys are right about the right limb being stiff at inner third.... can anything be done about the fades now at this point?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on June 06, 2013, 06:23:00 PM

I think you'll be fine if you leave them alone. Getting the limb bending should take some pressure off the fade. Can't put wood back on so all you can do is leave it alone!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 09:00:00 PM

think i got it straightened out pretty good. hopin for 47#@ 28 now... i think 50 might be out of reach. here we are with 5" brace and 40#@ 23"

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_205148_706_zpsb446d004.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_205148_706_zpsb446d004.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_205244_303_zps6ea83e65.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_205244_303_zps6ea83e65.jpg.html)

not such extreme reflex now is it?!
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_153008_035_zps3c21e2ad.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_153008_035_zps3c21e2ad.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 09:10:00 PM

so, now that i got nice even tiller (says the gizmo and my own novice eyeball anyway) should i just keep pulling and checking and tweak it here and there where needed... till i get to 28.... or should i hit the tips with the scraper to get them bending a bit? I think i kinda like em static like this though... upsides and downsides? im all ears !

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 09:15:00 PM

wait.. is there a flat spot mid limb on the right?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 09:30:00 PM

there was just a wee bit... i fixed it. here it is at 25"
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_212324_112_zps5cf83486.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_212324_112_zps5cf83486.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 09:32:00 PM

47# @ 26"

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_212517_745_zps0289185d.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_212517_745_zps0289185d.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 09:33:00 PM

hey i might be shooting this thing in tomorrow!... unless its raining :rolleyes:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 10:12:00 PM

6" brace, 49# @ 28"

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_220440_489_zpsbc68bf80.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_220440_489_zpsbc68bf80.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_220405_205_zpsc4d85340.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_220405_205_zpsc4d85340.jpg.html)

took a little bit of set but the tips are still out in front of the bow.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130606_220515_986_zpsdb2c38cc.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130606_220515_986_zpsdb2c38cc.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: talkingcabbage on June 06, 2013, 10:57:00 PM

Your left limb is stiffer - how much positive tiller are you going for, and how much do you have now? Tiller looks pretty good overall, though. I don't know if I'd do a whole lot more than maybe taking 2 scrapes off the inner third of the left limb (depending of course on your amount of positive tiller.)
Your fades do look pretty abrupt. Next one, make them an inch or so longer than what you have. That'll make a more gradual transition to help with the tiller, and also make it look sleeker.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: talkingcabbage on June 06, 2013, 10:58:00 PM

Beautiful job, by the way! :thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 11:16:00 PM

I know it looks stiffer at brace, but it kinda almost acts weaker at draw if that makes sense. there is about 1/8" positive tiller at the moment, and thats fine by me. my handle hasn't been shaped at all, so once that is thinned down it might make the fades look a little less steep. I know i made them on the short side of average, but i got talked out of 4" of ntn length, and it just made me feel better to have more working limb. I am going to refine the handle a little tomorrow, and hopefully my WB horn will be here so i can put the overlays on. hopefully can get the nocks done and a string twisted up and start shooting this thing in, see if tiller changes, and choose a top limb based on all that.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 06, 2013, 11:18:00 PM

actually, I think it only looks stiffer because it retained more of its recurve than the right limb did.. that would make sense right?

im not planning on it, but just for knowledge purposes... if i tried to do any straightening or adjustments with heat now it might screw up the tiller right?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: talkingcabbage on June 07, 2013, 12:11:00 AM

I suppose it depends on what kind of adjustment you're going to try, but probably yea. Eh, just get 'er done and shoot it. Kill something with it - it'll make you feel better. Then make a couple hundred more :)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 07, 2013, 07:58:00 AM

im not going to do anything on this one, but i am kind of curious what would happen if i put it back on the form and tried to get the reflex back. im guessing since it lost this much the first time, it would just lose it all again if i put it back in. how much can you heat and cool and reheat the wood without causing some kind of weakening or fatigue?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Bowjunkie on June 07, 2013, 08:30:00 AM

Don't bother trying to get the reflex back, yep, you would just lose it again because you're not correcting the REASON it took the set. That little bit of set that it has taken ain't nothin. It'll take some more too before it's all over.

As far as the heating thing, I've heated and corrected the same area of a bow several times with no apparent ill effects. I usually do it for alignment purposes.

The only thing I see in the tiller is it looks a little stiff just outside the dips on the left limb.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 07, 2013, 08:39:00 AM

Bowjunkie yeah I see that now, i will put a couple scrapes on that, left limb is stiffer anyway, so it can stand to lose a scrape or two.

safe to shoot it with shallow nock grooves in the sides only... and with my tillering string? (16 strands of B50 with one loop and a timber hitch) I don't know if my horn will be here for the weekend.... actually... i won't be able to shoot much this weekend anyway... got to work and stuff.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 07, 2013, 09:27:00 AM

Looking great!
Very pretty lines.
:thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 07, 2013, 10:12:00 AM

best glue for horn overlays? I have several different ca glues.... gorilla glue blue cap being my favorite, also TB3 and unibond 800. which would you guys use or what else would you get?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 07, 2013, 10:21:00 AM

I've read that CA glues work well.
I wouldn't use TB3.

I've used easton brand ca glue that I used for fletching carbons on two bows now. It's not quite "gel" thick.
But thicker than regular CA glue.

Had more than enough time to work with.
..BUT I haven't shot either of those bows yet so I can't speak of longevity.

I did take a piece of rough sanded osage and horn, lightly hacksaw toothed them and used the easton glue to glue them together.
I applied glue to both surfaces, and clamped up with spring clamps...use saran wrap..lol

The pieces didn't want to come apart when I took a hammer to it....until I got mean with it.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 07, 2013, 10:34:00 AM

It's called easton quick bond.

..probably not much different than other ca glues..but this is all I have experience with.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 07, 2013, 10:36:00 AM

Here's a link to a little info I received...

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=010067;p=1#000000

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 07, 2013, 10:36:00 AM

yeah im pretty sure the gorrilla ca glue is going to be the best stuff that i have on hand.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 07, 2013, 10:37:00 AM

I don't know why it wouldn't work.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Bowjunkie on June 07, 2013, 11:48:00 AM

Yeah, you can shoot it with a timber hitch, no problem. I had a tillering string break on me one time while I was shooting in an osage selfbow, but it was the braided loop that broke due to wear i hadnt noticed... from sliding it over the corners of staves that hadn't been rounded over yet.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Art B on June 07, 2013, 02:55:00 PM

Super glue gel is all I use anymore. Do not use two-ton epoxy or anything similar. A sharp whack or heat will loosen this type adhesive.........Art

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: J.F. Miller on June 07, 2013, 05:28:00 PM

I used to use urac, but have switched to gel super glue, which works wonderfully. I'd advise against titebond of any flavor for glueing horn.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 07, 2013, 06:44:00 PM

well i will see how good i can get the glue joints and use super glue if i can... unibond if i need to fill a gap

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: J.F. Miller on June 07, 2013, 07:45:00 PM

is important to not overclamp things like risers and overlays. they require very little, if any, clamp pressure. I position the horn as fast as I can without gluing myself to the bow and put a piece of painters tape around it to hold it still until it dries. no clamps at all on the overlays. sorta kinda seems like the gel c/a glue fills gaps to a small extent, but I cannot swear to it.

I always drag my spare toothing iron, which has about a 1/16" crown across its width, freehanded on the wood before gluing. only the wood, not the horn. toothing iron indispendable for wood bowyery.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 09:43:00 AM

finally got my horn in yesterday afternoon. got it glued up last night and took the clamps off this morning. used gorilla super glue, and light clamping pressure. they are on there good. i tried hard to pull one off.

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130611_064137_988_zps1948bb9c.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130611_064137_988_zps1948bb9c.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130611_064157_785_zps436c3050.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130611_064157_785_zps436c3050.jpg.html)

oh, and this happened this weekend! unrelated but still important. Thats my 5 yo daughter Nylah, and she just finished her first 3d shoot with dad. they gave her this old plaque they had. she was super excited about it and has been carrying it around since. even took it to school. she shot really good. hit more than half the targets on first try, and from a good 7 to 10 yds with her little hickory bow that she helped me make. :clapper:

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130609_114426_775_zpsde84f95f.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130609_114426_775_zpsde84f95f.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 11, 2013, 09:49:00 AM

Cool story about Nylah.

Sounds like she's pretty proud! :thumbsup:

That's GREAT!

That horn is going to look pretty!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 09:50:00 AM

are the pictures showing up all skewed to you guys? photobucket isn't playing right for me

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 11, 2013, 09:53:00 AM

There's a smiling girl!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 11, 2013, 09:54:00 AM

just the close up looks skewed..the 1st pic in the post

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 11, 2013, 10:14:00 AM

I guess it's Ok:)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 11, 2013, 10:16:00 AM

lol..

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 11, 2013, 10:17:00 AM

he just knows you're tougher than me.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: John Scifres on June 11, 2013, 10:29:00 AM

Nice job.

Have you shot it yet? I don't see how anyone can resist shooting a bow once it's mostly tillered and ready for finish work. I am impatient as hell to get to that point. And I am a patient man. Plus, it's amazing how shooting a bow really tells the tale of tiller. It can look completely awesome on the tree and if it shoots like crap, I ain't done. I don't finish a bow, including adding overlays until it is shot in. Like hundreds of shots.

You can shoot a bow with a tillering string of B-50. I went a whole hunting season using one on a bow once. All my strings for the first 10 years of making bows were an upper loop and a lower timber hitch.

As far as set, you are in great shape. Anything less than an honest 2" total follow is fine. 1" or less is great. Don't try to fix it after the fact.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 10:39:00 AM

I have shot it a few times, and it shoots good. not loud, not much handshock at all. but i didn't want to put too much wear on my string by shooting with my nock grooves only cut in to the sides. I nailed the length of my flemish string first try, that usually doesnt happen for me....so i figured id just get the tips on before i tore my string up. not to mention it has rained about 10" in the last couple of days.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 10:52:00 AM

I already suggested to the guys that next sunday's 3d shoot be self bows only.... so i kinda have to get this done this week. :laughing:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Bowjunkie on June 11, 2013, 11:13:00 AM

Like John, I shoot them about 200 times before I finish sand, dye, spray finish, apply leather grip etc. But my horn tips are usually installed before I begin tillering.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 04:40:00 PM

had a few minutes when i got home to rough out the tips... now off to dance class. will have it all ready to start shooting in tonight.

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130611_160940_312_zps3e728122.jpg)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130611_160955_504_zps0254f672.jpg)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 11, 2013, 04:48:00 PM

Looks classy already.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 06:20:00 PM

thanks man. you know i was surprised at how light and easy to work the horn is. thought it would be heavier and tougher. do you guys think there is still to much tip mass?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 08:39:00 PM

just got to do some sanding now.... both tips are pretty much done.
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130611_200350_407_zps968f4d95.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130611_200350_407_zps968f4d95.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Razorbak on June 11, 2013, 08:56:00 PM

looks damn good

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 11, 2013, 10:29:00 PM

ready to shoot. got everything pretty cleaned up with 220 grit. still a few tool marks here and there but i will get them. taped on a floppy rest for now. (I don't shoot off the knuckle since i went to the ER with an inch of feather in my knuckle. once they work their way in you have to dig for em... and i just couldn't cut myself deep enough to get a hold of it) hopefully its not pouring out again tomorrow. gonna try to put at least a hundred arrows through it, check tiller, finish sanding, check tiller again, shoot a hundred more, check tiller, couple coats of tru oil, leather handle wrap.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 11, 2013, 10:49:00 PM

sounds like a plan.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 09:22:00 AM

can't wait to go shoot it! trying to scam out of work early haha

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 12, 2013, 09:27:00 AM

How was dance class? LOL

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 09:39:00 AM

It was ok. I read through an entire issue of "Primitive Archer" from 1998 I think. I got two girls and they both have dance on different days... I forget whos is whos, and of course i dressed the wrong kid, but grabbed the right shoes. i get there and im trying to put Nylah's shoes on Savannah's feet... and im like, oh no these are not your shoes... and she says "and that's not my class!" so two wrongs kinda made a right... I had Nylah to dance on time, and I had her shoes.... she just had to dance in shorts and a t shirt.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 09:43:00 AM

I've decided that this self bow needs self arrows. Haven't done them before but I will. I think I have enough back sinew for the self nocks, but I want to tie on the feathers too I think... so maybe i should buy some more. I have a ton of wild turkey feathers, and as much as i hate looking for them behind targets... something kinda turns me off about bright, machine processed, artifically dyed feathers. artificial sinew really turns me off... i refuse to buy it. may get some silk thread though... thats an idea

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 12, 2013, 10:51:00 AM

Been in a similar situation myself with 2 girls in dance.
..lol..

At least you remembered the shoes...I didn't... :rolleyes:

Cool idea on the arrows.
Weird progression isn't it.
..just have more and more of an urge to do it yourself.

I'm still having a strong urge to go with boo arrows...

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 11:10:00 AM

well im going to use ready made shafts this time, but very soon the search is on for some good pine, birch, or fir boards to rip into shaft blanks. gonna follow an artical i found in an old TBM by George Tsoukalas. I do have alot of straight growing birch here in my own backyard, so i may cut a tree sometime and see if i can make them really really from scratch.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 12, 2013, 12:52:00 PM

that would be very cool!
:thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 12, 2013, 01:59:00 PM

Go for it Chief Crooked Arrow. LMAO :laughing: :archer2:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 02:53:00 PM

well i put about 150 arrows through it, decided my hunch about which limb wanted to be top was right, then sanded all the tool marks out with 120 grit. then put about 50 more through it and checked the tiller. no hinges or flat spots, no splinters, no frets. 1/8" pos tiller, 48# @ 28", only slightly more set than before maybe half inch. shoots same arrows my BBI did. this is THE QUIETEST bow I ever shot. the sound of arrows hitting the target is louder than the shot. I'm in love. having a personal debate about whether to put a little dish in the grip or not. i kinda like it the way it is, but it might be a tad more comfortable with a little shape. we will see. also have to decide if im going to stain it or not.. but i don't think so. let the yellow wood shine i think.

15yds with no rest or nock point
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130612_143421_825_zps34b0e95b.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130612_143421_825_zps34b0e95b.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130612_143529_777_zps3651c760.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130612_143529_777_zps3651c760.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130612_143631_084_zpsc8740db7.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130612_143631_084_zpsc8740db7.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 12, 2013, 02:58:00 PM

Pretty nice Eric... Congrats.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 03:05:00 PM

Thanks Roy! you mean its not just "OK"? :archer:

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130612_145522_417_zpse15c1e4b.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130612_145522_417_zpse15c1e4b.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 12, 2013, 03:07:00 PM

That is one sweet bow Eric!

I'm very happy you like it.

I'm having trouble deciding on stain on osage too.
Decided I definitely don't want to go "brown" on it.
Golden oak looked nice..kinda darkened the grain a bit but still very yellow.

Problem is it seemed to really want to go in on the sides of the osage...like the sides of the accent on my riser.
Makes wood showing that grain orientation look brown.
But on the surfaces oriented like the belly of the bow it looked pretty.

...I very well my just leave it the heck alone...lol

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 12, 2013, 03:08:00 PM

Just Ok is way better than pretty nice... :wavey:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 03:09:00 PM

one day i may snake skin it..... but i think i will leave it natural for now.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 03:11:00 PM

Roy... ummmm.... Ok. Thanks? i think.... :laughing:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 12, 2013, 03:11:00 PM

:thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 12, 2013, 03:55:00 PM

Ya do know I am yanking your chain? :)

It looks very nice and OK too:) Now ya happy?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 03:58:00 PM

:goldtooth:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 04:00:00 PM

Roy I hope i get the chance to shoot with you one day. I'd even take a thumpin for the opportunity! :knothead: :archer2:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Draffish on June 12, 2013, 04:43:00 PM

well done mate glad its turned out nice for you looks one sweet bow :thumbsup:
im on the side of keep the wood natural let the yellow osage be seen
again grats

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 05:14:00 PM

well the first coat of tru oil is on (no stain). i dished the handle only very slightly. feels good. sanded it all down with 400 grit in the sunlight (amazing what the sun will show you in the way of tool marks). wiped it down with denatured alcohol just to get the dust off without getting water on the wood. will be able to get 3 coats on tonight and thats all it wants i think. will take the shine out with 0000 steel wool. tomorrow is handle wrap day.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 08:54:00 PM

here's my handle by the way
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130612_204746_720_zps1a3be6fe.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130612_204746_720_zps1a3be6fe.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: BCWV on June 12, 2013, 09:48:00 PM

You built a fine bow Eric. You do good work what ever type you build. :thumbsup:
What's next on the list? A glass bow?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 12, 2013, 09:58:00 PM

Looks clean and smooth bro.

I like the way the curve on the back mirrors the grip.
..almost like you bent/pushed the grip into the wood.

Pretty sweet.
:thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 12, 2013, 10:03:00 PM

Thanks BCWV, i thought a glass bow would be next, but now im not so sure. I have been shooting my fedora R/D longbow for the last couple weeks since i gave up on the boo on the BBI, and i have been shooting terrible. its cut past center and screws up my sight picture, and it just doesnt feel right. shooting this bow today felt right, somehow wood bows feel snappier, even though not as fast. is that all in my head? do glass bows have a different, maybe even lesser, feel than a wood bow to anyone else?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: BCWV on June 12, 2013, 10:15:00 PM

I feel the same way Eric,

I've got a bunch of glass bows from high end ILF, Black Widows, Shrews, NM hill style and 3 glass bows that I've made but none feel as good to me, at the shot, as my wood bows. I'm really enjoying my BBO at the moment and am waiting on the finish to cure on my first BBI.

Just something about a wood bow, especially one you made yourself.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: halfseminole on June 12, 2013, 10:55:00 PM

Man, we're gonna have to get together and shoot... your bow. Mine looks like a heap, even if it can do some serious stick-moving. The only thing that keeps me from being ashamed of mine is that it's made of things that keep me connected to my son. Yours however, looks to be a work of art. You should be proud.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on June 12, 2013, 10:59:00 PM

I think you'll be happy leaving it natural color. One of the pleasures of an Osage bow is watching it change in color as it ages. It's such complex grain... Chatoyance I think they call it. Beautiful wood that only gets better as it mellows. Congrats on a great looking bow. I've been shooting mine in too so I know the feeling.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: mwosborn on June 12, 2013, 11:50:00 PM

That is a fine looking bow. Very nice - like reading your progress as you made it. Thanks for sharing.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 13, 2013, 01:18:00 AM

Thanks for the kind words everyone! just got the third coat of tru oil on, hopefully should be pretty well cured by the time i get out of work tomorrow and ready for handle dressing. supposed to be another monsoon hitting tomorrow and into friday, so might have to wait to shoot it again :( I could go down to the archery club and shoot indoors... haven't been there in so long i don't know if i can remember the combo to the gate. when i shot a compound i was there all the time.... all i had to do was shoot. this trad thing is a little more involved haha these days if i have a spare moment im in the workshop! HalfSeminole i hope we can get together. I will make it a point to contact you next time im down.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 13, 2013, 08:04:00 PM

It's done!
(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130613_194737_588_zps1156874b.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130613_194737_588_zps1156874b.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130613_194225_932_zpsdb56b4cc.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130613_194225_932_zpsdb56b4cc.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130613_194210_579_zps5113a001.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130613_194210_579_zps5113a001.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130613_194140_554_zps55d21265.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130613_194140_554_zps55d21265.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130613_194246_149_zps46233a75.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130613_194246_149_zps46233a75.jpg.html)

(http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s608/echatham/IMG_20130613_194502_046_zps00bda5ce.jpg) (http://s1308.photobucket.com/user/echatham/media/IMG_20130613_194502_046_zps00bda5ce.jpg.html)

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Bowjunkie on June 13, 2013, 08:10:00 PM

Nice. I like that full draw profile.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: BCWV on June 13, 2013, 08:24:00 PM

Very nice!!!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: jsweka on June 13, 2013, 08:52:00 PM

Well done Eric. :clapper:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 13, 2013, 09:03:00 PM

Thanks guys! can't wait to go shoot it tomorrow. of course it has to be raining and getting dark when it's finally done. "[dntthnk]"

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Zradix on June 13, 2013, 09:36:00 PM

Very classy Eric!

A bow to be proud of for sure.
:thumbsup: :archer2:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Roy from Pa on June 13, 2013, 11:25:00 PM

I GUESS IT'S OK...

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 14, 2013, 05:15:00 AM

oooooh... CAPSLOCK... :laughing:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Steve Kendrot on June 15, 2013, 07:40:00 PM

Nice job. Really like the lines of those flipped tips.

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 15, 2013, 08:35:00 PM

Thanks Steve, been experimenting with nock height, and I figured out this bow really wants to be shot 3 under. I have tried 3 under with every bow i have and i never could get past the added noise. doesn't seem to affect this one. turns out i really like 3 under, shrinks my gaps and really lets me gunbarrel the arrow, making even my snap shots not that bad. I have been in a bad slump for a couple weeks, missing deer targets at 15 yds. i almost never miss a 3d target, and the last two shoots i have missed several. Im nailing my home target out to 20 after two days of 3 under. I think it wants to be shot that way because of the way i tiller. i support the handle from the center and pull the string from the center. i know some people make a point to pull from where their hands are going to be, and of course that makes sense, just haven't done it. any thoughts anyone?

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: twitchstick on June 16, 2013, 08:51:00 AM

Very nice!

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: scars on June 16, 2013, 12:11:00 PM

Great job Echatem. :clapper:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: takefive on June 16, 2013, 01:56:00 PM

Nice work, Eric. Congrats! :thumbsup:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: CardboardDuck on June 17, 2013, 12:10:00 PM

That tiller looks spot on :) nice job! Now on to the next one...

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: red hill on June 17, 2013, 07:37:00 PM

Great job, Eric! Well done! :clapper:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Echatham on June 17, 2013, 08:17:00 PM

thanks everybody. its true whats been said about osage, once you build a bow out of it you won't mess with other woods. all i want to do now is build another one

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Draffish on June 18, 2013, 07:01:00 PM

Looks good Eric well done :clapper:

Title: Re: My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...
Post by: Dan Bonner on June 22, 2013, 08:48:00 AM

Nice work. Fine looking bow! And now you have the fever....

Bonner

Trad Gang

Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Echatham on May 02, 2013, 09:48:00 PM