My brother brought up a Osage stave from TX.  It had the ends sealed and was dried for 2 years.  It still has the bark on it though!  I probably won't really build till feb but wanted to play with it a little.  I was going to take the bark and sap wood off and then seal it!
Is that a good idea or not?
Thanks, this will be my first self bow
TIM B

im thinking that if it has been dried for 2 yrs, you shouldnt have to do anything to it. if you want to takes the safe route, by all means go ahead and seal it. rv

Unless that stave has been tucked under your brother's bed for the past two years then I wouldn't recommend going directly from stave to working bow.

You can however rough your bow out to where the limbs are starting to bend and store in the proper conditions (40-50 R/H) for a minimun of one week. It's always  a good idea to seal the back of Osage that's had bark left on. May or may not need it being that seasoned, but no use taking chances. Good luck with your bow...Art

I agree with Art. I always seal the back of a stave when I remove the bark no matter if it is old/seasoned of freshly cut, whitewood or osage.

Can I seal it with polyurethane? Or should I get somethin ellse? Thanks for the quick responses- I'm gonna play with it for a bit before I hit the woods this afternoon!
TIM B

Polyurethane is fine. I like tru-oil myself. I get my back to a finihed stage before coating. That way the back is finished period. That only leaves the sides and belly to scrape/sand later.