hey guys!  im new to the forum, but I have been using it as a resource for a couple months now.  I just finished my first bow.  it is a 40# osage self bow I made out of a tree I cut down at my family home in oklahoma.  my question has to do with a bow I am starting today.  it is a red oak pyramid style board bow.  my question is if I can back it with osage.  I cant find anybody that has done this but if I cut some real thin osage strips from a stave I have, do you think I could back with it?  any help would be appreciated!

a couple of pics of my osage bow

Unless you have a real hankering to build an oak board bow, I would keep on with the osage building. As far as backing an oak board with osage, no clue. Im thinking it would probably work if its thin enough.

ok, I will keep on with the osage bows, its just real hard to get straight staves.  i thought this would be a good way to keep on building between the osage self bows.  also I think I can knock out a board bow in a weekend where an osage bow takes me about 2 weeks.  thanks for the help!

Do what you want Joe! Dont let me "tell" you what to build. It was just my opinion, you know what they say about that. I have never used a straight osage stave. I steam/dry heat all of them to shape.

Most people start with board bows and then move on to osage. I'm with pd, keep workin on the orange wood. Its a lot more forgiving and easier to build a bow out of. But if you got a hankerin to build an oak board bow then do it. I've never tried osage as a backing either but I guess it would work if you had a piece with good, straight grain.  

There's board info on my site. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/