Working only my second osage stave. First was down to outer ring when I started; this one had bark on which I got off, but the sapwood is 1/4 to 3/8 thick and is tough to remove with draw knife. Is this normal? Just a lot of elbow grease and grunting; or is there I trick I need to know about?  

Nope, grunting and moaning. Your reward will come later. d;^)

Yea be sure to google the tips for it tho. Like bevel side down and such...

I know what you mean, just finished number 14, about 12 more to go.  Lots of grunting, groaning, sweating here also.

I get down right nasty with sapwood and a draw knife, it isn't a fair fight! If I get into the first ring, I don't worry. I can go back and rip one ring off in a hurry compared to pussy footing around trying to use the first one under the sapwood. Try knifing each side down, then knocking the crown off you formed as a result.

Yep, I don't piss around when getting that stuff off... I attack it.... peeling off strips as long and big as possible. Tools and stuff flying off of my bench is a common thing... I'll even do some "no-no's" and turn and go the 'wrong' way to rip off even bigger, deeper chunks. Sometimes I'll even split the sapwood off with wedges or a hatchet, or bandsaw some off if possible... depends on the stave and my mood :^) But yeah, it's hard work. GOOD hard work.

I like a really sharp knife, held at a slight angle and a sturdy vise.  Try to slice it off v. banging on it.  Reach down the stave and use your back, shoulders, and arm muscles.  Get into a rhythm and don't try to take too much off at once.

It helps a great deal to use green wood but if yours is dry already, you have no choice.

I never seemed to have issue with it.
clamp it hard and fast and rip it. I don't think I have ever used that first ring anyhow, so I just go for it. I sometimes have to cut/chop the strips in half to get em in my wood stove,  

Although I never worked osage, I found that draw knifing a stave was a good way to find out how sturdy your bench is. The more sturdy the bench, the easier it is, Bolt it down if you can and make sure it's not flexing under the stress of ripping pieces off the stave. All that movement makes it harder work. Good luck.

If I didn't have a 4 x 8 monster bench. Id bury a 4 x 6 pole in the yard with a vice on it. My bench still moves a bit, but I can yank on my knife all I want.

One more thing, if you aint sweatin'? You aint doing it right!

Lately I either split a ring or two of heart wood off with the sapwood or band saw as much of the sapwood off as I can before I grab my draw knife

A bandsaw definitely helps preserve the joints.

Here's a tute I did a while back that might help:  http://sticknstring.webs.com/roughout.htm

Wait until you get a stave with more than 1/2" of sapwood.

Yep, grunting and moaning is all part of the fun...  :D

I plowed through about an inch and a half of mediocre rings around a dozen knots to get to some good rings today.  Get your draw knife shaving sharp and its no sweat.... Well.... Some sweat  

QuoteOriginally posted by John Scifres:
A bandsaw definitely helps preserve the joints.

Here's a tute I did a while back that might help:   http://sticknstring.webs.com/roughout.htm  

Thanks. Very helpful!

I use several tools for chasing rings. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/osage.html