excellent... then you are on the right page!   :D  
great that those logs are quite a bit bigger than i thought- how long are the pieces each side of the dog leg , if they are less than the bow length you want- buck it off there- split out as many billets as you can safely get- might be some belly splits in there too!!
cure them, splice them up ,and get at it    
and if they are long enough- well then get to making full length splits-
what is your drawlength- as some pretty short bows can be built if you flip the tips etc- gotta chat to PatB, he has tons of experience in that field- he builds some really different selfbows- and many others too on this site, of course!!!

  That's a rough piece of osage.  How long is the straight section in the middle?  That looks like your best bet for bow wood.  How do the growth rings look?

Yes definitely cut out the straight section and make billets.
Splicing is easy is you've got the patience to learn    Just practise on scrap pieces first and go slow. I get the fit as good as I possibly can and then steam the ends for 15 mins and immediately clamp together until cold. Bingo! Perfect mating surfaces.
Good luck.

I'll measure this AM and report back.

Ok The pieces measure 48 inches and 60 inches respectively, and 9 inches across. I figure cut the dogleg out of both pieces, and the ends, and should I be using a Carpenter saw, a reciprocating saw, or what? I don't really want to fire up my Huskay 181SE for nada.....

I doubt if that Husky 181SE would even cut that Osage.. It's pretty tuff wood.. Ya otta buy a good chainsaw..

Chainsaw.  Next time cut the crooked part off in the field and save your energy for bow making.  Have fun.  Keep us in the loop.

Yikes!!

Random split Osage porn from one of the 48" billets-



The challenge of splitting it in the middle is great.

Anyone wanna see more? I sealed the ends with spar urethane. Obviously this stuff checked somewhat already, with sapwood full of bugs and it's still on the logs. should I draw knife the sapwood off and seal again? How much do I have to split before seasoning? Can it season in my garage?

Cut it with a bucksaw by hand, started the splits with a hand axe & 4 pound hammer then followed with wedges.

some nice rings there- i would get the sapwood off- otherwise the checks will open the heartwood.
then decide where to split it.
where the checks end- seems to be where the good rings start.you dont have to chase a ring perfectly at this stage, get the bad wood off, and seal the back as well- so that you are losing the moisture through the belly only.
then split and then you can even rough shape the billets- to remove excess wood- it will let it dry quicker- keep it out of the sun and the wind- dont chase the moisture out of it- move it progressively to drier and drier places- , do you have a moisture meter ? nice to check it, and follow it through the process,
but then you are in texas- so it might be very close to what you need already.

I'll get that sapwood tomorrow a flying!

I would take any usable pieces down to good solid heartwood and seal it at least a couple of times.

will do.

Wow day one with a draw knife. Damn. Wish mine was heavier and perhaps a hair wider. I got one 60" section down to the wormy part in upper rings, all sapwood gone and I coated it with spray urethane just for grins after splitting off 1/3. No sign of an insect anywhere but one tiny spider who took up residence in a bore hole. I realize I need to get underneath these though before final splits and storage.

good man- keep agoing-
 

Damn. Well getting it to split your way is tough goin'!

Raining and cold....

QuoteOriginally posted by fujimo:
good man- keep agoing-
     

Is this the post you are talking about?

http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=007695