osage fire wood into bow wood?

[scottm]

I have a number of large 12"-16" diameter sections of osage logs from 24" to 5' long.A friend of mine cut these near his house a couple of months ago and gave them to me to use for fire wood.They were green when cut.Had I known he was going to cut them I would have cut them my self, left them longer and sealed the ends for self bow staves.Would these still be good to cut riser blocks and pos.lams for lamanated bows.or does osage check crack to much with out sealing the ends when cut.I just hate to see it go to the fire pit.But it does make great fire wood! Thnaks, scott

[John Scifres]

It should be fine for shorter pieces but not lams.  I don't seal the ends most of the time unless it is shorter than 72" or I split it right away.  Only the first couple inches will check on the ends as long as the bark and sapwood are intact.

[DVSHUNTER]

what john said. All my osage has been unsealed and cut for awhile before I get to it. I can sut a few inches off each end and as long as there is bark on the long I don't have to worry about checks anymore. Sometimes the logs will end check in places that I use to align my splits. Good luck

[Eric Krewson]

Sounds like you have some good wood for billets.

I actually prefer billets over staves for selfbows because you can splice sister billets( those that are laying side by side in a log) and have very well matched wood in a bow.

Two 36" billets will make a 66" bow. I cut them 40" so I have a little extra to work around knots and imperfections if I need to.

Split the logs seal the ends and remove the bark and sapwood if you feel real ambitious. Seal the back after you remove the bark and sapwood.

It is real easy to remove the bark and sapwood from green osage but is gets tedious after the wood dries.

[scottm]

Boy Am I dumb!I never even tought of making billets!I just kept looking at them thinking they were to short for staves.And sence I did not get the chance to seal the ends I was unsure what to use them for.Im new to bow building.Ive built one self bow  with alot of help from friends in Tennessee it turned out great.Im thinking about ordering a kit from Bingham archery and try my hand at a laminated take down longbow.But I do enjoy both the build and shooting of my self bow.Thanks for the tips fellas.Scott

[Roy from Pa]

I'm with Eric here, I make all of my bow's from billets cut from short osage staves. I prefer to use 1/4 sawn billets.

[Pat B]

60"(5') osage will make a selfbow. Anything shorter should be used as billets. It is true that longer staves don't need the ends sealed because the ends will be cut off later. Saying that I seal the ends of all wood I'm gonna use for bows. If the bark and sapwood is removed I seal the back too. Even when I get seasoned wood to make bows I seal the back and ends just for insurance. It is too easy to do so and the shellac I use can easily be removed if necessary.

[Kanga]

Here is a couple of pics of some Osage fire wood I picked up.





I like collecting what other people refer to as fire wood.

[Stiks-n-Strings]

Kanga that is one sharp riser. What do the limbs look like?

[Kanga]

Thanks SnS I tried my best to keep as much character in the riser as I could.

The limbs are Mesquite from 2 different boads I had.







The wedges are Pecan with Pecan butt overlays and Axis Antler tip overlays.

I shipped this bow to a customer in England.

[scottm]

Kanga the bow looks great!Just think it could have ben fire wood!What a waste that would have ben.I like it!

[scottm]

Kanga what did you use for limb cores?

[Kanga]

Scott.

The limb cores are Action Boo I got off KennyM.

On an added not a neighbour cut down a Mulbury tree and cut into small logs so I asked if I could have some. She told me to help myself as it's just a rubbish wood.
She got the surprise of her life when I showed her this.

[scottm]

Cool Kanga,I hate to see anything goe to waste.Especally wood as nice as that.Ive got some honey locust also Ive ben eye balling.Have you tried to do anything with it before?

[Kanga]

Scott.

No Honey Locust is rare down here but it is one wood I would love to try.