My first osage stave! ... It is finished!!...

[John Scifres]

Definitely a draw knife, bevel down, for the majority of the ringchasing work.  With those rings, you should not have a problem.  Chase them one at a time to get the feel of it.

I would put that knot in the dead center of a non-bending handle and forget about it.  Cut through it, shape it however you want, as long as the bow doesn't bend there it should not casue a proble,  If it is really punky and will fall out, you might have to eliminate it or leave some extra on the side.

[George Tsoukalas]

Shave hooks, curved scrapers, lathe chisels (used for wood turning) will all help scoop up wood from concave areas. Avoid straight scrapers and tools because you'll just violate rings adjacent to where you are working. Check my site.
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/osage.html

Jawge

[Echatham]

im just keeping at it with the gooseneck scraper. what a great tool!  i have it down to a ring on a whopping 7" of the stave! so..... dealing with knots.... i have a few.... im finding it difficult to follow the ring over it.... im not punching through it.... im just not getting down to it. so i have about two extra growth rings on the knot..... and the wood is much harder there... and it doesnt scrape very well..  there is an urge to take a dremmel to it.... but fear not.... i shall resist. so is there a trick to that? or an easy way maybe? i know not to punch through the ring on the knot..... i just cant seem to get to the ring im chasing.  this knot is right near the end of the stave... and its not likely to end up on the bow.... so im calling it a learning knot.

[Echatham]

George I've already read every word on your site several times! and i thank ya for it!  

[Bowjunkie]

Yep, wood is harder at the knots. You're doing fine, just continue to take your time, and follow that ring wherever it leads. Enjoy yourself. Chasing rings is therapeutic. Sometimes I'll switch tools often between the gooseneck and straight scrapers, Bowyer's Edge, drawknife, whatever I think is most appropriate.

Oh, unless the stave is down at or below 10-12% moisture content, seal the back with shellac when you're done chasing for the day, otherwise it can check on the back and you'll have to start all over again.

[Echatham]

thanks bowjunkie. good tip. would elmers glue work just as well as shellac?

[John Scifres]

Here's how I rough out a stave including chasing a ring.

http://sticknstring.webs.com/roughout.htm

[Echatham]

thanks John. can anyone point me towards a demo or explanation of working around a large knot?

[Roy from Pa]

Cut that stave into billets and make a real BBO bow:) That's all the help I can give ya on staves.

[Echatham]

made a little more progress, about a foot done now.  I didn't take the big knot at the end of the stave all the way down to the ring because thats just to much work for a knot that i almost know for certain is not going to be on the bow. the two pin knots in the middle of the worked area were much easier to work than that big one.  Here is what I have decided about chasing a ring:
It is not hard... its just hard work!  I did fool around with the draw knife a little, but i haven't really found it useful, as this ring has been entirely concave so far.  i have been using just a gooseneck scraper for the most part, and while it is slow and tedious, it is very precise... and not only have i not gone through my growth ring anywhere, but i have barely scratched the surface of the latewood. the scraper takes off Bible page thickness shavings, and id say it probably takes something on the order of 3-4 dozen scrapes to go down 1/16".

[John Scifres]

Keep at it.  You are doing a fine job.  Fingers sore? Are they black?

I once made four matching bows for an elk hunt I was doing with 3 friends.  Every one of the bows had bumps and dips and goofy crap going on.  Almost all of the ring chasing was done with a scraper.  They were super cool bows but I swore off concave staves after that  

Since this is your first stave, you are doing it the right way.  In the future, you can chase to one ring the best you can a couple rings above your desired ring quickly with a drawknife.  Then lay your bow out and cut it to rough shape and minimize the amount of actual scraping you have to do.

[Echatham]

fingers aren't sore yet, but my right hand middle finger tip gets hot during heavy scraping sessions, (the scraper heats up close to the edge from friction). No, they aren't black, and not sure why they would be... am i doing it wrong? lol!  If i have to chase another ring below this one it won't be as bad. viewed from the end of the stave this was the first ring down... but once you get into it its a little deeper, you can see there are a couple rings above it where i haven't scraped much yet... and i think some of it is sap wood, the latewood in the ring i have followed has a different consistancy than the next one up.  Im coating the scraped portions with wood glue between scraping sessions, and the rest of the stave is waxed to prevent checking.

[Zradix]

Good work!
You have more patience than I.

[Echatham]

Zradix I know it seems like it would take incredible patience for such a slow process, but it really is kind of relaxing. its not physically difficult, its not making me tired anyway... and i change scrapers or position of scraper enough where my hands don't cramp from being in the same position (you also have to kinda walk around the stave and go around the knots from different angles). And... it doesn't require alot of thought, i guess it would be comparable to ..... the best i can come up with is an old lady knitting.... or a kid coloring.

i guess its kinda the mindset too... im going into this thing expecting it to take over a month.... so if i don't make huge progress in an afternoon... it isn't frustrating. slow and easy, attention to detail. learned that in my last build. taking my time pays off big time. that BBI is my favorite bow, every bit as good a shooter as my fedora, and damned if it ain't almost as fast!

[Zradix]

I think I can understand.
great to hear how much you like your BBI.
...Just spoke with Matt today...  

[Echatham]

nice! he have anything that strikes your fancy?

[Zradix]

He's checking on the ipe..didn't have any right now, but he thinks later in the week.

[Echatham]

cool. i really like this wooden bow thing... might even be losing my interest in making glass bows....

[John Scifres]

If you have a spring steel scraper and sweat on it after awhile it turns you r fingers black.  At least mine does.

[Steve Kendrot]

I'm working on my second OSB right now too. There is definitely a zen to making those beautiful shavings. Self bows never really struck my fancy... Until I made one.  My be uploading some tiller shots this weekend. Hopefully will make a hunting bow. Have you a plan for your tips? My first one, the string started to split the limb at the nock grooves. I glued tip overlays on first thing for the new one.  Good luck with yours. I'll be following along! Don't have the patience for photos and uploads that you do, but appreciate your threads.