First osage selfbow and ring chasing.....PICS ADDED

George Tsoukalas · March 21, 2015, 09:44:00 AM

Whoa!
I have a stave like that that was given to me as a gift. After hundreds of bows, I haven't tried it yet.
Anyway, there's info on my site including ring chasing pictures.
Jawge

http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

John Scifres · March 21, 2015, 03:00:00 PM

Flatten the belly, not the back. Leave the back in your chased ring.

highpoint forge · March 24, 2015, 10:29:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by George Tsoukalas:
Whoa!
I have a stave like that that was given to me as a gift. After hundreds of bows, I haven't tried it yet.
Anyway, there's info on my site including ring chasing pictures.
Jawge

http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

George is this stuff too wavy and crazy to learn with?

George Tsoukalas · March 25, 2015, 08:32:00 AM

I think it is a bit of difficult stave to learn on.

I'd poly the back and get a nice straight piece for my first.

However, I took the same approach which is why it took me so long to get a first bow.

Jawge

LittleBen · March 25, 2015, 10:03:00 AM

Honestly I would seal the backs as George said and try and locate something nice and straight to cut your teeth on.

I'm sure those pieces can be spliced and turned into a really nice bow. But respectfully, I know that the likelihood you're going to nail it on the first shot is not high.

Chasing a ring, reading the grain, laying out the bow, fitting the TD sleeve or splicing the billets together, straightening the bow, tillering .... These are all skills to develop. And each one can derail or end your project if you go too far astray.

If you've got unlimited Osage and you don't mind losing it, then forge on, but if you want to ensure that wood makes a bow, you're best advised to do a test run or two with some clean wood.

highpoint forge · March 25, 2015, 01:42:00 PM

That's exactly what I'm finding out while using dead straight Hickory for my axe handles. Hard to chuck a handle in the scrap pile because you missed it by half an inch.

Mad Max · March 25, 2015, 04:21:00 PM

I had a 100 year old osage on my place
Dead for 15 years
twisted real bad, deep dark brown cracks, like i see in your pictures.

not good, worked my a$$ off on it
all i got was not very good billets, every piece i tried to work with had problems

It burns good

highpoint forge · March 25, 2015, 05:50:00 PM

Sounds the they are cousins....

LittleBen · March 25, 2015, 07:24:00 PM

If you've got yourself some good straight hickory, then IMO Rees nothing better to get started with whether it's a stave or just clean nice boards.

Mad Max · March 27, 2015, 05:34:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by LittleBen:
If you've got yourself some good straight hickory, then IMO Rees nothing better to get started with whether it's a stave or just clean nice boards.

x2

highpoint forge · March 29, 2015, 10:57:00 AM

The hickory is in 8/4 boards about 3" thick. Monsters. My 1/3hp bandsaw is not up to the task for cutting out the rough shapes. Too much blade deflection. The rest of the hickory will become a roubo carpenters bench. Not for bows.....I sorted through all the osage chunks and kept the straight grained stuff for knife handles. Now I need to work through the staves. The twisted grained stuff just will have to be stored for another day. It is really tough to throw Osage away.

fujimo · March 29, 2015, 01:27:00 PM

it mike make nice lams for a glass boiw- if maybe its got some colour etc

highpoint forge · March 29, 2015, 02:55:00 PM

It's gorgeous I just have no experience with this stuff....

highpoint forge · March 29, 2015, 03:57:00 PM

49" straighter stuff:

highpoint forge · March 29, 2015, 03:59:00 PM

Billets are pretty straight 31"

highpoint forge · March 29, 2015, 04:01:00 PM

4 more 50" quarters are all squirrely but could be cut down into 30" billets.

LittleBen · March 30, 2015, 07:28:00 AM

Could just start by picking two decent pieces, and trying to get to a nice ring below all the bug damage. See how bad the checking is at that point, and decide if you need to chase a deeper ring.

Then you can worry about splicing. That should take you some time anyway.

fujimo · March 30, 2015, 07:59:00 AM

and remember what you are calling squirrely- might be an amazing character or snakey stave.
and those are great staves to hold on to- even if they are tough to work- put some pics up of the "squirrely staves"

fujimo · March 30, 2015, 08:00:00 AM

I already see some nice snake in some of those billets etc

John Scifres · March 30, 2015, 08:42:00 AM

If you have a bandsaw, bandsaw them below all those checks and see if you have enough left. You may in a couple of them. I have found that checks run deeper than they appear so be careful. I have had much heartbreak working marginal pieces for longer than they deserve. But you are certainly learning so keep going.