month old osage bowstave

[luke the drifter]

is it necessarily a bad thing to work with osage while relatively green?  do you compromise good tillering by working it "green"?  just curious.

[Justin Snyder]

Dont start tillering until it is dry. This might help.
http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,16316.0.html

[makenzie71]

Luke, I'm in a hurry.  My best solution was to find someone who had a cured osage stave to trade for my fresh stuff.

[Pat B]

Luke, last year I built a 60" osage static recurve that bends through the handle. The stave was about two months old when I built it. It fretted badly and I'm convinced it was because the wood was not cured well. You are better off if you can give it a year or more but you may get away with 6 months if reduced to almost bow size and forced dry. Be sure to seal the back and ends well.

[woodstick]

i dont make any bows outa osage till it is atleast 1 year old. i made one outa a stave that weas 13 years old, perfect. Jay StCharles has it now and luvs it.

[El Destructo]

Osage is one Wood that You just don't want to Rush working on or reducing too much....leave it be for a Year or more if possible....you will be happier with the outcome.......JMO

[Pappy]

I NEVER try tillering Osage less than a year old,I prefer 2 or 3 or more. I do rough them out sometime while green seal, steam and straighten ,then date and put up for as long as I can 
stand it.Also never use dry heat on Green Osage,any wood for that matter,it will check bad
if you do. You may be in a hurry but I can almost promise you if you try it green you won't be happy with the outcome. Most white wood you can work faster,I have done Hickory or
HHB in a little over a month from tree to bow just buy working it down a little at a time and
letting it dry over an AC duct or heat box in between working on it. 
   Pappy

[Dean Marlow]

Luke be patient. You will be rewarded if you let it season for a while. I like to wait at least a year on Osage staves.

[Sitting Coyote]

I agree with all who posted so far.  For better or worse, making a nice bow, particularly out of heartwoods like osage, locust, and mulberry, you just can't hurry.  These woods teach patience in so many ways...

[George Tsoukalas]

Black locust checks when you walk by a pond with your bow. LOL. I never force dried BL for that reason. Jawge

[Tom Leemans]

What Pappy said. You can rough it out, then seal it and let it dry.  Speaking of dry osage, I got me this tollhouse stave from Timo that I still have to make a bow out of...

[artcher1]

You can go ahead and rough out you bow for now but seal the whole thing good with varnish or perhaps shellac. Keep it in the house preferrably in the horizonally position. After about 6 months get it floor tillered (and steam straightened if need be) but for now you just leave it's back varnished. At around 9 months you can start finishing your bow and using heat if needed. ART

[youngbowyer33]

patience luke

[El Destructo]

patience luke

      “Yes patience Young Jedi..... a Jedi's strength flows from the Force..... But beware of the dark side..... Anger, fear, aggression..... the dark side of the Force are they...... Easily they flow.... quick to join you in a fight..... If once you start down the dark path..... forever will it dominate your destiny..... consume you it will..... Ummm"

Oh I had a Flashback to the 70's............

[sailordad]

mike,

that is exactly what i was thinking when i read youngbowyer33's post