Osage Stave came today-Critique & advice please.(pic heavy)

[Capt]

Thanks guys ill taki this all into consideration.....

Beadman - The stave is aged 18 months to two years.......

Kept in the general climate of Iowa... it has been in mexico Southern baja for one week and i assume acclimatized...

My roughing out is comming along until it just started to downpour.. i decided on a design and have the stave roughed out to a degree and marked up... i'll post a pic shortly...

[wood_bandit99]

Ah, I see. I've heard it doesn't benefit at all. But lik u said people have different opinions. I am making a osage bow with a violated back and it is holding together. I will back it but I'm amazed it hasn't snapped. It is a test for the wood.

[SLIMBOB]

Don't mean to come off to abrupt, but the message stands. I once read, years ago, that you couldn't make a bow from boards. Most people repeated that as a fact.  Turned out that few people were trying because others said it couldn't be done. Until it turned out not to be true.  An opinion would be "boards aren't as good as staves", "I don't feel it's necessary to temper Osage".  "Osage doesn't benefit from tempering" might be ones opinion, but it is simply not factual.

[Capt]

Ok so i was outside roughing out... going at it like a beaver on crack with the draw knife... then it started to rain... i mean really rain tropical storm style....

Here are the pics of where i got to.... Decided to go with a pyramid type design... by type i mean 1 3/4" out of the fades and for continuing for the first 5"...... then a straight taper to 5/8" tips....

I plan to thin the belly of the limbs to 5/8" fades to tips and hope at that stage to be at the point of floor tiller..

From there i will sand belly and sides smooth (back is already slick) and stard with the straightening and bends

BTW: im going for 20 degree bends starting in the last 6 1/2" of limb.... How does it Sound??? / Look ??

[Parnell]

You are looking good.  Like said, Osage can take some heat treatment it's just not extremely important like whitewood.  You'll do fine with dry heat and a little Crisco etc. for your wood bending.  I prefer a stave with growth rings like you have over really thick ones.  You'll have plenty for 60# just go slow...as people say "Doesn't take much osage to make a bow".

[JW_Halverson]

Osage shavings on the deck in the rain?  All's I can say is that the pool is gonna look like it is fulla pee!   

[Capt]

Ok Got my design decided on pretty much... not going for such extreme bends in the tips... it may end up a bit thinner out of the fades with some camber on the belly......

what would be the best cross section for the limbs with this design? the back is kind of curved... should i curve the belly too and get a kind of oval cross section or keep the belly flat... the edges will have slight radius no matter what!

Any feedback much appreciated?

[mikekeswick]

The problem with osage and a flat belly is that the earlywood and latewood are two entirely different beasts. If you try to leave it flat, flat then you will likely end up removing too much soft earlywood. Leave it flat almost throughout tillering then round it off some especially near the handle fades.
I personally wouldn't bother heat treating it like a whitewood. I think heat treating is a great way to introduce some fancy shapes and will work very well to correct twist but it won't help with it's compressional properties too much.
So you don't fancy doing a deflex/reflex recurve then?? I don't blame you! 
I would also forget the pyramid idea and recurves or at least alter it slightly.
Go for 1 1/2 wide for 10 inches or so out from the fade to midlimb. Then taper into 3/4 wide at the base of the recurves. If you are too narrow near the recurves they may start to twist. Remember bow making is about spotting problems before they happen and you can always remove material once the bow is stable......don't ask how I know this.

[BowEd]

I think your handle is a bit small myself.For inches from fade to fade.It would'nt feel right in my hand but what do I know.You've got enough length to have a 7 to 8 inch 
non working handle with four inches in your grip itself.

[dbb]

I think your handle is a bit small myself.For inches from fade to fade.It would'nt feel right in my hand but what do I know.You've got enough length to have a 7 to 8 inch 
non working handle with four inches in your grip itself.

Agreed,with the arrowshelf where it is the heel of your hand would end up in the lower fade.
I would make the handle 4-4 1/2" with 1 1/2"-2" fades like Beadman suggests depending on how you hold the bow and the size of your hands.
No matter how good you tiller it ,if you cant hold the bow right its all for naught.

[BowEd]

By the looks of your stave and handle lines etc.I think you are ok.I think you may have written it wrong on your diagram.Anyway it looks like too that you have enough wood to lengthen your handle too.That's a dandy stave you were sent.Kuddos to the sender.

[Capt]

I think your handle is a bit small myself.For inches from fade to fade.It would'nt feel right in my hand but what do I know.You've got enough length to have a 7 to 8 inch 
non working handle with four inches in your grip itself.

I messed up the diagram, it was likens night last night... I don't know what I was thinking? The handle is 4" (2" either side of center) And the fades are 2" either side of that....

Total of 8" non working... I was tired I guess and messed up my labeling on the sketch???

[Blaflair2]

I would make the tips thinner than the 5/8ths in your diagram. Why have mass u don't need or want?

[Capt]

I would make the tips thinner than the 5/8ths in your diagram. Why have mass u don't need or want?

Heres a corrected diagram..... The tips may well end up thinner i'd say 1/2" or less dependent on poundage during tillering? and the handle is 8" non working..

Another detail that i haven't sketched in it the arrowshelf will be more offset getting it closer to center with extra wood to compensate on the opesite side..

ill post a pic on the new thread i'm going to start of the handle design... Here is the corrected  Overall design diagram.. Im starting a little oversize to allow for tool error and to make sure i hit my 60# mark.... i can always take more wood off but never put more back on.....

[dbb]

Ah,now it makes sense.I was wondering if you had really small hands there for a while 
Looks good,i wish i had a stave like that....or any osage for that matter