Osage board bow - FINISHED with PICS

[Sidmand]

I just bought an osage board - 5/8"x1-1/2"X68"-72"; there just isn't any good good places to get good lumber around me that I don't have to cut myself or drive 2+ hours one way to get.  Unfortunately I don't have the time or resources to cut staves this year, at least not until later on in the summer.  That won't give me much time to dry the wood, so I had to get something relatively inexpensive that I think might work.

Anyway, I don't have the board yet, but I'm trying to figure out the best dimensions to get in the 55#@26" range.  Would like to use this bow as my primary hunting bow this season.  I have rawhide that I intend to back it with, and I have an osage handle blank as well.  I am open to ANY options at this point, and being that I have only made about 4 bows now, I am looking for as much help as I can get.  When I get the board, I will post every step here as I go along, and we can make this a community build along.  I will tally up the suggestions and then do my best to follow them. 

So, first things first, should I do:

• A rawhide backed flatbow, with a smallish handle, like a Hill style, in the 63" to 65" range?
• A rawhide backed bendy handle, shorter bow around 60" in length? Maybe longer?
• A rawhide backed mollegebet?
• A rawhide backed pyramid style bow?
• ANY one of the above, with flipped/recurved tips?

I prefer #1 with recurved tips, but as I said, my main goal is to have a good shooter in the 55# range, and I will be super happy as long as we can accomplish that.

[Pat B]

You will have to get the board and see what it wants to be. How is the grain, how many and how severe are any runoffs, any knots or swirls?
 

[killir duck]

Basically if the grain is real good you could potentially make any of those, but imo if the grain is anything less than perfect your gonna need a hard backing.

[lebhuntfish]

That's a good idea. Maybe when you get the board. You could post a pic of it. If it's what you say it is I would say a American flat bow design would be good with about 2 inches of reflex on the last 15 inches or so of the tips.  That's my 2 cents. I'm a beginner as well. Patrick

[Sidmand]

I will post pics as soon as I get the board.  Don't like ordering off line, but that was my best option this time. 

Assuming that the board is strait grained, is there any benefit of one style vs the other is regards to performance, or maybe there is a benefit regarding the level of difficulty to create?  The 2 best shooters I have made have been pyramid style bows, but I over tillered them for sure.  I have a bow scale now so I can better tell how I'm going, I will try to take pics of my tillering setup later today, weather and time permitting.

[killir duck]

properly designed and tillered all of those designs will perform very similar, the molly may be just a few fps faster, i would make a shorter bendy handle purely because that's what i like to build and shoot.

[PAHunter]

Any could work if the grain is good but I'll vote for # 1 and make it your DLx2+10 (or slightly shorter if you keep the non bending handle section smaller).  So for 28 DL make a 28+28+10=66'' bow.  And ya throw some reflex in there for a huting bow.  You'll loose some during tillering so maybe add 3 or 4 inches if you want the end result to be plus 1 or 2 reflex after it sets.  Good luck with it!

[Bogaman]

I'm not a big rawhide fan. It helps protect a questionable back but does nothing to add to the bow performance. It's just added weight. I would go with sinew, hickory or bamboo. Bob's two cents.

[Sidmand]

Well, I got the board, and it answered some of my questions for me.  It was slightly warped, and it's got a worm hole on one side to contend with, and one end had a gnarly knot in it.   So the only bow I can feasibly get out of it is a pyramid style.  I laid it out using a 5 inch handle, with 1.5 inch fades, 1.75 inches at the widest point tapering down to 1/2 inch tips.  Bow will be 66" tip to tip, with 29" of working limb.  Still (hoping) to get in the 55 to 60# range weight wise.

The last couple of pics show the grain, at least as best as I can depict it with green crayon.  The second picture looks OK I guess, the grain seems to run pretty strait through.  But the last picture concerns me, because the last 2/3rds of that limb has all kinds of run out.  I've never worked with Osage, so I honestly don't know how tolerant it is if that.  But, it does worry me.  I have some nice thin rawhide that I wanted to back the bow with; I wanted to avoid adding a wood backing because I simply wanted to have a single wood type in this bow if at all possible.  But, if more of you think I should use a hickory backing I will go with it.  I can't get my hands on maple, and I have never worked with bamboo so it scares me too.

So, couple of more questions:

• Will rawhide be enough to keep this guy together, or do I get some hickory to back it?
• I have an osage handle blank, should I use it or let it bend a little bit through the handle?  I do have some cork, I can build the handle out that way maybe.
• Should I flip the tips some?  Was thinking about a static overlays per 4est Trakker's walkthrough, with more Osage.

Eagerly awaiting responses and help.

[Sidmand]

ttt - I need some help.  More I look at this wood the more I think I should contact 3Rivers and see if they can send me a better piece.  The worm hole on the side of the limb might be deep enough to get into the limb after all, and I don't want to start cutting on the board if I have to send it back or something.  Any thoughts, suggestions?  Also had another question - would sinew protect the bow as well as make it stronger?  I know it will add a few pounds if done right, but I don't know if it can help much with splinters and such.

[DarkSoul]

Three Rivers Archery website: "Osage lumber for building laminated wood bows. This lumber does not follow growth rings and a backing strip of some sort is required."

It is exactly what they send to you. The board looks very good to me, for an osage board. There are some grain run offs, but nothing terrible. I've never worked with osage or rawhide, but I don't think rawhide will be strong enough for this wood. You'll need a hard backing. Hickory would be preferable, based on your story. Cut the board to the correct width (plus 1/8" for safety) and glue on the hickory backing, while applying recurves or some reflex. Should make a killer bow!

[adb]

Absolutely nothing wrong with that board. As far as osage goes, it doesn't get much better. Yes, I would definitely back it with wood. Maple, ash, hickory, bamboo... take your pick... they're all good, and I've used them all.
I wouldn't cut the osage board first. Get your hands on a nice straight grained piece of backing wood the same width as the osage, and glue them together first. Then cut your profiles.

[Sidmand]

I will post some pictures later of the offending worm hole.  I'm thinking that I can take some wire or a pipe cleaner and stick it in the hole to see how far into the board it goes.  If it looks like it will impact the limb, I will get 3Rivers to send a replacement. They said they could have another out to me pretty quick if it looks to be an issue, so great customer service on their part assuming that it is a problem.

Either way, I will try to get some hickory for backing that guy as well, outside of 3Rivers or Kustom King, are there any other good vendors out there, maybe someone here, that I can get some backing from?  Also, to avoid the oversize shipping, I can get the backing strip cut in half, but would I need to z-splice it back together after that?  Is it worth the trouble to save a few dollars?

[Bryce]

Echo archery has pretapered bamboo. It's bomb bro

[Sidmand]

Pictures of the offending worm holes.  the one "ditch" isn't a problem, it would get trimmed off.  the other runs pretty deep into the board and would be into the working limb of the bow.  There isn't enough wood to really work around it; the "well" is going to get into the limb.  Waiting to see what the vendor has to say at this point, I think they are going to send another board, we shall see.  If they do, then I am going to use the other end of the board, and maybe this end as well, to make a couple of lightweight kids bows for my son and one of my other daughters.  So, assuming that I get another board, what are good dimensions for a kids bow, in the 20# range, with draw length in the 15 to 20 inch length?  I was thinking about 45 to 48 inches, and a simple flat bend through the handle bow, about an inch wide in the handle and tapering to 1/2 at the tips.  Thoughts?

Position on the board


The two holes, one a ditch and one a well 


Wire, showing depth and relative position