Wrestled a bit of Osage last night - Need some EXPURT Opinions... :) [PIX]

[Onebowonder]

I cut this log off of my MIL's place last weekend and just got around to splitting and debarking it last night.  At this point I have 3 splits off of the log and I am wondering if I should try to go for a thrid.  I've heard of greedy bowyer syndrome, and I'm keen not to fall victim to it's influence.  ...but I'll be danged if I want to sliver down into shavings what might be worthy stave material!  Hence the conflict in my soul... 

Currently they are debarked with a quarter inch or so of sap wood left on the backs, but I went ahead and roughly chased a sap wood ring on each, ...because it was good practice, ...and on this green wood it was pretty danged easy!  I have coated the cross-cut ends of each stave with TB2, but I haven't put anything on the backs yet because I'm still thinking about going ahead and chasing a yellow ring while these are yet green tonight.  I plan to get these down to basic bow blank dimensions and then bind them to angle iron and put then in my hot box to force dry/cure them.

I'm curious about a few things - - - >
  1] Can I yet split the larger stave and get workable staves from it or am I getting too greedy?

  2] Do I need to shellac the backs of the staves even if I am just leaving them over night to work on the next day? (I've been nervous about going home to find them all checked to heck all day long!  They are just in the garage - not the hot box yet.)

  3] I've found Osage fairly willing to take on the shape I force in when it is dried.  Is there any significant advantage to trying to train it to a particular shape while is it still green and rough?


OneBow

Here's the pix:

[Onebowonder]

For measurements - the original log was just short of 8 feet long and six inches across on the narrow end.  It has a bit of character, ...but not too much at all.

OneBow

[PEARL DRUMS]

Greed has ruined manya' fine staves. Id stick with what you have for now, especially with the bark still on. Obviously you lose considerable width as you chase it off, you never know what you may be left with. I never shellac osage backs in any state, that's just my way. I have never tried to form green wood either. I wait until its dry and use dry heat and/or steam to manipulate it then.

[bentstick54]

I would stop with3 I that ine

[osage outlaw]

I always shellac the back of a stave if I do any wood removal.  Spray shellac is cheap protection for checks.  That's just the way I do it.  And I would stop at what you have.  After you remove the bark and sapwood you could look it over real good and maybe saw it in half if you have enough wood.  Draw a line following the grain and follow it with your saw.  You could make one side larger so you would have plenty for one stave and try to get a narrow bow out of the other half

[soy]

Yep

[Onebowonder]

Thanx for the advice gentlemen.  Working on the ring chasing today, ...in between building drums and spoons out of my ERC stash.

OneBow

[Danzn Bar]

I always shellac the back of a stave if I do any wood removal.  Spray shellac is cheap protection for checks.  That's just the way I do it.  And I would stop at what you have.  After you remove the bark and sapwood you could look it over real good and maybe saw it in half if you have enough wood.  Draw a line following the grain and follow it with your saw.  You could make one side larger so you would have plenty for one stave and try to get a narrow bow out of the other half

The outlaw "knows osage"..................
DBar