sidewinder buildalong

[ajooter]

It's just shy of 3" thick and I dont see any sign of it on the belly.  Same goes for the next two knots.

[Sidewinder]

I betcha when you start thinning the belly you will find it. Hopefully it will pith out and you can have a hole there.

[lebhuntfish]

Ajooter, I love your stave! Those are a lot of fun! I got a question for you though. How do you like your stave press? I've been contemplating getting one for a while now.

I'm watching this thread lots of nice staves and good info as well. Good luck everybody. Patrick

[ajooter]

That's what I'm hoping danny!  I like it Patrick.   That was my 'red rider' this xmas  .  It will hold just about anything!  Sometimes you need to put something of similar thickness next to what your clamping but otherwise it works like a charm and the pad doesn't leave a mark on anything.  I will have it mounted on my truck when the weather gets nicer.

[lebhuntfish]

Good deal, did you get it from 3rivers?Patrick

[ajooter]

I think my gf ordered it directly from the manufacturers site.

[ajooter]

Well here's where I'm at now....having a hard time with the material around the branches.  Any trick to removing it?  I was going to duct tape around the areas and try and reduce them some with my nicholson 49.

[lebhuntfish]

Thanks buddy!
I just got done chasing a ring on a very knotty Osage stave for my trade bow. They looked a lot like those. I was able to cut some of them off a bit with a saw then very carefully persuaded the unwanted rings to kinda pop off with my curved draw knife. Then kinda carved at it with my pocket knife then cleaned it up with my gooseneck scraper and knife.
No real tricks just a lot of time. Good luck and thanks again. Patrick

[ajooter]

I figured as much.  If I can clear the ring all the way around the branches I've been able to then work the rings from the tip of the branch down all the way around.  The problem is some of the branches that are left come out of the stave at an angle and it's much harder to get at the rings all the way around.  I'm kind of nervous to start sawing at them.

[lebhuntfish]

I don't know buddy without looking at it myself. That will have to be your call. I used a hack saw with the blade mounted at a 45. That way I could see what I was doing and could go slower. Patience and perseverance is the key! Good luck buddy! Patrick

[jimmy]

This is a pretty cool thread.  I am spoiled rotted when it comes to lots of osage, as I live just a few miles from Sidewinder here in Kansas.  Heck most farmers just cut it or burn it if it's in the way.  I am excited to see guys that treasure this stuff like you guys are, and it is humbling to watch you work challenging staves and loving every minute of it (well, maybe with some curse words here and there!).  Take your time guys, I know you can do it and osage can handle it.  In fact, if it seems like too much, just remember that you can always make a really short unbacked bendy handle bow.  Osage can handle that too. 

[ajooter]

Well here she is almost all cleaned up.  I took your advice Patrick and used my pull saw to take a lot of meat off of the knots.  It looks like I'm going to have to lay the bow out down the right side of the stave.

[lebhuntfish]

Looks pretty good! I'm glad that worked out for ya! Before long those limbs will be a distant memory! Patrick

[Sidewinder]

Good job on getting the back cleaned up. Yeah layout the right side and if you have to incorporate the knot keep it in the middle.

[ajooter]

I may reduce it and let it sit for a week or two.  If I choose to let it sit should I seal it up with something to prevent checking?