Osage Stave Question

[Tim Corcoran]

Hey Folks,

A question here for you all.  I have been working on an Osage stave, and just finished the back, got it down to a single growth ring with little islands to protect the pin knots.  The stave is 69" long, 1 5/8" wide at the widest and 1" wide at the narrowest.  There is a point on the stave about 20" from one end where things get funky.  The back dips down, and the grain does an "S".  At this point, the stave is at its narrowest, just 1" wide.  Also at this point the stave is at its thinnest, just under 1/2" thick.

My question is, how do I lay out the bow?  Do I take into account the grain of this funky area, and reduce the stave to 3/4" wide at this point?  That is what I would need to do in order for the grain not to run off the side of the stave.  If I do that, should I also reduce the rest of the bow down to 3/4" wide to match that point?  Or do I just ignore that point and keep the limbs at 1" wide?  If I do that, will the Osage break at that point where the grain runs off the side of the stave?  Alternatively I have considered cutting off that 20" and just making a kids bow, but I don't want to do that if I don't have to.

FYI, I have made about 15 wooden self bows, all from very nice, straight hickory, red oak, and maple, including some board bows.  This is my first time working on Osage.

Pictures are included below.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Tim

[longbowhntr]

You need to follow the grain. How about more info.
What draw length and what weight are you trying to get? That would help to give better sugestions on what to do. There is a lot of folks here that can and will offer advice.
David

[Tim Corcoran]

Sure, thanks for the help.

I am aiming for a 40 lb draw weight at a draw length of 26".

I am really interested in your design ideas here.  I am not going for anything fancy here, just a solid shooting Osage self bow.  How wide should I make my limbs, and how narrow should the tips be?  How about the handle - working or not? 

The opposite side without the S curve has about 4" of the stave at the very end that curves off to one side (see picture).  My sense is that I should probably cut that off in order to keep the string going through the center of the handle.  Does that sound right?

Thanks,

Tim

[PEARL DRUMS]

The width and thickness should match the rest where the limb dips. Only time the thickness should be any thicker at all is when there is a gnarly knot. If the knot is minimal and its solid, I let it bend for the most part. 

[Stringman]

Start by following the grain a little closer around that S bend. Once you've taken that out to the tip you will want to match the width on the other limb. Now that your limbs are balanced side to side you can start reducing belly thickness and get that matched on both limbs. You should have plenty of Osage there to hit your 40#, but I don't think I'd leave it 69" long. You could knock 5" off and be fine.

[longbowhntr]

Good advice above.
It doesn't take much osage to make a bow, that's for sure.
As for the end with the side bend, I wouldn't cut it off now. With a little heat that should straighten if you need to. I would get the "S" section sorted out first, like Stringman suggested.( From the s bend to the tip)  Then decide where and how long I wanted the bow. 62"-64" would be plenty long enoug for a 26" draw.

[blackhawk]

That grain swirl violation  is gonna cause you issues imho. I wood clean it up a teeny bit more,but not much and rawhide back that..n make sure the rawhide wraps around the corner of the back down to the sides....ive had less of a swirl before and seen em let loose unbacked. Id def back that...its just too much violation,and if you tried to correct it and narrow it down to follow the grain good enough you just wont have enough wood left imho.