Snaky Osage Split?

[cool_98_555]

Hello everyone,

I just received an awesome snakey osage stave today.  It is 72" long, 3 1/4"-3 1/2" wide, and 2" thick full length.  It was cut in March of this year and has been sealed.  I want to split this stave into two equal 1 1/2" staves, but I don't want the split to be too narrow in some spots.  Knowing that it is snaky, will the split still accurately follow the middle of the stave if I start the split down the exact center?  I don't want it to be narrower on one end.  This is such a nice stave!

[---GUTSHOT--->]

1 bow is better than no bow. Don't split it

[DuBois]

1 bow is better than no bow. Don't split it

1+
That's basically no wiggle room for error

[Fred Arnold]

I agree with Gut. I've been fortunate but none of those I've done have turned out perfect. On a snakey stave I usually get one good and something I can use for a kids bow. If the grain is easy to read I would mark it well following the grain and use a band saw.

[bjrogg]

I wouldn't try it. I've ruined a HHB stave trying it before

[SLIMBOB]

You can. You run the risk of the split running off wildly and ruining one side. You should at a minimum still get one good one. Just start in the center of one end with a chisel. Once you have it started opening up, move up the stave and control where you want it split by driving in another chisel where you want it to split. If your lucky it will run perfectly straight ( following the grain). That width is pretty dicey I think. Your limb edges may be undercut in spots. That's no Bueno.

[Knotty]

I wouldn't split it, it could end up running off and delaminating on one of the stave's curves.
Unless you try cutting it in the exact middle of the grain with a bandsaw.

[bradsmith2010]

just go for the one bow on that one,,
sometimes there are unseen issues ,, that might cause one stave to be no good, the the other compromised cause of the split,,
if you go for one, and you have some issue ,, you can work around it,, ,, if you go for two,, you don't have any wiggle room,,

[wizardgoat]

Osage is tough to come by for me. I'd do as Fred suggested, mark the wiggle down the centre and use a band saw

[Mad Max]

chase a ring and lay out a center line following the grain will show you what you have.

every snakey stave I had you could only get one bow.

the split stave that you have does not always follow the grain, so your stave may only make one bow

[cool_98_555]

I don't have a bandsaw, but I was thinking about cutting down the center with a jigsaw.  If I do it and it comes out perfect, that will leave 1.5" wide on both staves.  I only go to 1.25" wide on most of my bows, so I have a little room there but not much.  On the other hand, I don't want to screw up such a nice stave.  Haven't had a snaky stave this nice in a long time.

[Dances with squirrels]

That's what I'd do too. Remove the bark and sapwood if it wasn't already and bring it to a single heartwood ring.... THEN weigh your options. You'll have a better idea of what's possible then. The times I've gotten greedy, neither piece was exactly what I wanted. Important: make sure you'd have enough meat for the handle(s) too. Often, that's the first place I run out of wood when I try this.

If you do want to risk it, follow the grain to establish a cut line as was mentioned, then use a bandsaw. This will eliminate any waste along the edges that would have occurred had you split it.

[Dances with squirrels]

A jigsaw for that task? I don't think that's a good idea.

[cool_98_555]

Here are some pictures of the stave:

http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/cool98555/media/IMG_2012_zpsr9lu3va9.jpg.html
http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/cool98555/media/IMG_2013_zpsbdiy2pcn.jpg.html

[mikekeswick]

If you are desperate to try and get two bows then get a small drill bit, mark your 'split' line and then drill all the way along it - its called chain drilling. Your split WILL follow the holes but you've got to be accurate with them.