questions on fresh split osage.

[ntvbowyer1969]

Hello everyone. I was lucky enough to be able to cut down over a dozen osage trees over 20" across each. When i split them down to staves i was left with very thick staves from bark side to belly side. They are big enough to take them and split another bow out of the middle if i split it again. One of my questions is should i also treat the backs of the belly split staves since the bark is not on it to slow down drying? I figured the might get drying cracks if i didnt? Just thought someone else might have some experience with this. For my other question if i use one of these staves that were cut in September for a bow. Should i just rough out the bow close to finish shape and thickness and again should i wood glue the back of bow while finish drying? I plan on weighing the bow when i finish roughing it in and then finish it once it has lost all the moisture weight out of it. I thought also since the roughed bow will still have moisture in it to glue the back so it doesnt get drying cracks. Let me know what everyone thinks and thank you all in advance.

[Badger]

         It sounds like you have a pretty good haul there, a lot of value at stake. Maybe one of our guys who is good at harvesting and drying might live in your area and could give you some tips. I always seal the back and ends with white glue. Some of the staves I buy look like they have been coated in wax. Wait for some of our more experienced harvesters here.

[ntvbowyer1969]

Gotcha. I have harvested alot of osage just nothing as big as these logs.right now they are 3-4" wide and they are 8-9" from bark to belly I figured if i got on a good growth right in the middle and split it length wise i could get two good staves out of one. I use tite bond on my ends to seal them . I just dont know if the belly split stave should be covered in wood glue also since it wont have the bark to slow down drying.

[Yard Dog]

Congrats on the awesome haul !!! I use to have a family property that sold to a guy who let me cut all I want..... then, he bulldozed the hedge ... blah.. I should have cut it all...

[Hamish]

Like badger said, you gotta seal the back surface, as well as the end grain. I would take the bark off the top splits stop bug infestations.
Probably the best account for processing osage into bow staves is Dean Torges Hunting the Osage bow. He talks about using a hand held  circular saw, to kerf lines to control splitting off the belly splits. Buy or borrow a copy if you can. One of the great books on bowmaking, probably the best on osage, and osage bows.

Sounds like you got the haul of a lifetime. Kudos for all the hard work splitting a dozen large logs. I hope you had a couple of friends to help you out?
 

[rps3]

I always coat my belly splits with shellac. 

[Dances with squirrels]

I too prefer shellac. Two coats. The ends should already be sealed.

I'd split off the belly splits, roughly/quickly chase a single ring on the belly split's  back, and seal it with shellac. Once they were done, I'd removed bark and sapwood off of the others, chasing a single heartwood ring in the process, and seal them too. This is all easier done while they're green and full of moisture, so you need to get after them.

Over a dozen 20" trees? Wow, you have a monumental task in front of you. I would have taken a few of them to a sawmill and cut them into quartersawn lumber to be used for backed bows. If you plan your cuts right, you still get staves too.

[Eric Krewson]

You have to spray the bark on your staves with a strong bug killer or wood wasp larva and powder post beetles will ruin your wood QUICKLY!

In my opinion you cut way too many trees to handle in a reasonable length of time and are going to loose a lot of your wood to bugs and checking. You would have been better off to cut one tree, work up all the staves, the number of staves from a 20" tree will be substantial, then move on to the next one.

At 70 years old and after 20 years of bow building I now have a monster case of carpel tunnel syndrome to remind me of all that draw knifing.

Make your first split in these big logs with with a chainsaw, it will take you an hour or more or of heavy pounding on wedges to halve them, save your strength, you are going to need it.

Been there done that, I cut too much one time and spent a month debarking and removing sapwood in my spare time and on my days off. My hands swelled up like sausages from all the drawknife work, I still lost a bunch off wood because I couldn't work it all up. I think I cut 5 big trees, it was too much.

I don't know how many trees I have cut in my lifetime or how many staves I have worked up, over 200 staves for sure, probably less than 300. I have made over 150 shooter osage bows, ruined a bunch of bows as well as staves and given away countless osage staves.

I recommend you remove the bark and sapwood while your wood is green, this way you will not have a bug problem as the larva are in the bark. If the bark goes you have to take off the sapwood as well or your staves will check from back to belly. I learned this the hard way, in Alabama no amount of sealer on a sapwood back will prevent deep checking.

I still have a few staves in reserve for my old age;



A few billets as well;

[Badger]

        We have a guy here in Ca who once a year goes on a osage safari. He brings a small crew with him. I think they process about 500 staves in a month. He hires help for the splitting mainly I believe. With 20 trees it might be worth the investment. You could easily sell off enough to pay your crew and still make a profit. Up until about 5 years ago I figured I could process about 10 staves a day, remove the bark and chase a ring. Bad back keeps me from doing any splitting or carting around anymore than about 60#.  I would treat that haul as a serious investment though, I envy you!

[Jim Davis]

Apparently, the OP has already done most of the work, since the staves were split out in September.

I agree with Eric about sawing the belly "splits." Less likely to have the split take an unintended direction and less work. I use latex paint to  seal and I would seal the newly expose back of the belly split. If you work a stave down to the ring you want for the back, seal it with the kind of finish you intend to use. Might be better to stay a ring or two away from that final ring if the stave still needs to dry. Then you can seal the back with latex or whatever you like.

[Hamish]

There is always a demand for osage staves, so you will make good money, if you do a reasonable job prepping them.