So, I used my skillsaw and quickly bailed and grabbed the chainsaw. I divided one half log into 5 staves and cut most of the way toward the center/belly of the 1/2 log. I decided on 5 staves for that 1/2, because I wanted to leave plenty of width/margin for error. I probably could get 7 from each 1/2, and I’ll likely go for 7 on the other half. Regardless, my narrowest stave is 3.5” at its narrowest. My widest stave will be just over 5”….and that’s due to where it naturally started splitting on the end despite my shellack job.
Here is my take on the two types of staves I’ve cut and processed myself.
1. Osage…hell on a chainsaw and a challenge finding a good section that happens to be in a tree that isn’t going to threaten your life during the felling process. That said, it’s a freaking breeze to split into staves, and as long as you take the bark and sapwood off shortly after cutting it, it’s about as easy to process as splitting and debarking and removing sapwood can be…not easy, but not horrible. If you split into staves and dry it with the bark on, removing the bark and sapwood royally suck donkey balls.
2. Hickory…not too bad on a chainsaw. If you haven’t had enough beers with your buddy prior to tree selection, I’m sure it would be much easier to cut a good hickory than to cut a good Osage. This is, however, an assumption, because we were buzzed just enough to cut a stupid large hickory.
Peeling the bark off when wet is a dream; if only Osage bark and sapwood peeled off like whitewood…but then that would be just too easy. As for splitting…WTELF!? Thank God for chainsaws, because I got the cuts started with the chainsaw, beat wedges into the ends and along the length of the log, then beat out the wedges, and commenced to cutting the whole damn stave free with the chainsaw. So far, Ive liberated two staves, and I’m calling it quits for the night.
Tomorrow, I’m determined to get the other staves split from the 1/2 I started on, and I’m going to cut the other 1/2 in half and let those dry as I work on the 5 or 6 staves from the 1st 1/2. I’m hoping that by the time I get to that 2nd half log that I’ll split in two (two 1/4 tree staves) sometime next summer…I’m hoping it’ll split somewhat reasonably, because what I’m tangling with now is an absolute biatch!
I hope I can make some sweet shooting, zippy, tough hunting bows out of this stuff, because the harvest, travel, and processing thus far is kicking my teeth in! I’ll be looking to travel to the PNW for yew next time I want something other than Osage!