Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: gstoneberg on March 09, 2012, 12:11:17 am
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I've peeled a lot of osage but this is the first time I've seen this. The edge of this stave was damaged. As I remove the sapwood, which is normal looking, it reveals already darkened osage heartwood. Very interesting. Haven't had time to finish peeling this stave, but I am curious to see how far up the stave the dark wood goes. Anybody else see something like this?
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7043/6807350108_56c41c83fc_z.jpg)
George
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I have lightning struck osage that looks like that. beutiful wood
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...and hard as a rock. Should be good bow wood.
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That's going to make a great looking bow!!
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Gerorge, I've have some like that too. I have'nt worked it yet. Its just turned about 3yrs old and I like to wait till 3 if I can before I work with it. Hopefully your stuff will be good and dense. Danny
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Hard to really see what its like.
I've seen colour/figure like that in Yew, most was sound, some of the wider really black grain/streaks was rot/weak wood.
I'd guessed it was down to disease/injury/weather as the wood I found it on had the bark chaffed off one side so there was some pretty weird growth.
I'd be tempted to cut a few inches off the length and see of that bit wants to fall apart along any of the black lines. You could also split the sample, give it a quick clean up and post us a nice pic.
I'm sure I can fine you a few jobs to do around the house too ;).
Del
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Love that darker Osage,see it now and then and prefer it over the bright Yellow. :) :)
Pappy
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I have a hunch about the darker orange colored osage. I think the males are darker wood,and usually have a tad smaller sized rings than the females,but the ring ratios are pretty good. I cut a male a couple a years ago that was darker and orange and not the bright electric yellow. Again its just a hunch and realize each tree is different from one to the next. Anyone else cut a male and see the same thing?
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I recently cut some. Don't know whether mine is male or female since all of the fruits were on the ground, but it sure is pretty. Red streaks throughout the entire tree, no matter which ring I'm chasin'. Rings are thinner than the rest of the hedgerow but the proportions are good. Got one developed, steamed already. Just waiting a bit longer to build. I won't hide it with any snake skins or sinew. Maybe I'll bring it to the Classic!
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Matt, I think almost all of the wood I've cut in Texas has been male as no tree has ever had a fruit under or on it, though I see them all the time in other places. I think it's because I'm cutting out of people's yards and they pretty quickly removed the trees that made the fruit mess. Later they pop a tire on a downed branch and want it all out...and I'm always happy to help. :) It's supposed to be cool and rainy this weekend, might be a good time to peel some osage. If the whole stave is that color I'll probably try to get a bow roughed out and bending from it. It did feel very hard when I was draw knifing.
George
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Its my absolute favorite osage. It just seems harder, stronger and take so much less wood to make a bow. The entire load of logs I hauled home last fall is all dark orangey stuff.
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Never seen Osage that dark..... wow ! Gonna make a beauty of a bow
Jon
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I've had some dark streaky osage, but not much. I traded it away :(
George, from what I can see in your picture I see a major problem. That piece seems to be a little straight for your taste. I can't see any kinks, doglegs, or knots. Are you sure your going to be able to make a bow from it ;D
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Although I don't typically work alot of osage, I do cut alot for staves/tradin. I only have two things I can say about dark osage. One is regarding the "dark red steaks" in osage you'll see, that people 'il say make for good bow wood. I have noticed this is always near the pith of the tree, at least on the osage I cut in ohio. The closer to the pith, that darker and compression strong the wood is, at least it seems for me. This makes me think that, what some people say even about white woods, that under the top rings the wood gets better. But who knows. The other thing I will say, is that I went to kentucky, I think two years ago (I think) and cut some smaller diameter osage up real high in the hills. This stuff was noticeably darker and denser than the more yellow osage I cut here in ohio. Also, it was horrible to cut. And it has seasoned darker too than the stuff I get, I mean after you scrape away the brown on the surface, the "green" inside is a darker orange, where as the osage I cut here is a bright yellow under the surface even after seasoning for a year or so. I got some scraps I keep around for tip overlays, good and seasoned seeing as they are like an inch long and 1/2" thick/tall or something. The yellower osage, when I hit against something metal sounds like wood with a dull thud, or at most a muddy "tink". The darker osage rings like a bell. I made a guitar saddle one day out of the yellower osage, and it was ok. But I was thinking about using some of that darker osage to make one, see how is sounds! :laugh: Anyway, all this has made me a believer in quality differences of osage.
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When I had osage milled he had dropped 2 trees on the same day for that purpose, both were very large. One was bright yellow and the other dark orange. I got boards from both. You can see just the ends of the bright yellow wood on the right under the fenceposts. The dark wood is on the left.
(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3532/5769220257_32363e2956_z.jpg)
The yellow wood seemed to dry even as I watched it and checked before I got home. The orange was better about checking when it was green, but got some cracks as it dried. I haven't made a bow from either, though I traded a board stave from the lighter wood to Cameroo and he made a great bow from it. I got 2 billet length pieces (because of splits) off that board and will soon glue up a BBO with it. Anyway, now I wonder if those 2 trees were just different sexes?
George
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Thats what I was talkin about george! Those osage boards are very contrasting.
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my bub aaron just finished up an osage bow with those dark streaks in it. someone even questioned if he had actually followed a ring or not. lovely dark streaks(not checks) all thru that piece of wood. it made one fine bow(so far) not like a few staves ive dug into that had dark places from bugs or whatever, nice/beautiful wood in my limited experience.