Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: Sidewinder on January 26, 2013, 09:54:08 am
-
The 2013 osage harvest for the Sidewinder camp starts today. Jimmy from here on PA and I are buds and we are meeting this morning at a little spot long the Arkansas river just outside Wichita to harvest this years batch of staves. It should prove to be fruitful as this section of woods is thick with osage, mulberry, oak, hackberry and elm. Of course if we are gonna be haulin the staves out on our backs, only the primest osage will get to take the ride. I will post pics of the event once we get back. Danny
-
Good luck and looking forward to the pictures.
-
Have fun and be carefull. I can't wait to see the pics.
-
I only wish I could go cut my own osage here in Arkansas.
-
Danny's personal choice to perform the mule duties saves him from taking home questionable staves. I mean, who'd be dumb enough to hump a 60 lb stave up out of a draw if you weren't sure there was a bow...or maybe two...in it?
Oh yeah, I forgot who I was talking to. The answer is too many of us!!! >:D Especially those of us that live in a bow wood desert.
-
I thought that's what they made wedges and sledgehammers , make big logs into small ones .
-
I only wish I could go cut my own osage here in Arkansas.
I know what you mean, not much in my part of Arkansas either.
Grady
-
I thought that's what they made wedges and sledgehammers , make big logs into small ones .
Small osage logs are still heavy
-
Just the nature of good wood . I loaded a 200 pound pluses log once it was in a dozer pile , I backed my pickup up to it and cut it so it would fall in the bed only to have it slide part way out. I had to tie it in and back up against a tree to slide it on in. I'm like everyone else if I can drive up to it it's fare game even though I have carried 60 pound logs out through brush and timber .
-
Amazing how much water weight a tree trunk has in it. I got an uncle on the west side of Washington state tells me the only good bow wood is uphill from the truck. Uncle Myron is a smart feller!
-
It turned out to be a very good day. The weather could not have been better. 56F light breeze. So over the river and through the woods we go.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/001.jpg)
Looks like Kansas beaver like hackberry trees
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/003.jpg)
Now this is what were looking for
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/004.jpg)
Heres Jimmy with another nice find
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/006.jpg)
And here is another. All in all we tagged about 12 trees ranging in diameter from 6" to 12".
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/005.jpg)
-
Those look like some good straight ones.
-
Overall we flagged about 12 trees ranging in diameter from 6" to the largest being around 15". Since the area we were looking in was about a 1/2 mile long and 300yds wide we did quite a bit of walking. We only carried our bow saw, a can of spray on shellac to seal the ends and our camera. We figured we would go back and get the larger ones next time. I will recruit a couple of new bowyers that I am working with the come and help hump em to the truck. Then they will get a chance to train on the drawknife debarking the staves with me. Here I am with the first batch.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/010.jpg)
The next section of this post will be geared towards those of you that have'nt harvested your own bow wood yet. I will try and cover the basics in proper splitting as well as processing your staves so that when well cured will give you a good stave to start with.
The first thing to do is size the log up for blemishes and knots and split it in half and then into quarters. I like to start the split with a good hatchet that can take a good wack of the sledge without mushrooming.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/012.jpg)
In this case we were trying to isolate a large knot on one end. We wanted it to split on the side so that it would be removed when laying out the bow later on. If you can't split it to put the knot on the extreme edge and be removed later, then make sure it is centered in the middle of the stave.
It looks like its splitting just like we planned. Right around the knot.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/014.jpg)
Then we leap frog the wedges down the split as it faithfully follows the grain.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/016.jpg)
And Voila. We have two nice half pipes which we will turn into quarter splits.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/017.jpg)
-
Here they all are before we split them
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/008.jpg)
and here is Jimmy with the load split. Over all out of 17 staves we ended up with at least twelve primos and the other five has some twist and some knots that will make them interesting. We split them up between the two of us, so its a good start for this years vintage. I will most likely not work these staves for at least two years and maybe not until later if I can help it.
(http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg233/KsDanny/1-2013%20osage%20harvest/020.jpg)
The next part of this post will come later when we are debarking and prepping the staves for curing in the wood shed. I hope you all are enjoying the ride. Danny
-
Some really great looking staves. They should make some great bows.
-
Thanks for the education ;D
I am originaly from Kansas and will be back to visit around Lawrence in spring and plan to make my first attempt at a real osage harvest to bring back to Minnesota.
Can I just seal the ends and split em later?
-
Nice haul. Its a little cold for me to start on this years yet.
DuBois...... You can wait to split but they should be kept off of the ground and sprayed with insect repelant if it is going to be very long before splitting and removing bark and sapwood.
-
Looked like a good time to me :D
-
every year, harvest for the future. thanks for posting this.
chuck
-
Nice stuff Danny. Gotta find somewhere to harvest some osage myself, down to just a few less than good staves of it in my shop. :(
Greg
-
AH AH Kansas .... from the Pony express to the Chisholm trail we got Osage trees all over hail(?) Lol but finding straight one's can kick your tail ...... :o. Nice haul s.w. I'm a bit further up state from you.. but l need to head out to the farm and restock too .. wish we had more hickory around here too
-
You guys make me sick (with envy). The best wood I have locally in any sort of quantity is birch. It makes nice bows, but is limited in design because it has to be wide, so they all come out about the same.
-
Dubois I like to try and keep anything from messing up my bow wood so I seal the ends immediatley and split them aand debark them as soon as possible for a couple of reasons.
1) Splitting soon because the more mass there is especially on larger logs the more likely they are to check on the ends even if sealed and I don't want the log to determine where I take the best possible stave out of it. 2) I split soon because I want the stave to dry out faster and if I give the moisture a belly to release in it is less likely to check and it will have less mass and therefore cure sooner.
Debarking I do as soon as possible because I want to elimnate the chances of bugs and once again I want there to be less mass in the wood when I store it so that it releases the moisture sooner. Another side benefit is that once its debarked and sealed, there is less work to do when I get ready to make a bow with it some time in the future. I know its alot of work but its worth it.
Blackhawk your right...it is fun
To those of the rest of you that don't live in osage heavan I understand your pain and am very grateful to live in a bow wood oasis. We literally have all sorts of different kinds of woods around here that will make servicable bows. Oak, ash, hackberry, osage,sycamore, ERC,pecan,walnut, both black and honey locust, hawthorne, mulberry and elm. It is not like that everywhere in Kansas but I know down here in Southern Kansas along the rivers and creek bottoms its a veritable smorgashboard of possiblities in these riperarian environemnts. Thats also why the deer and turkey hunting is so good.
Country....pecan is related to hickory, albeit not qutie as tough but it'll still make good bows. I am only interested in working with osage and hackberry at the moment . Where abouts you at? You might wanna come down and shoot the course with us some weekend when we get together to make bows and have fun. We host a couple non publicized events each year for a select group as well as shooting the course just about every weekend. The course I'm talking about is our stuffed animal course. Its a blast.
Rob I guess if it were me I would be doing some networking with someone in an area that has good bow wood and plan a trip once a year to gather what I thought I might need.
Greg....I am subconsciously planning my next foray already. Gotta keep that thing going like its on auto pilot. That way you never run out.
Thanks turtle and your welcome Chuck
-
THAnks for the invite sounds like you guys have some good fun down there . I'm up in Manhattan
-
I'm about four miles north of Ark city along the walnut river. If your from Manhatten that probabley makes you a Wildcat but we won't hold that against ya your still welcome. Rock Chalk jayhawk. lol
-
Yea we bleed purple here. Go Cats ;D
-
Another good day with a good amigo. Cuttin and splittin, then shootin a stuffed monkey with our osage bows. I can't wait to make a bow out of the fabled "red osage" that we harvested. That log looks like it was impregnated with magic osage resin. It was dark orange when cut, with heavy red streaks throughout. I'm day dreamin about it right now. Do I have to wait a whole year?
-
Yes it was a good day. I had forgotten about the log with the dark red in it. I am hopeful on that one too. I suppose if one was in a hurry that it could be roughed out and ready in a few months. For me I will wait and just work some of the stuff thats already there. The when its the right time bust out the dense red stuff. Danny
-
Nice looking haul. :)
Pappy
-
Thanks pappy
-
Great hunt. I am little jelaous for all these osages there. ;)