Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: RJUSMC on November 08, 2013, 10:24:06 pm
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It was finally time for me to attempt an osage selfbow. I have a design in mind, now all I need is the wood.
Got a great deal online and it arrived at my door this afternoon. As soon as I picked it up I realized I didn't read the fine print. That 10 lb stave couldn't have been cut more than a month ago. >:( My fault.
The ends have been sealed and the bark is still on. I seem to be unable to find a consensus on whether or not to leave the bark on or to remove it and the sapwood, or some combination thereof. I'm in no hurry. How long does it take to season? How do I avoid any twisting? And how do I know when it has reached the right moisture content?
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You can weigh it periodically, and when it stops losing weight, then it has reached equilibrium with the air and is as dry as it will get. It is safe to make a bow with it then. Many people like to go well beyond drying, and let it season for years.
To avoid twisting you could apply force to the stave in order to control how it deforms. You could clamp it to a caul, or you could stick it up in some rafters and tie a weight in the middle to add reflex.
As far as the osage specific stuff, someone else will need to weigh in. I've never used it and don't know anything about the bark or sapwood issues.
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Remove the bark and sapwood, and seal the back and ends. I let all my staves season for a minimum of 1 year.
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There's really no way to know the exact moisture content with out a good moisture meter I have one it's very inaccurate and was a waste of money You really just have to go with your gut on it unless you have a good meter
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I would remove the bark and sapwood and seal it several times with poly, shellac, glue, or something similar. You could take it to rough bow shape and it will dry faster. But that might increase the chance of warping and/or checking.
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abd and osage outlaw are both right, but....I generally dry mine with the bark on. I store them indoors and the borers don't get to them so it works just as well IMO. If I had one stave, I would go ahead and chase a ring. eliminate the possibility of bugs and it's just so much FUN!
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I leave my bark on. I have a 100 plus staves and dont mind losing a few. If I had one? No doubt in my mind I would peel, seal and let it sit about 3-4 months under my bed. Then I'd rough a bow out and let it sit another 2-3 months under my bed. Then in April Id build a dry bow with it.
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I would remove the bark and chase to a ring that's one or two above the one I wanted to be the back of my bow. Then I'd seal the back and ends. I'd then thin the entire stave so that the distance from the ring that will be my back and the belly is about 2 cm. This thinning helps the wood dry faster and more evenly. Realize that I make bend-in-the-handle bows, so it's not important to me that I have enough wood to yield a non-bending handle. If you want a bow that doesn't bend through the handle, you'll want to leave at least the handle portion thicker. I also store my staves indoors, and will hang them over my wood stove to force them dry during winter and speed the seasoning process. I also wait until April to start bending wood, because force drying over a wood stove will take the moisture content down below equilibrium, and for a wood like osage it will probably make the wood too dry to safely bend.
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Here is my take on your question; Osage bark and sapwood come off much easier on a green stave than a dry one. You will pat yourself on the back when your stave dries and you already have the bark and sapwood off, even a ring chased if you choose to go that way.
With the bark and sapwood off, sealed with 3 or 4 coats of shellac you can rest easy, nothing is going to munch on your stave, it is very unlikely you will get drying checks. Almost every stave in my gigantic osage stash has been been pealed and sealed while green.
Beware quick drying green osage, I know from experience and a bunch of ruined staves.
My findings;
Green, sealed osage placed in the corner behind the water heater will check beyond belief.
Green sealed osage put in the attic during the Alabama summer will warp, twist and check to the point of being firewood.
Green, sealed osage put in my drying box will check like crazy also even at low temperatures. I found I must let osage get down to 16% MC before I put it in the drying box .
Osage with the bark removed but not the sapwood will check no matter how well it is sealed. The thickness of the sapwood plays a roll in how much checking goes on but it is still better to remove it and not take a chance.
The best and safest course of action is to rough out your bow blank, put it up for a few months then gradually introduce it to methods that will speed up the drying process.
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There's really no way to know the exact moisture content with out a good moisture meter I have one it's very inaccurate and was a waste of money You really just have to go with your gut on it unless you have a good meter
Simplest way to know the M/C you're dealing with is just knowing the R/H and temperature your wood is stored in.
You can remove the bark and sapwood as was mentioned, work down to the desired back ring, reduce the stave to floor tillered stage and seal the back, ends and fades. Painter's tape works really well for sealing. Give that a month or so, and if the tape appears swiveled up after that, then it's shrinkage is pretty much done and the tape can be removed to help speed up drying. Couple months of storage in this fashion will allow you to do some heat treating/corrections if you like.........Art
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With osage it's hard to get a good reading with a moisture meter without getting down in the wood ( cutting in a ways to uncover deeper wood ) . I have a stave drying right now and at the surface the meter barly regestered , cut the stave down some and the meter said 16% but I'm not sure if that is even accurate , I have a Kentucky coffee tree Stave and the meter said it is at 26% , only down 2% from a week ago . The osage was cut in March and the coffee tree was cut in July .
If you reduce your stave down to floor tiller to season it faster you may want to clamp it to something to prevent it from warping .
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Guys, once you get most of the wood removed little if any warping/twisting will occur...........Art
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Like a lot of other guys here, I like to remove the bark and sawood and rough out a bow to floor tiller stage then just let it sit in the house for awhile. After about a month i the house it should be dropped down to 16% or lower then you can speed up the drying. Roughed out staves will very seldom split or warp.
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I like to remove Bark and Sapwood.
As has been said, it's Far easier to do this to a Green Stave.
I have had No problems with checking on staves that I left the sapwood on.
My Bodark stash is about 50/50%, where I left the Sapwood on and sealed it.
Most of these Sapwood On staves are nearing Three Years Old.
I seal my staves with Titebond 2.
The main reasons I peel down to Heartwood:
Removes possibility of Bores.
Stave dries faster.
Less wood to Store, Move or Ship.
Less work chasing a ring on seasoned stave.
Less chance of checking? (could be)...
-gus
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It was finally time for me to attempt an osage selfbow. I have a design in mind, now all I need is the wood.
Got a great deal online and it arrived at my door this afternoon. As soon as I picked it up I realized I didn't read the fine print. That 10 lb stave couldn't have been cut more than a month ago. >:( My fault.
The ends have been sealed and the bark is still on. I seem to be unable to find a consensus on whether or not to leave the bark on or to remove it and the sapwood, or some combination thereof. I'm in no hurry. How long does it take to season? How do I avoid any twisting? And how do I know when it has reached the right moisture content?
Happy early Birthday Marine! Did you happen to get this stave off eBay? I just got a couple ESP dark osage in last week from danohermie. It has to be the darkest osage orange I have ever seen. The early wood to late wood ratio is great and these staves are pretty straight for osage and each stave contains only one pin.
These are what I consider full size staves (68-70" long by 2-3" by 2-3"). The one with the bark taken off and brought down to the heartwood was sealed with polyurethane and the one with bark on had the ends sealed with polyurethane as well. Both were cut Oct 15 btw. I took both staves down to just a few rings above my target ring and sealed the ends and back with several coats if Rocklers Green Wood Sealer ( similar to anchor seal). I plan to take these down little by little but, by no means plan to cure this quickly. I plan to season these for some time before I have these as finished bows. Good luck!
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Thanks for all the information! I have a pretty good idea how I'm going to attack this now.
USMCSGT, Happy Birthday devil! I did, in fact, get that stave from danohermie. You're right; it is a beautiful piece of wood. I'm going to remove the bark and sapwood and keep a few extra rings. I'll rough out the general shape of the bow, but not as far as floor tillering. I've got some aerosol polyurethane that I'll use to coat the back and ends. It's really wet, so I'll keep it in the shop for a few months before bringing it inside.