need opinions on splitting sage log

[jthompson1995]

By some stroke of luck, I found this osage log that had recently been cut laying on the side of the road. It's about 6" diameter and 52" long. Seems like they cut some trees that were too close to the road and left the wood there.

I'd like some suggestions as to how to best make use of this log. I'm thinking with the short length and large knot, I should cut the knotted end off to use for other things (risers, knife handles etc.) and split 36" of the straight section for billets then take off the bark and sapwood and seal them. Sound like a plan?

It looks like a there's good rings not too far down into the heartwood so I'll aim for them in a year or so.

[Pat B]

No doubt where I would put the wedge.    Your plan sounds like a good one.

[gstoneberg]

Nice find.  You can split off the opposite side from the knot all the way to the end if you want to try to make a couple 52" bows.  Maybe a bend through the handle?  It might have deep splits on the ends though from not being sealed.  Too bad the reflex doesn't go the other way.  If it were my log I'd probably cut it to billet length too.  But, when I cut lengths for billets I go more like 40" or even a little more instead of 36", that leaves room for a 4" splice and some checking.  Do seal those ends to stop further checking, especially the end where you cut off the knot.

Good luck,
George

[osage outlaw]

Make sure to seal the ends!

[jthompson1995]

Thanks for the help. I've sealed the ends already but took the pics before I did that. I'll get to splitting this out tonight.

[gstoneberg]

Here's an example of how osage will split past a limb on the off side.



Love the natural reflex in that one.  You can see I took a billet length piece off that other end which I ripped square on the band saw.  That'll be backing strips eventually.  It saws easier when green.

I'd love to see how yours splits out.

Good luck.

George

[JW_Halverson]

Hey, where did that fall off my truck, I been looking for it for days now.  Thanks for splitting it for me, by the way, I appreciate your help.  If you want, you can keep the bark and the sapwood, I'll just take the rest back!   

When someone asks where you got that bow, just shrug, use a New York Italian accent and say, "It fell offa da back of a truck."

[gstoneberg]

   You must've been driving down by Dallas when it hopped off your truck right where I was sawing osage near lake Ray Hubbard.  Come on down and you can have it back. 

George

[jthompson1995]

You musta' been drivin' like a maniac, cause it ended up on top of a 6' high bank next to the road.

I did get it split last night but haven't gotten pics yet. I'll try to get some pics and post them tonight.

It split kind of weird, the pith was pretty much centered on both ends, but within 6" from each end it dove toward one side, maybe 1/4 to 1/3 across the width of the log. So a couple of the pieces are pretty thin with thin rings. Maybe I can make some kids bows from them or cut them up for other stuff.  I did get a couple nice billets off of the other side and some marginal pieces i might be able to still make use of for bows. I'll be happy if I can get one bow, I'm thinking a takedown from the billets maybe.

[gstoneberg]

Doh, he was talking about your log.    

I'm having the same problem with the pithy center moving off center in the billet.  Since my bow is made from 2 halves of a smaller branch, it only makes the center get off the widest part of the limb.   I'm not far enough along to see if it will affect the finished bow.  Hopefully it'll be OK.

I'm looking forward to your pictures.  You'll be surprised how small a piece of osage you can make a bow from if you don't have to remove much wood to get rid of checking and other wood problems.  The other benefit to small wood is that it dries so much faster than a large piece.

George

[jthompson1995]

Here's a pick of what I got out of the log:



The two pieces in front are 40"+ billets. These have the thickest rings and should be workable.They had some hidden knots but I'll see what I can get out of them. The one in the front I took off the bark & sapwood and sealed it with anchorseal (the white stuff).

The ones in the back are thinner, with thinner rings and more knots. I'll take off the bark and sapwood from these and see what's underneath. I figure I can make bows for my kids or, if it's too crazy, I'll save them 'til I've gained some more experience.

You can see how the pith went off center by how thick the from pieces are and how thin the ones in the back are.

[Pat B]

Any of that thin ringed, knotty stuff you don't want just send it to me and I will deal with it. 

[gstoneberg]

   

I don't see anything there that won't make a bow.  The hard part now is waiting for it to dry.

Good luck,
George

[cowboy]

Damn that wood's looking good! I have this thing for raw materials . Lets go kill some trees...