Osage ring questions. UPDATE we/ new question in OP

[Ross.m.]

 I ordered a 71 inch very straight grained Osage stave with no major knots on the back. The seller said it was reduced to one ring on the back, and that I need to reduce it further to get the back of the bow. But when I counted the rings on the back, one side had 18, and the other had twenty, and even more strange, the end with the 18 rings had a thickness of 1 15/32", and the end with 20 rings was 1 12/32" thick. I would expect it to be thicker on the side with more rings, but apparantly not...... How should I get it down to one ring and have the same thickness?

Also on a side note, I have never seen an Osage bow longer than 67" on here, should I cut the stave down to that?

UPDATED QUESTION: As I stated earlier, the guy who I got the stave from had reduced it to one heartwood ring on the back, but he said that for optimum results I should take it down another ring because he wasn't that careful when he did it initially (looks good to me, though) So I go to the tip that I intend to cut and start scraping away wood as practice (never chased a ring before) when I got into the next ring, I saw no change in color. How am I supposed to remove a whole ring if I cannot tell the difference between the two heartwood rings? Also I am doing this in very bright sunlight so that is not the issue.

[SLIMBOB]

Disregard the ring count and thickness. Establish one ring on the back first, then get the limbs an even thickness without regard to the number of rings.
I like 62"-64" myself. 27" draw.

[Fred Arnold]

Make sure you are not counting lunar rings. That sounds like thin rings on osage. Not saying it's not possible because I have worked with some tight ringed osage. Do you have a picture of one of the ends?

[wizardgoat]

Rings in a tree vary in thickness, and even within a stave. Like already mentioned, just establish your bow back, and your thickness will sort itself out throughout tillering.
length depends on your draw length and whether you want a stiff handle or bendy

[Ross.m.]

20 ring end 1 12/32

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/rossmartin98/DF89EFC7-522F-434D-A309-614F6D15C29C_zps5nyjimwv.jpg

18 ring end 1 15/32

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/xx358/rossmartin98/65BB0B4E-6BAA-42A2-9A39-215A7779D3DC_zpstiboysbn.jpg


I've got a 28 inch draw, so I should cut it down to about 67"? What are the drawbacks of keeping it long?

[Fred Arnold]

That is a beautiful piece of osage.  You may well already have a pristine 1 ring back and the difference in ring count could be on the belly side. As matter of opinion the work done on the stave so far has been diligent so I'm guessing my assumption is correct. Let's see the back.

[Ross.m.]

http://s771.photobucket.com/user/rossmartin98/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F5C29305-03FF-493B-A297-AB3F78B07F78_zpsc8rerwad.jpg.html

http://s771.photobucket.com/user/rossmartin98/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F5C29305-03FF-493B-A297-AB3F78B07F78_zpsc8rerwad.jpg.html

[Fred Arnold]

It's hard to tell without seeing it in person.  You may be on a different ring but it sure doesn't look like  there is a difference of 2 rings.

[Ross.m.]

Is there any sure fire way to check?

[Fred Arnold]

Find someone close that has experience chasing rings and have them look at it. Where are you located?

[Ross.m.]

Toledo ohio.

[bradsmith2010]

working the rings on some staves is tricky,,do your best to get it to one ring,,a sure fire way would be send it to a bowyer or friend that is experienced and have them do it,,,, but I have a feeling if you do you best and post pics,,, you can rawhide back it and have a great bow,,,, deer hide is my preference,,I  would keep the bow at 68,, that will give you a margin of error,,,

[Pat B]

Point the stave towards a strong light(sun or incandescent artificial light) and if a ring is violated it will jump out at you. Get one continuous ring on the back and tiller the bow until the limbs bend evenly and together and the draw weight is achieved. The ring "flames" on the belly don't indicate even wood removal.

[osage outlaw]

You might get some help from this recent thread.

http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php/topic,47523.0.html

[wapiti1997]

Rings are usually thinner on one end.  Have you ever seen a tree that was not bigger at the bottom?  Don't sweat the stuff you can't control... Have fun making shavings!