Osage the wood that keeps on giving !

[Stick Bender]

I made my 3 rd osage bow this year for the 2017 hunting season  and it was the first one I made with out any induced reflex that actualy held reflex ,but when unstrung at first it would have about 1/8 soft set and then return to normal reflex after about 15 min. after several months and probably 700-800 or more arrows it actually gained reflex and instantly returns to full reflex when unstrung, at first I just chalked it up to decreasing RH mine is averaging 42% inside now but talked to a friend about it and told me he experienced the same with most of his osage bows after post curing but it surprised me as this stave was 2 years off the stump and inside for almost a year before I started on it ,I was just curious what others have experienced , I had another pick up a lot of draw weight but not more reflex ?

[osage outlaw]

I'm guessing the moisture had a lot to do with it

[Badger]

  Osage seems to cure and improve with age, your may have had moisture but maybe not. My broadhead flight bow I used for about 10 years. I used it for 3-d and occasional hunting and target practice most of the time. Every year at the flights I had to scrape off about 2 or 3# to make the 50# limits. I didn't go every year but at least 5 times I had to reduce weight. Also every year it shot progressively further by just a tad.

[bradsmith2010]

i have an osage bow that was heavy,, 20  years ago, I am afriad to weigh it ,, if I get it strung,,:) 

[Badger]

  Brad, you should string it up an weigh it for the hell of it. I find the majority of my bows stay pretty consistent over the years. I like the ones that improve with age

[bushboy]

Osage orange is by far my favorite!too bad it is so expensive to get shipped north of the 49!  It's gold colored for a reason!

[Stick Bender]

I always suspected there is somthing else going on to if the some bows still needs adjustment years later and what I didnt mention in the opening post is I dried this stave in my make shift hot box over severale weeks to, but if its years later with some bows what maybe ? harding of the resins in the wood I relies its hard to talk apples to apples as osage quality varies a lot and some are not affected the same , but its some thing I think about when designing a bow.

[Eric Krewson]

I had two osage bows made from wood seasoned for 10 years gain poundage after I made them, one gained 10#, go figure.

[BowEd]

It can seem a little like a mystery but I feel there is something to this seasoning thing.The mystery is how it seems to affect some and not others.It's one thing to watch and check though before grabbing a laid up bow favorite to shoot.
I feel some woods don't handle it as well either if there is any borderline issues about it.Logical thinking sways to the reasoning that the back has become dryer,but I think there is more to it than that yet.
I have the same thing happen to a few of the bows here too.It's like an old timer here making a pond and putting in large osage posts in for structure for the fish told me once about osage.In time they will turn into iron.....lol.

[PEARL DRUMS]

30 year old wood can be too wet to make a bow. The day it was cut means absolutely nothing, its where its kept after the fact that matters. I've never had a bow change to the point I noticed it, but I've heard of it a few times.

[BowEd]

Good topic Ritch....The bow you referred to gaining reflex over time from natural reflex after tillering is the best kind I think.Better more so yet then heat induced reflex bows.You got yourself a good one there.I had that happen with these sapling bows from osage too.Showing close to a gain of 1/4" of reflex after shooting and resting today more so then when originally tillered.Unbraced after shooting it showed around 1/4" soft set to be returned to it's new reflex of a scooch over 3"TTT in well under 2 hours.I tillered it after being inside roughed out to only 5 to 10 pounds above my intended draw weight for 2 to 3 months at 50% humidity then stored at 50% humidity over the next year.It was made last november.I just checked the draw weight on it here and the poundage did not increase much though.Maybe 1/2# at the most.How about yours?

[Stick Bender]

I didnt re weight yet Ed  but shot it a bunch the weekend before and at the end of hunting yesterday if it picked up weight its minimal or maybe Im just not noticing  but seems more snappy I will check it at the end of season still have a pocket full of tags to fill yet hopefully ! This is the bow I beefed up the lower to mids on really seem to help with the profile pulling to 29 1/4 !

[BowEd]

Yes we must not forget that it was tillered well too for the design.

[Badger]

  David Miimms sent me an elm bow blank several years ago. It was really just a few scrapes away from being finished. It was my go to bows for years. Same thing I had to keep lowering the weight at least a couple of times a year. I attributed it to moisture but I never needed that much time for my wood to reach an equal Librium.

[BowEd]

Yes I gotta agree it usually does'nt even take hardly a month to equalize if roughed out close to the draw weight for me to tiller it.When after being tillered the time is less yet.When a person finds a way to store them in a stable enviornment it seems they find their place to stay.
It's the only time it's advantagous to keep a slew of bows around to check on them.I try to keep a record after tillering what the bow was and what it did with what it was in a notebook.A little more than just the poundage at what draw length signed on the limb.As I don't do that as often as I should.