New Member needs infromation on Osage Orange

[dannyb]

Im new to this forum and need some help from all of you seasoned self bow makers out there that cut your own staves.  I have not made a self bow but have been reading up and someday want to.  Anyway, I have an osage orange in my front yard that is 36" in diameter at the trunk.  I have never seen one this big until I moved there in 85 and always thought that this tree could make alot of bows when I  got into it.  This past week the wind blew it over and now I have to cut it up to get it out of the yard.  It is still attached and living but is laying on the ground so it has to be moved. 

My questions are:
Is a tree this big going to give me the type of wood I can make bows out of?  I dont know the age of the tree but by the size it has to be very old.  The trunk itself should yield more bows I could make in a lifetime.

Since I dont know what I am doing, is there anyoune out there who would be interested in trading some osage from this tree in exchange for some information on how to make the best of what I have.  It would be a shame to waste this tree by not using it properly.

I live in central Missouri and thought someone in the area may be interested in this.  Any help would be appreciated.

[Pat B]

Generally trees this big are too much trouble to mess with but since it is on the ground, go for it. The center of the trunk will probably be hollow or at least have voids in it. There should be good wood along the outside of the trunk. Splitting a trunk that size can be very difficult.  Look for limbs that are of a more easy to handle size. Be sure to mark the top of these limbs as that is where the tension wood is. The compression wood(bottom of limb) will make bows but not as good as the tension side.
   Look at the bark to be sure it is not twisted.  Also, anything that is 36" long and straight will make bow wood if billets(to be joined later) can be made from them.     Pat

ps.  ALSO!!! be very CAREFUL with downed trees. You never know how much tension(different from above) was put on the tree when it fell and a wrong cut can be deadly!!!

[bigcountry]

Man, I wish I lived near ya.  I would help ya out.  There should be some limbs that are good. 

I am not experienced at all.  But i would chainsaw it pretty close to the break and take a picture of the rings.  To see if it has promise.  Also take a picture of the mess.  Was it twisted at the trunk? 

If all else fails, with wedges and spliting, I would chainsaw down the middle lengthways.   Maybe thats stupid, but if the trunk is so twisted your cutting thru rings, I am not sure it would make a good bow.

[Papa Matt]

I'm willin' to help ya, Danny with whatever I can but I'm clear in Indiana. I would definately say to try and make bows, like Pat said out of the top sides of limbs first, and then mess with the trunk if you want. I would cut a 6 or 7 foot section of the best part of the trunk. You would be best off to take a chain saw first, and saw one end in half, then split from there. Get you as many iron wedges and as heavy a sledgehammer as you can find (and a buddy or two to help) and get ready to beat the $#@! out of them wedges. Work on one end at a time.
 DO BE CAREFUL AS PAT SAID, WATCH THE TENSION WHERE YOU CUT AND WHERE YOU SPLIT. A LOG THIS SIZE CAN EASILY SPLIT OPEN AND BREAK A LEG, ARM, OR ANKLE.
Let us know how it goes and be sure to look at the smaller diameter limbs, don't think you have to find all your bow wood in the trunk. Even if the limbs are a bit crooked.

~~Papa Matt

[richpierce]

I'm facing the same task; live in St. Louis.  let's compare notes.
rpierce@im.wustl.edu

[snedeker]

I cut two sections out of a 34 incher downed by an early fall storm 6 years ago.  The bowyers bible 1 mentions that old osage can have the problem of having very thick early growth and this was the case with mine.  One thing you might do is get a wood core sampler from Forestry Supplier and see what it looks like inside.

Since it was in my yard, I wouldn't be able to pass it up.  If it DOES have a really poor ring cross section, one might consider finding a mill that would saw it into lumber for you.  Save you a lot of splitting. 

I cut mine out, 3 cuts, with a 50" hand buck saw.  Used about 5 wedges, a sledge, a broken off wood splitting maul head, a slim headed hatchet, and a steel dig bar, to split it.  getting the first big splits off one that big really sepearates the men from the female impersonators.

Dave

[Susquehannock]

I cut several osage trees about 3 years ago that were less than 8" in diameter and they just about exhausted me! I can only imagine how tough your tree will be, but if it was in my yard I would go for it too! Like someone said, you can consider getting it cut at a mill. I would go for the smaller diameter sections to try and get bow wood out of like the limbs and higher part of the tree. I've seen people selling bowl turning blanks on eBay, so if you come across some not so good pieces you could consider other uses for the wood.

Goodluck, and post pictures.

Jason

[tom sawyer]

Whereabouts in MO?  I live in Hannibal, I know theres a few guys down around Columbia.  Might need some help.

My own limited experience with big trees hasn't been real good.  Seems like the wood was more brittle than from younger trees.  I suppose there's wood from a younger tree, buried in that older one.  Might try belly splits.  Possibly you can get some usable stuff from branches.  And don't forget, billets are quite usable and learning to make a splice is no big deal.

[dannyb]

I live in Hermann about an hour east of Columbia.

 It sounds like I have my work cut out for me and might be better to start with smaller trees.  I've got no bow building experience yet but have read the 4 traditional bowyers bibles this winter so I know just enough to get myself in trouble.  My intent is to get started at some time and this seems like the right opportunity. I do know wood pretty well and am not concerned about getting the tree cut up but I dont want to waste time on something that is not worth the effort.  I've got a wood stove that would really like the wood but it would be such a waste of good wood to burn it. On advantage I have is the tree is not dead so I dont have to worry about it deteriorating yet but my wife will only cut me so much slack before it has to go.

It looks like I could spend alot of time on this site learning from everyone and I appreicate the information so far.  When I get started I would sure like to meet some of you at shoots or other locations where you get together and make bows.  I learn alot better by doing than just reading about it.  If anything is coming up I'd appreciate the info.

Danny

[Sidewinder]

Ohhh buddy... if you can get that there Tom Sawyer fella to help you, you are in like Flynn. He's handled alot of osage in his day I imagine. I know he has sure made some nice bows. and that wood came from somewhere. Been awhile since I've been thru Hermann but as I remember thats mighty nice country round there. Good wine and such. Always loved the site of a good healthy vineyard with the mists of the earth drifting at sunrise.
 My best advise is bring extra chains for your saw and keep em sharp. Osage likes to chew up saw blades and spit them out if their not sharp. Like the guys said as well try and read the bark for twist. if theres too much it could be a lot of work for little gain. If you can't find 6ft or better of straighter less twisted sections look for anything above 36"-40" and you can do billets. Makes just as good a bow as a whole stave and sometimes can have more limb consistancy if taken from the same ends. But if it was me I would probabley try and scab whatever I could out of the ole girl and just see what happens. Have you processed osage before for bow wood? If so, then me telling you to make sure you seal the ends immediatley with shellac or glue is something you already know and I hope I have'nt offended you, if you have'nt done it before then I think you will find that information helpful. Hope you have a succesful haul of bow wood, if I lived closer I'd dive in and help. Got some harvesting of my own coming real soon.   Danny

[koan]

Danny, sent ya a pm....Brian