Splitting osage orange staves to make selfbows

[stonenstrop]

Osage migrated from south to north and west as pioneer farmers wanted the trees for dense fence rows - hence Ohio/Indiana and west as the buffalo range pushed west. Indigenous natives use various hardwood from Ash to Maple to Yew. Some say the Osage Orange and the Yew are best. stonenstrop

[loadedClownZ]

with osage do you keep the sapwood on like yew?

[LuluRosenkrantz]

I am from Australia . Does Osage grow throughout the US or only on the east coast ? Did the western plains Indians make their bows out of Osage ? Did the Native Americans use the same method of bow making or make their bows out of a suitable branch ?

[CocodriloNYC]

Cool

[Baileygeep7]

Does anyone know a way of keeping the yellow color from darkening?

[0hypnotoad0]

Oh man I'd never burn that stuff. Makes good guitar tops and necks too, even if the grain isn't straight.

[SavageHmr]

I cut a long and in in a week the ends sure did crack. We have a tree here in CA I don't know who brought it here .

[footballguy146]

where are they in california

[jasonnlucia]

Southeast Kansas. I cut 50 cords a year for firewood to sell. It is a nuisance tree for farmers. New trees come up from the roots like Aspen trees. Hardest wood in the united states and highest btu of Amy firewood in the us. It burns so hot it literally explodes if the moisture in it cannot escape and sparks like crazy. It is illegal to burn in most cities dye to sparks creating fires!

[Robbob9933]

@jasonnlucia I don't know. Desert Ironwood is a b****. Easier to pull them out by the roots the use a chainsaw. I found using a sledge hammer was waster to break into lengths too. This burns hotter than hell too.

[coldsteelman777]

AHHHH I watch these videos of making good bow staves and it drives me crazy i live by the coast of NC and there is nothing here that i can find if i dont know about something tell me

[darkwoodsoutdoors]

Osage orange otherwise known as 'HEDGE APPLE"

[Emrys69]

I lived in Missouri,and we had a bunch but never have I seen such straight ones!! amazing, Indians used to make clubs out of em too!!!

[Otterfreak1]

how do i know if its osage cause im in texas and uh yeah..

[MrHickerynut7]

Very nice bro tnks!!

[NiKkMV]

hey ive cut down a piece of hickory...or alteast not sure what kind yet but i was able to get a straight stave of 53 inches long. what would be recommended for dimensions such as width and thinkness. i prefer a long and narrow type of profile rather than something as a flatbow. but whatever works best for something short for about a 26-28" draw keeping most of the poundage.

any help is appreciated, thanks...

[Omnignosis]

Best firewood I've found, per BTU, is Black Locust!

Could you make a stabe from it though? It's REAL stringy...

[1000000volts]

hello master bow maker i am making a yew bow after lots of research does this sound right to you its 70" long the handle is 8" long and the centre of the bow is dead centre of the handle. i heard that the handle should be off set centre making the lower limb slightly shorter so the arrow rests in the middle of the bow please help cheers tony

[warriorofsteel01]

Theres a nice osage tree near me...problem is there isnt a damn straight piece on it! Its one gnarly mofo! its got some great figuring though :]

[warriorofsteel01]

I love osage orange! My favorite american hardwood! this stuff is tough on axes though >.>

[TatankaOhitika1]

No prayer of offering before cutting? I like Osage it is good medicine. Makes good flatbows. Back mine with Elk rawhide.

[raysugar4567]

I live in ohio and really what to find osage tree. I have hickory staves but havent yet found osage. Do you know a good area where osage trees are abundant

[leatherwoodcrafts]

Try looking near old fence rows and along creeks and streams. The osage trees get less abundant as you head east, but there should be a few around if you look hard.

[pricey1316]

@leatherwoodcrafts is thier osage orance in Nebraska, and were can i find it



[Robbob9933]

@leatherwoodcrafts Osage Orange has that softball sized, brain looking seed pod right??

[5tonyvvvv]

@leatherwoodcrafts have u ever sinew backed any bows?

[quillstuck]

That pile you condemned to fire wood looks like good billet and laminate material. the hard woods we have here are green ash, which yeilds about 32 rings per inch lol! then there is always the berry bushes, we have june berry(service or sarviceberry) chokecherry, and bull berry, other than that there are a few sparatic sibiriean elms(not tried those yet) and cotton wood.... it's so barren here the closest place to sell hickory is over 5 hours away...

[leatherwoodcrafts]

We have so much good wood around here it's amazing. I can look out my window and see dozens of walnuts, ash, hickory, etc. and a lot of creek bottoms are full of osage and locust.

[quillstuck]

where do you live ? why is it everyone else lives in the untied statesf osage-ica and I'm stuck in the high plains no-tree land of montana?

[leatherwoodcrafts]

Indiana

[agglutination]

What you lack in trees you make up for in good rangeland.  Think of it that way.

[ggarza254]

great video. I am interested in getting some osage staves. Any idea where i could get some. Unfortunately i have not seen any in South Texas. Any help is appreciated.

[leatherwoodcrafts]

Closest to you there oughta be some in Oklahoma. I'd look on ebay, there are always guys selling staves on there, and usually a lot cheaper than they sell it on archery sites. I may be selling some, but I won't have time to deal with it until winter.

[MrCemgok]

do you just go to some woods to cut the trees or do u have to get permission and if so from who

[mabyepaulky]

i got this saying from someone off youtube, and i like it

"the heart cant greave what the eyes can't see"

[leatherwoodcrafts]

No, you have to get permission. Most people consider osage a pest tree and don't mind letting you cut them down if you ask.

[kauboy9816]

Thanks for the great info!!!

I just acquired two osage logs, and I've split them up.

I'm glad I found this video so I know to seal up the debarked side of the wood.

They've only been split for about three days now, and not in direct sunlight, so I should still have time to coat them.

What do you recommend for it?

I've heard shellac is good, or paraffin.

What do you use?

[leatherwoodcrafts]

I often just seal the ends and leave the bark on 'til I'm ready to make a bow, but sometimes bugs can burrow into it if you leave the bark on. If you remove the bark, you also HAVE to remove the white sapwood layer under it, or it will split. You can seal them with lots of stuff:shellac, parrafin, elmer's glue mixed with water and brushed on, polyurethane (I like the brush on kind), even paint, except you can't see the growth rings through it. I usually use shellac or brush on polyurethane.

[leatherwoodcrafts]

Yes, I have a friend from Germany who always reminds me how fortunate we Americans are to have all the bow wood that we have at our fingertips.

[radopunk]

A little Osgae forrest!

Lucky .... ;-)

I´m so happy about my 4 osage staves.

Thats what us euros dream of.

Nice vid.

[irmollaar]

how do you identify osage orange trees without cutting them

[leatherwoodcrafts]

There are several ways. Their bark has a different color and textrure than most other trees, in the fall they have round "hedgeapples" on them and under them all winter after they fall, some of them have small thorns on the limbs, and it is almost impossible to break a limb if it is over an inch or so in diameter because it is so tough. They are also usually gnarly shaped.

[jbilly24]

Very interesting! Nice video!

[leatherwoodcrafts]

Thanks!