Osage: Harvesting & Splitting
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
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A trip home for the holidays led to a pile of osage on it's way to becoming bows. This video covers what to look for in a good tree, and how to split an osage into staves.
My 20 acres in NE Kansas is full of Orange Osage (Hedge). Hate the hedge apples, but love how strong they are. Burns super hot when seasoned.
Osage is a very useful tree. Not only will it make a fine bow but a post of it will outlast any treated post on the market. It is great as a guard against corrosion because of the size and depth of its roots. Outdoor furniture is as durable a wood as there is if made from the wood. Dye can be made from it.
Thanks for making these vids, man. I've seen some other great courses but they lacked the detail that a complete noob like myself would need to do this on my own. Yours, however, have answered a lot of my questions.
You're welcome
Yep. Hedge, or hedge apple, are also common names for osage.
I think it would be pretty risky to take a green stave down to the final backing ring. I'd leave a few rings above What you want the back ring to be, then coat with glue. That would alow things to dry quicker. With that said, you don't want to take it down to close to finished deminsion while it's really green or it may develope drying cracks. Leave plenty of wood while drying.
My uncle cut a tree about 3 weeks ago and I was able to get to good sections about 63 inch's and fairly straight and about 8 inch's diameter , but the only problem was when I went ahead and split them into staves they where full of worms beneath the bark and the sap wood Wich was really disappointing, what note or advice can you give me for such a case? Thank you as always .
While I was 'into' making Indian self-bows, I was somewhere in south Illinois and came upon a riverside park. Down on the bank I spied a number of 'crabapples' and upon investigation, discovered the very tall osage trees growing near the river bank. These magnificent trees will sometimes grow straight and tall to reach sunlight in certain environments, and I hated to leave these massive bodark trunks unharvested!
One of my greatest regrets while driving a truck!
I appreciate this video. It let me know how much work, time, and space you need for preparing those staves.
Mahlyndah yep, but worth it in the end.
I love the color of the wood
I use at least 3 layers. Layered in a brick pattern if that makes sense. With that said, sinew backing is a whole lot of work. If you're still new to bowmaking, you may want to perfect the selfbow first.
Great work here bud. Love the simplicity. Awesome video. Much love from texas
mrPauljacob Thanks
Awesome man never seen anything that clean
Those were good staves for sure.
You can build a drying bow which consists of a light bulb and a small fan inside a long box to help speed things up. But I've never dealt with it so I can't offer any advice on the technique. I've been lucky enough to have a steady supply of osage. Best to cut way more than you need. That way, some can be drying while your working on the older, dryer stuff. Better get started!
i actually like this splitting video the best out of your others... some good looks at what you cut and split.. well done!
I’m up in Daytona Beach, kinda want to go out to Ocala with some friends next time they go camping and see if I can find some and maybe bring it back to school. Not sure where I’d store it. The friends have their AC blasting at all times though, so I might see if they can hold onto it at their place for it’s cool temp and good air flow
I'm pretty jealous about all this wonderful Osage :D
lol
You are not very smart.
Bodocks (bois d'arc for the purists) make the best fence posts I've ever encountered and used here in Alabama. Bodock fence posts will outlast metal posts and treated wood posts due to the hardness and density of the wood. And be prepared to sharpen the chain often if you're going to be sawing a lot of Bodock. But never, never hit an ax head with the sledge hammer, it'll destroy the head.
Yep, just look in the creek bottoms and old fence rows. You should be able to find some osage. Probably more than you'll ever want. Also, ask around. Locals can point you in the right direction.
Trunk or limb, it doesn't matter. As long as there's not much spiral, and you'll be able to manage with any knots and crooks that are in the wood. you may need to look through several dozen trees befor finding one you want to cut.
I will never live this down. I bought a property in Illinois, and it had an osage orange tree that had blown over. It was completely straight and the dimensions were 3.5-4 feet diameter and 15 feet long! I burned it, before I knew what it was! It took days and days to burn. It was 100's of years old and I didn't realize the value of it. I just wanted to cry when I found out.
Doh!
@@clayhayeshunter HAHAHA. yeah if a "Doh" can be followed by tears.
@@clayhayeshunter More like DOUGH! $$$
You would be hard pressed to find any hedge over 3 feet long in iowa those days are long gone story goes it used to be everywhere. I hunted for it for years best I could come up with is enough to make billets and bamboo back then . My bowyer hero was Dean Torges who is now deceased but the knowledge he shared with us was priceless. Read hunting the Osage bow by him it’s a wonderful book
That's so true Tim, good catch. I usually do wear saw chaps, but didn't have any for this trip down south.
Man that osage looks bloody gorgeous, I'm from aus I have managed to find a few osage trees on old farms although the stuff I've been allowed to cut have been pretty pale compared to that stuff you have I read somewhere that the darker rich orange gold is the better quality osage, man send me one of those staves and I'll pay you triple it's worth plus postage,lol . love the video mate as always you have by far taught me more about building bows than anyone else .... shit wonder how much more I could learn from your DVDs .... anyways thanks so much for sharing your skills as a bowyer , I know that my journey learning this art has been alot less frustrating as it might have been without the knowledge i learned from your videos
Nice wood and you split the Osage about the same way we used to split tobacco barn wood which was Pine here in NC ..Wish I had an Osage stave for a bow..Cheers.
I know where there are a bunch of nice straight trees here in Willis TX.
Unfortunately they are part of the foliage along a golf course in a gated community.
LOL.
Gold does grow in trees! Wish this grew in Britain, we have other hardwoods that can make a good bow and sometimes a piece of old Yew can be good but Osage is my favourite. I bought several staves years ago and shipped them here but taxes and shipping make it too expensive now.
I know this is an old video but I love your bow building tutorials
+Ben Hayward thanks Ben.
You could probably split them again. try one to see how it works out.
We have 42 acres in south east ohio in adams co where hedge apple is over populated the place is full of big bucks after first frost those bucks stomp on the apple and eat it . Ive got several 2 and 3 year old logs 8 foot in our barn some split some still logs . Got to give it just a few more months to try this old draw knife out ive built 7 board bows this past winter learning the tiller method before i try and mess one up.
Tim, if I wanted lumber for flooring that'd be great. Problem is, a saw doesn't follow the grain, which is very important in bow making.
Those growth rings are damn large. I might have to grow some of those monsters. I woulda thought being one of the hardest woods around here that it would be slow growing but that looks like a solid tree. Being coppiced may have made the growth faster tho. Most of them in the wild will be twisted but won’t be like that they won’t as many different trunks.
This was really interesting to watch! I am happy for you for getting such a nice tree!
I've made primitive arrows the suckers of sparkelberry, arrow wood, willow, yaupon holly, etc. Never from osage suckers though.
excellent! i found my first Osage Tree today ,your information is appreciated.thanks from Detroit
good luck
I've got a 6' log of it in excellent condition just for making bows......aged almost 5 years....
Also called horse apple tree or Bois D' Arc or wood of the Ark. It is a very hard wood and can be tough on machinery.
Bois d'arc, meaning bow wood. Perfect tree to make a bow from. Indians used the wood to make bows, hence the name.
Very interesting ! In Brittany we have yew but it is almost impossible to find straight limbs ,I made a longbow out of green yew wood without following too much the grain but it still works.. you have enough osage staves for a whole army (at Agincourt our army was defeated thanks to the yew longbows of the english army ) thanks..
+Youenn thank you
Agincourt was won by the English because we were ahead in a number of ways. That soon turns out to be our apparent downfall, as happened when we lost France altogether pretty soon afterwards. Ancient war heros ( from the Osage tribe) were buried with their amazing bows. This wood FAR exceeds Yew in hardness.
Sorry, I meant a bow. Love your videos. Very helpful in tutoring.
+Trini Nigerian I've made hickory bows, but never worked with ash. I hear it can make a good bow though.
aw wow Grandpa always called those hedge trees, our property is littered with those! I'm gonna make a freakin bow!
Get on it man!
I've always known Osage Orange as a hedge apple tree lol
Travis Beard
They used to make hedge rows with em, living fence
mine too, been cutting them into fence posts and firewood, going to have to add try and make one into a bow now as well
Heck I’ve been wanting to make a bow with this wood. I’ve been using red oak boards as a starter, so it’d be nice to try something proper.
Great info, love the channel... surprised I didn't find it sooner.
My friends over the hill the Besaws have a sawmill that is probably the largest one around and they don't charge much to mill your lumber, I want to say if you take a few logs to any saw mill your going to get a lot more board feet for your hobbies and shouldn't need more then 100 dollars to get that done.
I wish you luck on your project, looks like I'd better get started on my pile of black walnut that's been setting for at least 10 years those worm are up here in West Virginia also they love shag bark hickory and shell bark also. Get that wood while it's green if you know what I mean.
I've got a hundred acres of forest I could get bow wood from plus my farm joins a fairly large national forest, but no osage anywhere. I've never even seen an osage nor a yew tree and those are supposed to be the best for bow making.
no, I didnt' pay anyone. Lot's of landowners view it as a weed. It has no commercial value, other than to a handfull of misfit bowyers. He did ask that i make him a bow, which I'll gladly do.
I have heard it makes great firewood but can destroy a wood stove with it's heat output and that it dulls chainsaw chains pretty quick how many cuts do you get before your chain gets dull?
Clay, keep one of the half pieces. We should try a rifle stock. I've made pistol grips. But not a rifle stock.
Could you make a bow out of a straight 6 foot long 2.5 inch Osage limb?
Bloody good add for husquvana chain saws btw ;) they just don't stop!
i rather Huskies myself I rebuild them ~!~!
The Pro loggers choice with Sthil close behind. Yup.
The Amerindians would have intermingled planted this with fox grape. Color is from the layered paper on the roots. wasp nest paper and bone plus the orange paper is a nice combination
I've only used OO for fence posts and firewood as it is usually always too spiraled for anything else due to the wind here in KS. But it is such a beautiful color that I hate that so much of it is "wasted" for these uses. I'm curious about your wedges. They appear to be OO faced with phenolic. Is that correct? Do you use these materials to protect your saw & axe or to protect the staves you're splitting? What adhesive do you use to bond the OO and phenolic and what is the striking surface material?
My great grandfather taught me that bodock fence posts would outlast metal posts and over my 70 years I've found that to be the case. Been repairing some fencing on the place and the fence lines have numerous bodock posts that have well outlasted treated posts that were clearly put in the ground much later than the bodock posts. And the bodock posts are stll hard to sink a staple into without bending the staple.
It makes a great wood for bbq, not many know this of the Bois D’Arc I’ve used old dead limbs for years, careful though as it burns very hot.
i always start from the small end, but i don't think it matters much.
I am getting a lot out of your videos. Thank you for sharing.
jtkunzie You're welcome.
closer to where? Osage is common throughout the midwest, from eastern Texas to Illinois.
When you saw out wood gets the warms out mainly bark warms love bark
have planted some osage orange just hope i can keep it warm enough have an area in my garden that will be well away from everyone, so they should not get the needles stuck in them
Any tips for making good hard wooden wedges Sir, awesome stuff.
I've a 17 year old stave in the barn rafter.
Shingle froe would be perfect for starting these off. Not that you struggled at all. I personally just hate taking a sledge to my axe.
And I do enjoy your videos, they are very informative.
I have a straight log to split for staves.. Do I start with the big end or the little end?
Thanks! I'd like to try Osage for a Banjo bridge.
ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO WATCH YOU WORK CLAY.
RAKE CARE GARE
thanks Gary
Bois D’ Arc is what they’re called as well
Among other names
I wish we lived closer together, i'd trade you some phenomenal Vancouver island yew wood for some of your osage. oh well!
When I was a kid in central Alabama I hunted small game along a creek close to home. There were these trees that produced these large green balls that we thought look like a brain. I told my dad who was very knowledgeable about trees about them but he said he never saw anything like that. Just recently I realized that they are Osage. I did not think that Osage was native to Alabama.
kyletango Yep, central Alabama is where this video was shot. Near Greenville.
Well, you could buy a stave... But not a stave of me. I'm not sure how that would work..
Really beautiful piece of Osage you lucky dog.
There's tons of it down there.
Clay Hayes I believe you but it's really far for me and not knowing anyone Alabama my choices are limited to northern white ash, hornbeam, black locust, juniper but no osage up here in the northeast.
$500 plus shipping. I've no idea what shipping to NZ would cost.
i normally make a cut up from the bottom and then down from the top so it doesnt trap the saw
Very helpful I'm going to cut some osage today
I live in NW Florida; just finished splitting a oak tree and walnut. Is it a good idea to loosely use plastic wrap to help dry evenly? Unfortunately have not been successful making a bow. New to all this stuff. Watching all your basic building videos often replaying them. Thank you.
I recently got a monster haul of Osage up here in NE Ohio. Some of the logs 20 plus inches in diameter. All quartered, ends sealed with wood glue, stacked on pallets on the side of my garage with a tarp lean to over them to keep the elements off, but allow air flow. I drenched the bark sides in that Ortho Home Defense insecticide. Think that'll keep em safe for a while? I've never had much issue with Osage and bugs in this area, mostly only white woods.
+James Rocco is think that'd do it.
Dang wish i could find those in Houston. Although I must wonder in the old days, i don't see the native Indians waiting 2-3 years for a stave to dry before they could make a bow.
Osage is native to most of the southern states. They might be in wooded areas near you. If not, go drive around some old farm lands. :)
Ok, thank you very much!
Clay have you ever done any greenwood work? There’s two techniques my tribe uses one is the seasoning for 2 years and another is greenwood. With the greenwood you rough out your bow then dry it with heat. Then go back and do your finishing and filleting. Just curious if you’ve ever done that and your thought on it. I haven’t made a bow yet. Figuring I’d do a board bow just to learn the basics before I go harvest any wood and make staves.
I’ve done it with hickory and eastern red cedar. Other woods tend to develop drying checks if done that way.
Lived in Florida all my life and I've never seen Osage
I call them hedge trees
Something I don't understand...
You say that you don't sell bows yet you have enough wood just right there to make at least 100 of them.
How long does a bow last you? I figured a well made bow like the ones you produce would last a VERY long time if properly cared for. Would you mind enlightening me?
+Hog Hunting and Survival Sure thing. I've seen good bows last a lifetime. The reason I don't sell bows is that I can't make it pay. It takes a long time and people just aren't willing to pay that much for a selfbow.
Clay Hayes I gotcha brother! I understand though and can't say I blame you. I wouldn't either that being the case. However, You're a great bow maker! By the way, how are you liking your Chris Reade Knife? Have you used it field dressing yet? How did it perform for you?
+Hog Hunting and Survival I've been wearing it everyday and am really liking it. The blade is nice and heavy. At first I thought it was a little off balance because of that but after using it for a while it just feels natural. I've skinned and quartered two elk with it this season and it's worked out like a champ. Holds an edge great. He's also got a skinner that might work better for that. I've got he woodsman version. The tip on this one is a little narrow for skinning but if you're careful you can get it done without cutting holes in the hide.
Thanks Clay! I've been talking to Chris a lot and am really wanting to get a knife from him. I'm wanting to try his N690 steel and was worried about chipping when it comes to feild dressing. I'm a hog hunter and really need something that isn't going to chip out when it impacts the bone. Your info really helps brother, thanks!
+Hog Hunting and Survival I don't think that would be a problem. I've been using it for all sorts of chores around camp. Splitting kindling, etc. and it holds up like a champ.
So between traditional bows and primitive bows, which do you think fits better with you as an archer?
Holy bodark batman. If only they got bigger and grew in FL. Best Regards.
Hello. Great videos, thank you for sharing them! I have a question about drying and back work. I've been researching for a while; a book I'm using is Jim Hamm's, on Native American bows. He strips the bark and reduces close to stave size right after splitting, and coats the back and tips with carpenter's glue, for faster drying and preventing bugs. If I do this method, when I later work the back to one growth ring would i take off the glue only, or go a couple rings beneath that which it was on?
Hamm's book is where I began to learn to craft Indian wood bows. Excellent reference!!
Where are you at in Idaho? I am a bowyer myself and in living in Rexburg about an hour and 20 minutes north of Pocatello. I dont know if you are close or if you have any left but Id kill to get my hands on a good piece of Osage. Ive never been blessed to come acrossed any. thanks for the video.
Bo Hurley Hi Bo, I used to live near Ririe but now I'm up near Lewiston. Shoot me an email at the website. www.twistedstave.com
I’ve lived in Alabama and Georgia all of my life and have never seen an Osage orange tree in either state
Osage is all over the black prairie region of alabama.
How to prevent worms? Using an antiseptic for wood or....?
Clay, great videos, very informative. Thinking of trying to make a bow as a hobby. I have a fair amount of Bois D'Arc on my property. I've several trees that are possible candidates. What would you recommend as the minimum diameter trunk/limb and minimum length that you can make a good stave out of. Also, some of the possible limbs look like they might be dead already, but otherwise look fairly strait, not a lot of visible rot on the outside etc, just guessing they are dead based on looks of the upper branches (the new leaves aren't out yet), are those workable, or do you always need to start with live wood, thanks.
Dead wood is usually no problem. Osage is very rot resistent. The length of the stave is up to you and the type of bow you want to make. Some plains indian bows were very short, say less than 50 inches. I've made bows from trees as small as 3 inches diameter.
Why did you split the wood when green ???
Hey thanks for the reply.. there was a small crack in my big end so I decided to go from that end and took it into account. The split did jump to the crack, but everything went smoothly. 6.4' English Ash 9/10 inches in diameter. The quarters are massive. 5 top to 6.6" base on the backside at least. Whats the minimum size you want a stave? What do you think? I should split my quarters into 8ths?
People wonder why Osage is never straight or knot free meanwhile nearly all Osage trees are found planted in hedgerows or in fields. How do they think it’s gonna turn out?
Extremely hard wood is far heavier and harder to cut. Dulls chains fast too. I do not envy you!
Have you ever made bow wood from hickory or ash?
I'd let you have all the stuff you want. I have some old trees on my place.
Excellent!
Have you ever tried using a solar kiln to dry your staves?
i have tons of wood in the up stars of my gurage it gets over 100 degrees
Clay, I’ve got a question I cannot find the answer to for the life of me. If I cut a tree, take bark off and take off as much wood from the inside as possible, how soon can I finish a bow?
Depends on the species. For hickory, could be as little as a few weeks. For osage, much longer.
Jared Ross from Missouri
I live in northern Missouri and want to start building a bow. Whatced a lot of your videos. Great information. I want to know were I can buy my tools to start. We have a farm that is loaded with hedge. In going to cut some soon. Thanks for your videos
I’d search eBay for a vintage draw knife. Mine is an old Greenlee.
I wish you lived closer. I have a lot of questions. I always shot instinctively but never 100 percent satisfied. Trying to learn your style.
Great how-to! Have you made any arrows out of the suckers/young shoots? I
Is the drying time different for other types of tree? also, what are the signs that your stave is ready (dry enough) to be worked on? Thanks for this video.
J HAVOK I’m no expert, and you’re probably a master by now, but some woods have high concentrations of tyloses which reduce water flow. These woods will dry slower. White oak, Osage, and black locust have LOTS of tyloses. This is why these woods are considered stable and one of the reasons they’re rot resistant (black locust and Osage are very special you should check out what’s behind their rot resistance). Woods like hickory, ash, and red oak have few tyloses which allows them to dry quickly, but they won’t be stable under wet conditions and will rot easier.
great video
Would keeping the stave indoors in a dehumified area help dry time?
Yep