Tips on this osage stave...is it useable?

[Lee Dogman]

Here is a video of the stave. I would like input from a competent selfbowyer. Thanks.

[dbeaver]

Thats a nice stave. If that the only thing you have to work around youll be happy

[Lee Dogman]

There were two spots...on in the center, the other at the tip. Both are shown in the video.

[Pat B]

The knot at the center is troublesome the knot at the tip isn't. If you have a clean back growth ring around the knot just keep it in the center of the limbs and you will be fine. I'd have to see more of the crack near the center to make a call to that. At 73" long another option would be to cut the stave in half, reverse the billets so the ends are now the center and splice the billets at the handle.
 That stave definitely has possibilities. How thick are the growth rings and how is the ratio between the late and early growth rings?

[Lee Dogman]

I thought about cutting the stave to make a two piece takedown in hopes of cutting the crack out, but there wasn't enough limb...but I never thought about flipping the ends around. That may be a solution. If I try that...man, I am going to be trying a difficult project for my first selfbow. LOL. Rings are pretty tight too. Photos of the growth rings...

[Lee Dogman]

Something like this would be nice, but challenging for a first bow. lol. Why not?

[Pat B]

Those are excellent rings and ratio between early and late rings. Do you have any other staves? If so I think you should make your first bow(s) from something else and save that stave for when you have more experience. Adding recurves or reflexed tips is another thing you should wait on for more experience. Once you get tillering down then you can move on to something more complicated.

[Lee Dogman]

I ordered three staves off Ebay that looked good (straight, no twist, and no significant issues with knots, good growth rings, etc)...but they are not here yet. Additionally, they have only been drying for about a year...so...Not sure what I have to work with yet.

[Lee Dogman]

Oh...a friend has a hickory stave he offered me. I have not seen it yet but it has been drying for about 10 years. I may need to go grab it. lol.

[Pat B]

A 10 year old hickory would be a good candidate for your first bow. Being you live in humid Mississippi keeping it in your house with ac/heat will help keep it from taking on too much moisture. Under your bed is a good out of the way place to store them. Also you can heat treat(scorch) the belly and that will also help the hickory repellent any moisture uptake.
 When you get the Osage staves take them down to floor tiller stage. That will help them speed up the drying process. You may need to clamp them to a 2x4 to keep them from warping while they season.