How to split bow staves from Osage or other bow wood
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Bow building begins with harvesting a tree and splitting bow staves from the log. When splitting bow staves from logs, there are a few things to take into consideration. You'll need at least two wedges and preferably 4 or 5 of different sizes. These are important bow building tools. Long thin wedges or an axe head work well for starting the split, while shorter wider wedges work well for opening up the log and separating the staves.
Here, we're splitting bow staves from Osage orange but this technique will work well for most bow wood like hickory, elm, red oak, maple, etc. Start with a thin wedge or axe head in the small end of the log. The most important thing is to keep the two halves roughly equal in size. After that, look for knots or other imperfections that may affect how many staves you can get from a log.
Building a primitive bow, longbow, recurve bow, or selfbow from start to finish is a very satisfying experience even if you never intend to go bow hunting. It is a valuable skill to have if you're looking to expand your archery, self reliance, bushcraft, and survival skills. Hunting with a bow and arrow, especially one that you've made yourself, requires great patience and woodsmanship.
In a future video I'll cover the making of a survival bow from eastern red cedar and rawhide backing. From live tree to deadly weapon in three days! Subscribe to stay up to date on new bow making videos.
Website: www.twistedstav...
Facebook: / twistedstave
Instagram: / clayhayeshunter
As a Tulsan, whose dying to find Osage Orange and build a selfbow, I’m so glad you mentioned the jamboree! I will be at the ‘24 one! Thank you
Your videos are a great source of info and tips for someone who is just starting to learn, thank you sir.
I really enjoyed watching for the first time tree trunks being split for the staves and was interesting to watch how the wood reacted to it. I used to chop wood for the fire when I was a child but very different when working with logs this size! I learned a lot thankyou :-)
You’re most welcome.
Splitting staves has something satisfying to it. Especially if you imagine which beautiful weapons they will become.
Best wishes
Very well demonstrated and shown on how to split yellow wood. Good information for sure
Very good 👍. Going to go collect a ton of ash trees in a few weeks and am anxious to see what they hold inside when I stave them out.
I noticed you painted your ends with white paint. I discovered painting the ends with Elmers glue which dries clear works better because you can see the center of the log. The split needs to go through the core of the log to keep split from running off to the side.
Beautiful wood, wish it grew where I live.
Thanks for the content Clay. Does the log need to be split this way for grain purposes? Could a sawmill be used?
Thanks for the education 🙏🙏
Also, what did you seal the ends with and for how long?
What length do you typically cut these staves?
Can it be fresh cut. No drying b4 staving?
Cuantos meses de secado natural debe tener la madera
Thank you.
Hay clay l live in north west South Carolina and I can find any Osage orange where I live, but North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia just seems to be everywhere, but I just can’t find anything in the south. some of the other ones I heard were really good black locust and yellow locust but can’t find black locust here either and yellow Ellot even know what it looks like what to do besides buying something that be expensive when you’re trying to do those for your grandsons and you don’t get the money to do it
I live in WV and black locust is everywhere. It's easy to spot In the spring because of the bean seed pods that hang from its branches. Another option is hickory, and it grows literally everywhere.
can you use a pneumatic log spliter? if you are not trying to do this in the purest old ways of making a bow?
Sure, you’d just need one large enough to cradle a 6” log.
What do you recommend for someone who doesn’t have access to trees to cut down? Buy individual staves?
Get a maple board from Home Depot
Nothing like making your own Bo and arrow then using it to kill a buck you have been watching and stalking for three seasons.... Or so they tell me😂 I'm still trying. When it does happen I will be forever grateful to mother nature and I will consider myself a true hunter.
Dude is rockin Moc's, hell ya buddy! 👍
Heyho Clay Hayes. I would like to know if u just cut all over USA where it grows osage and replant them or just cut? Do you rly have so much Osage in USA? I have not the possibility to cut trees but if i would to try @ least to replant. Great Video and informations. Thanks and Cheers.
I have about 500 osage trees on the farm here in Missouri. There is a bit of a vein that runs along some of our creeks and streams here in North East Mo where they grow like crazy. Lot of farmers planted them to make fence posts with when they matured.
What is the smallest diameter of log you would use to quarter it into 4 staves?
Maybe 7 inches or so.
Do you sell the bows you build? I would like to spend some time shooting a self bow before I attempt to build one.
I don’t. You should check with some of the guys listed in the back of my book.
So what is the reason for not just ripping them in half with a saw?
A saw doesn’t follow the grain.
@@clayhayeshunter Ok that is kind of what I thought, just wanted to confirm.
Nope i wont be making and bow staves. I cut a bunch on the mill but i likely wont ever burn that kinda time and labor
How long, roughly, do you normally have to leave a stave to dry before making it into a bow?
A year minimum unless you put it in a hot box.
Clay Hayes How long in a hot spot?
I start as soon as i recover from cutting and splitting. Green wood is a thousand times easier to work. I remove 3/4 the wood then put it up to finish drying. Often i put my stave into a piece of carpet tube with a hair drier blowing over it all night bringing moisture down to about 12 %. Works for me here in Mo. Never had one fail using this method.
Why split verses saw?
Splitting follows the grain.
Any pros/cons to leaving the logs whole to dry for a while, then split out? I have some Osage from last fall (still whole) and some Ironwood from the other weekend. I am debating on whether or not to split everything and stack or leave them the whole and split later this year.
Also, any recommendations for treating logs and staves to prevent beetle damage?
got some answers there at the end of the video....
For bugs, spray the bark with diesel right after cutting. You have to do it before the horn wasps lay eggs in the bark.
Green wood will always be easier to split than dry wood. And as Clay says the drying time will be much faster after you split it.
Wheres your safety glasses
He IS an OKIE,, workin way too hard. I use a 4 pound shop hammer and Hatchet, with plastic wedges,, and slow down . Give the wood time to release . It didn’t grow overnight.
Alright, Safety Police soundin' in. At 6:21 you lost me. And the only thing I can think of is "what is your Plan B"? You know 'Plan B', don't you? Plan B is 'what to do when you lose one eye'. A simple pair of sunglasses like Bubba is wearin' is better than none at all. And two people whackin' a 12 lb sledge, in close proximity at the same time,,,well, I gotta make my Comment, and I did,,,and I'm gone. I wish you luck with your safety. I remember the older guys running cutting torches, with no goggles. 'Manliness' in their view,,,yet there is a reason OSHA came about. And that is loss of eyeballs. So good luck with your gig. I'm done.
Good luck on yours as well!
I see OSHA as another way for the government to harass and control companies and their employees. They are more concerned about controlling the people and generating revenue, (as all government organizations are, than they are about the good of the people. Too much government involvement is what's wrong with this country. If someone wants to do something that endangers their own safety it is their own buisness and no one else's.