OT: Osage orange/Hedge Apple's

A small word of caution! Wear a respirator mask aka dust mask when working osage. The sanding dust can provoke an alergic reacton in some people. If you are a first time boyer try pignut hickory it's almost fool proof and is easier to work than osage. Murry Gaskins in Georga sell staves and will help a newbe out with a good stave of either species.
 
First and only time I tried to make a bow was with pignut hickory. Worked fine when it was wet, just fresh cut. Once it had seasoned for an entire year in the attic it would turn the draw knife I had. I thin it would have turned bullets.


Tough stuff
 
I see Horse Apple trees all around Dallas. Shouldn't be a problem growin' 'em down south a piece. Maybe you'd have good results if you can find a sapling or get cuttings?

Brian
 
hollowdweller said:
They say what, like 15 years on a Black Locust fence post and 20 to 25 on a Osage Orange? Might be a good alternative to treated lumber if they grew straighter.
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if you cut a tree down, most times it will sprout a bunch of shoots that grow fast and stay straight competing for sunlight.
 
I've used hedge for many projects. As for mallet heads though, it is not too good. It is very strong stuff, but it does not take beating on the end grain well. Our family has fence posts that were in place in 1888 and they're still up and doing fine. The Sac & Fox who lived in central Iowa along the Des Moines River were making bows from this wood through the great Depression. Dan Shea still has his father's boy sized bow from 1936. Works great and harvests a deer now and then. Gene Hundred Grits showed us how to make them about twenty years ago and Jim Young Bear showed us how he straightens arrow blanks with formed stones. Cool stuff. The Hedge balls or apples are used to keep mice at bay in the house.
 
I was sanding on some of it a few days ago and it is some dense stuff. I have an ishi stick made from it. Used for flint knapping.

According to Wiki: Bois d'arc is same thing as orange osage:rolleyes:. Bois d'arc means bow wood. I didnt know that. It does grow in Texas and apparently not poisonous but is very undesirable to most critters except squirrels. They love the seeds.
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I made a pair of Osage Orange pistol grips for a father and son a few years back. He sent me the wood.
Made a few others with the left over and still have a chunk of it around here someplace.



 
Those are beautiful grips. Bet they will last forever. I guess you dont even need to stabilize that stuff eh? They would make great Khuk handles too:thumbup:
 
Hate to say this, but everybody in our area uses it for firewood. Burns extremely hot and long. You have to be careful, however because it sparks like crazy. There are a number of companies here in KS that harvest it for fence posts. One company is down on Hiway 75 south of Burlington. You will see semi loads of hedge going down the highway coming out of their yard - I would think it would not take too long to go thru the lot and come up with a number of logs that would provide excellent staves for bows. I have a customer that cuts hedge as a side job and turns it into firewood - same thing - lots of long straight stuff before it gets cut up. Lots of farmers/ranchers brag that they won't use anything less than a 14" timber for corner posts on fencing - thats a big heavy piece. Its kind of interesting - they go through and cut a windbreak down close to the ground and within a couple of years, you will have saplings 3-4' high growing out of the stumps. They can harvest again in 25-35 years, depending on high big they want the logs.
 
I'm using Osage poles to hold up my hop yard, the old timers say an Osage post will wear out two holes. . .
;)
 
Well I can honestly say I cant think of a better use for Osage. Can I come over and watch the hops grow? Do you need an IPA brewer?
 
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