Osage as stock wood???

[Innawoodsman]

I have a piece of osage about 5 feet long , 3 1/2 inches thick , and almost 2 feet wide . Its been sitting in my workshop for about a year. Have any of you ever used osage as stock material ? Any pictures?

 

I've never seen one done with Osage, great for Bows though. Most problems would be weight of the stock. dulling of tools, from Silica content. Grain run out. Your blank being 3 1/2" needs to dry another two and a half years on average for the thickness. General rule of thumb for drying is one year for each inch of thickness. When it's correctly dry, you may need metal cutting/shapeing tools to work it. Other than that go for it.

Bill

 

[Metalshaper]

saw an old double 12 gauge percussion that was stocked in Osage Orange. Actually looked real pretty :wink: and whomever stocked it, did a great job with the crazy grain patterns flowing through the wood. The gun builder that had it was doing some lock repairs at the time.

The one feature that stands out in my mind was the weight of the shotgun. Not horrible, but noticeably heavier than an equivalent walnut stocked shotgun, we also had on hand!

Respect Always
Metalshaper/Jonathan

Should have been good at soaking up the recoil of Heavy loads :hmm:

 

[Billnpatti]

I don't think I would use Osage Orange (Bodark, Hedge Apple, etc.)for making a gun stock. Osage Orange trees most frequently grow as a leaning, twisted and/or distorted tree. This causes the wood to have a lot of internal stresses resulting in a wood that warps as the moisture or humidity changes. This warping, no matter how slight, causes changing pressures on the barrrel. This causes the barrel to shoot to different POIs.

I have made things from Osage Orange and it is not a pretty wood. It is an ugly yellow when freshly cut but changes to an ugly brown when it oxidizes. Not pretty gunstock wood. Then there is the problem of the wood and sawdust staining everything an ugly yellow. The sawdust gets everywhere and everything turns yellow. Been there, done that. Osage Orange is also very hard on tools and will dull your blades.

Having said that, if you still want to build a stock from it, I'd store it in my attic for two or three years to dry. In most climates, you will get several months of a pretty hot attic and it is a good natural kiln. Good luck.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have cut well over 25 osage trees, made mostly bows out of it, more myths about this wood than any other wood out there. All the above stated stuff about it is simply not true.

Osage varies a good bit from tree to tree. Some may be as light as pine, other brittle and splintery, some dark and oily and the best is bright yellow and buttery.

I have cut osage as curly as the best maple but it is pretty rare.

Above all, osage DOES NOT warp after it cures and can be bent easily with heat.

As for the color change to ugly brown? You have to be kidding. Yellow at first, then light brown, then chestnut brown, then mahogany and finally a deep dark burgundy, almost black.

I love the stuff, and no, it doesn't dull your tools, cuts much easier with tools than hickory. If you see sparks coming off your chainsaw when you cut it green, the sparks are from some grit you hit in the bark, not from the wood.

Green osage cuts like butter, seasoned osage is pretty hard but nothing like it's mythical reputation.

Almost every osage tree I cut was straight. You might have to walk by 50 trees to find one worth cutting. You pick a lousy tree to cut then you might get lousy wood. There is a lot of work start to finish in harvesting a good piece of osage, I don't waste my time on a run of the mill tree.

 

[Eric Krewson]

Straight, stable osage is out there. Here is one mornings haul for me and my friend George.It was 110 degrees that day. This is all from one tree.

 

[chawbeef]

Personally, I like Osage Orange. It will polish up real nice, some with a distinct "Tiger Eye" look to it. May be a tad heavier than most other wood. My 2 cents.............Boog

 

[Eric Krewson]

Unlike what was stated above, osage is such a good wood for bows because it is unaffected by changes in temperature or humidity. From the tropics to the Arctic a bow made from osage will not gain or loose poundage and maintain consistent performance.

One more picture, the six foot long, butt end of the osage tree George cut.

Innawoodsman,the quickest way to ruin your slab of wood is to put it in an attic like was suggested. In a short period of time you will have cracks all over your slab you could drop a dime in. With a piece like you have, a few years in your shop is the best way to cure it, rushing the process will come out badly.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I gotta tell ya, those are the biggest osage logs I've seen' although I did see a tree or two that came close this fall deer hunting. Our stuff in Iowa is much smaller. How old is a log of that size?

 

[Keb]

I use it for tent poles. Works great.

 

[buford87]

I have used osage orange as a knife handle on a couple of knives and I must say it is noticeably heavier than walnut, however I think it looks very good........................watch yer top knot...........

 

[rich pierce]

Would be good for a chunk gun as would black locust. Mostly plain but stable and heavy.

 

[dyemaker]

Like I had stated before, I think the yellow/orange would look nice along with brass.

 

[Eric Krewson]

The tree is between 65 and 70 years old but spent its life alongside a cultivated field, I am sure it got plenty of fertilizer.

I see 4ft and even some 5ft diameter trees fairly often but I pass on them, the big trees seldom have good bow wood in them plus I am too much of a wimp (or have better sense) to tackle such a tree.

The tree in the picture didn't have good bow wood in it, much too light, would have made good stock blanks. It took George a month to split out the staves in 100 degree heat, most ended up in his burn pile.

 

[rich pierce]

Like I had stated before, I think the yellow/orange would look nice along with brass.

Things made of osage don't stay yellow for long.

 

[ron ward]

i have seen pics of modern high power rifles stocked in osage. as i've said before... there probably isn't a wood in exhistance that hasn't been used to stock a rifle at some time or another.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Lotsa opinions and info posted so far. I work quite a bit of OO for small projects. Haven't been lucky enough yet to get a good long piece. Stored inside it will dry fine in less than the inch a year myth. I seal the ends of my fresh wood and store inside.
OO will dull yer tools. I think it is pretty when yellow and pretty when it turns dark, albiet not fancy.
It would not be my choice for a gun stock, simply too heavy.

 

[Longsmoke]

Best fire wood in the world. If you burn it in a stove. My house is wood heated with a forced air furnace. I cut and split 3 or 4 truck loads a year. It’s hard to find good clean straight logs.

Last week I spit a base that had the craziest grain I had ever seen in any wood. For about 3’ it had a zig zag, 2 ½” /\/\/\/\ very sharp on the points. Very hard and tight. 24 hours after being split it started coming apart.

It reminded me of a story I read about a lock on a gun that had the main spring replaced wood. This stump had 100s springs in it.

I’ll look to see if there is any more in the pile. If there is I’ll take a picture.

I think I would avoid it for stock wood although the right piece might work for a small pistol.

Bruce

 

[Longsmoke]

One small one still there. If I have time today I'll run it through the saw so we can see what it looks like slabbed off.

 

[Billnpatti]

Our difference on Osage Orange is that you are talking about select trees (1 in 50 according to you) that have grown in your state of Alabama. I was talking about the "average" Osage Orange tree that grows in Indiana. Also, I was not advocating putting a piece of green Osage Orange in the attic. The writer had said that his piece of wood had air dried for some time. In that time, if checks were going to occur, they would have already shown up. Of course, any time you are going to dry a piece of wood, you must seal the ends with a sealer to prevent checking. As for thinking that Osage Orange has an ugly color range, that is just my opinion. If you like the colors it turns, fine with me but it just doesn't appeal to me. I guess it's like grits...I love 'em and some hate them. I guess you can tell that I am not a fan of Osage Orange. I've worked with it and do not like it. Of course, I have never made a bow from it since I am not a boyer. I understand it is an excellent bow wood. I have a friend who has made many bows from it but he is very selective about which tree he cuts. I have worked with some of his reject wood. Maybe that is one of the reasons why I don't care for it......other than the fact that it is ugly and the saw dust stains everything yellow. But, like the guy said when he kissed the pig..."Everyone to his own taste.". :haha: