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 :-)

@clayhayeshunter

6 жыл бұрын

You’re most welcome.

Very well demonstrated and shown on how to split yellow wood. Good information for sure

Splitting staves has something satisfying to it. Especially if you imagine which beautiful weapons they will become. Best wishes

Thank you.

Beautiful wood, wish it grew where I live.

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.

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.

Dude is rockin Moc's, hell ya buddy! 👍

Thanks for the education 🙏🙏 Also, what did you seal the ends with and for how long?

Thanks for the content Clay. Does the log need to be split this way for grain purposes? Could a sawmill be used?

Cuantos meses de secado natural debe tener la madera

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.

@timhulse6864

3 жыл бұрын

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.

Can it be fresh cut. No drying b4 staving?

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.

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

@warofwrath

5 ай бұрын

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.

What do you recommend for someone who doesn’t have access to trees to cut down? Buy individual staves?

@clayhayeshunter

6 жыл бұрын

Get a maple board from Home Depot

can you use a pneumatic log spliter? if you are not trying to do this in the purest old ways of making a bow?

@clayhayeshunter

5 жыл бұрын

Sure, you’d just need one large enough to cradle a 6” log.

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?

@mthompson

6 жыл бұрын

got some answers there at the end of the video....

@clayhayeshunter

6 жыл бұрын

For bugs, spray the bark with diesel right after cutting. You have to do it before the horn wasps lay eggs in the bark.

@frankpace6767

6 жыл бұрын

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.

Do you sell the bows you build? I would like to spend some time shooting a self bow before I attempt to build one.

@clayhayeshunter

6 жыл бұрын

I don’t. You should check with some of the guys listed in the back of my book.

What is the smallest diameter of log you would use to quarter it into 4 staves?

@clayhayeshunter

2 жыл бұрын

Maybe 7 inches or so.

How long, roughly, do you normally have to leave a stave to dry before making it into a bow?

@clayhayeshunter

6 жыл бұрын

A year minimum unless you put it in a hot box.

@izzyplusplusplus1004

6 жыл бұрын

Clay Hayes How long in a hot spot?

@chuckyoder2519

5 жыл бұрын

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.

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

So what is the reason for not just ripping them in half with a saw?

@clayhayeshunter

2 жыл бұрын

A saw doesn’t follow the grain.

@colemartin9469

2 жыл бұрын

@@clayhayeshunter Ok that is kind of what I thought, just wanted to confirm.

Why split verses saw?

@clayhayeshunter

Жыл бұрын

Splitting follows the grain.

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.

@clayhayeshunter

5 жыл бұрын

Good luck on yours as well!

@allaboutthebenjamins2781

5 жыл бұрын

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.