Bois d'arc stock?

No need or advantage to use it as a gunstock wood. Same with black locust which is nearly as heavy and very strong. Inletting would be tiring for either. Some folks like doing something different. I tried that once, making a gunstock from hickory. Dumb idea.

LME said:

The bows I made out of Osage Orange were some of the best self bows a person could want! It is a hard wood with no character but it excells as a bow wood. As far as it being the best wood for a bow, I can;t tell. I have not used every wood there is in my bow making. The only wood that I think comes close to the quality of O. Orange is Ipe .

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I’ve tillered a few yew bows. Amazing stuff if you can find the good stuff. Other than that, for an American flatbow with a rounded belly Osage is tough to beat

Always heard Bois D'Arc and Yew are the best bow woods. I made a few Hickory longbows since there are so many Hickorys on my property. I was practicing before getting a quality stave and I hope to try Bois D'Arc someday. Bet it would make a heck of a Ball End Indian War Club if you had the right shape piece of wood.

If my fence posts are any indication, at least it'd never rot. Best use I've found is in the woodstove.

rich pierce said:

No need or advantage to use it as a gunstock wood. Same with black locust which is nearly as heavy and very strong. Inletting would be tiring for either. Some folks like doing something different. I tried that once, making a gunstock from hickory. Dumb idea.

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I have used locust for outdoor projects very successfully. Our raised garden beds are locust and, after fifteen year5s, show no signs of deterioration or rot.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/epS2vP2qPk9BaLK7
Not a ml but I restocked my 25-06 in a slab of pecan and I read where people said it would be too heavy, warp, hard to work with blah blah blah well I did anyway and am pretty happy with result

As you know it is heavy. That IMHO makes it unsuitable for a rifle stock. I have worked a lot of OO. It can be worked when seasoned. In fact, working it while still green means it will split later.

A builder built my son a percussion full stock rifle out of bois d'arc about 30 years ago. The blank came from a big tree that ended up in a creek for a long time. The log was recovered and stock blanks were cut out. I dont know how many years all this took but the rifle turned out beautiful. The builder just said that was the last time he was going to use that kind of wood! The rifle had a .43 cal. Judge Resley barrel that shot round balls really good. My son still has it and with no problems of any kind.

I would like a quarter sawn Sycamore stock. Flat sawn is boring but but quarter sawn can be gorgeous. When maple sugar was an important commodity butcher blocks were often Sycamore, so it should hold up well to use.

Osage can be very curly, I have seen very little of the curly stuff, I have seen bows that had tight curl like this from one end to the other. The extra groove is for a bow stringer.

Not Osage orange on a ml but I stocked my 25-06 in pecan and had several on other forums tell me why it wouldn't work . I did it anyway and am very satisfied with results. I'd say try it if you can find a piece big enough. I wouldn't worry about weight unless you plan on being a longhunter and will be gone into the wilderness for 6 months.

SOLANCO said:

Mine is Irish black thorn with a ball handle and the stubby bases of many thorns.

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One of my other hobbies is making stick dulcimers. Bodark (Osage Orange) is my preferred wood for the fretboard as I build them fretless and that rock hard stuff is excellent for sliding up and down the neck.

Black locusts make fantastic firewood from the 4 trees I had removed from my old farmhouse 35 years ago. For 5 grand it cost to have them craned cut away. Butts were over 4-foot diameter at least 95 ft tall as the crane was 100 ft and barley made it to the top.

I had the brush chipped and hauled to the end of my field to dump. I and my nephews cut the rest up. My sister burned the wood in her furnace for two years + it burned long and hot. They saved it for cold weather not spring or fall.

What would be the minimum diameter of a trunk or limb to cut for a half-stock? Ideal thickness (green) for a blank? Time of year?

Right now (late July) mine are really wet inside (did some trimming yesterday). Mostly curious about this as two chains now need sharpening.

sheriff john said:

What would be the minimum diameter of a trunk or limb to cut for a half-stock? Ideal thickness (green) for a blank? Time of year?

Right now (late July) mine are really wet inside (did some trimming yesterday). Mostly curious about this as two chains now need sharpening.

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Yep,

Osage tends to do that.

Dusty_Traveler said:

Has anyone ever seen a gunstock made of bois d'arc, or osage orange? I grew up maintaining a couple miles of bodark post fence, so I do realize how tough and heavy this wood is, but I sure do think it could make a neat looking stock

I am no carpenter!!


Would a wood that dense have much shrinkage once its cured?

I'm guessing you would have to work it green or risk ruining your tools? I've seen cured limbs make a chainsaw bar look like a frizzen.

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I think it would be a terrible choice of wood for a gun stock.
I grew up working with Hedge / Osage orange fence posts.
I have seen posts as small as 3 and 4 inches in diameter that been in fencerows for at least 40 years that were still green inside when we would cut the top off with a chainsaw because of longitudinal cracks as the outer surface cured out and dried.
It is known to warp and crack badly as it dries out.
Apparently bow makers have figured out a way to deal with the problems. At least with the thinner pieces they use.

sheriff john said:

What would be the minimum diameter of a trunk or limb to cut for a half-stock? Ideal thickness (green) for a blank? Time of year?

Right now (late July) mine are really wet inside (did some trimming yesterday). Mostly curious about this as two chains now need sharpening.

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With most trees you want to cut them when the sap is down (fall and winter) if you are going to make something with the wood.
With woods like Osage Orange/Hedge that has some unique properties, who knows?
I don’t.

I have cut a lot of osage trees for bows, between 50 and 100, osage won't check if you handle it properly, the sapwood has to come off if the bark does as it dries quicker than heartwood and is responsible for the checking. The ends must be well sealed also.

Warping can be a problem if you cut a tree that is leaning and prestressed. Dimensional lumber is more stable than split out staves. I have a friend who cuts osage into boards for later making laminations for his fiberglass laminated bows, he seldom has warping problems.

Finding a tree that is clear wood through and through without wind shakes in the core could be a problem, most of what I cut had wind shakes.

These are wind shakes; they emanate from the core like spider webs;



This log would make good lumber, no wind shakes.



I got almost all my osage from recovering trees on property that were being removed for land development, I would ask if I could salvage the tree and was never told no, a bulldozer had just pushed this one down.

I took it home with me.

Eric Krewson said:

I have cut a lot of osage trees for bows, between 50 and 100, osage won't check if you handle it properly, the sapwood has to come off if the bark does as it dries quicker than heartwood and is responsible for the checking. The ends must be well sealed also.

Warping can be a problem if you cut a tree that is leaning and prestressed. Dimensional lumber is more stable than split out staves. I have a friend who cuts osage into boards for later making laminations for his fiberglass laminated bows, he seldom has warping problems.

Finding a tree that is clear wood through and through without wind shakes in the core could be a problem, most of what I cut had wind shakes.

These are wind shakes; they emanate from the core like spider webs;

View attachment 152602

This log would make good lumber, no wind shakes.

View attachment 152603

I got almost all my osage from recovering trees on property that were being removed for land development, I would ask if I could salvage the tree and was never told no, a bulldozer had just pushed this one down.
View attachment 152604
I took it home with me.

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Looking at the stave with the end view... Man! THAT is some S-L-O-W GROWING WOOD! I'd have a hard time picking out which ring to follow!

Grows slow if you wanted to grow it. Otherwise, it quickly makes a really thick "hedge" with thorns. Squirrels like the large "fruit". Only honey locust trees give me more pain to cut. Great for wildlife brush piles. Stories the fruit will kill cockroaches are false, but you can smash bugs with them.