Is this Osage

[JoeLethbridge]

This afternoon I found several old wooden stakes underneath the old workbench; presumably, Dad put them there a long time ago and has since forgotten. I use them for elevating the bow on the workbench while cutting along splice joints on bow billets.

I scraped some of the dirty white paint from the end of a stake out of curiosity, and instead of seeing Spotted Gum or Ironbark, I saw found a dense, yellowy-orange wood that might have resembled Osage Orange.

According to my dad, the stakes used to be part of a wooden fence that stood at the back of our old house (an old cane-cutter cottage), which they bought 20 years ago.

I'm aware that Osage is considered a pest down south, but haven't come across any records of it growing this far north.

The four stakes are each 2" across, 1" deep and 19" long, including the sharpened end. They are, as to be expected, riddled with holes and checks, but there is no evidence of rot or bug damage.

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Will post more photos, internet is currently playing up.

[Gringa Bows]

the light part looks a bit like beefwood

[JoeLethbridge]

Yeah Rod, I've just been over to Robs (Flatliner), and he reckons it might be Osage, but is more likely yellow walnut or cheesewood. Dad reckons cheesewood is another name for beefwood?
Having a bit of grief over copying and posting photos from my phone at the moment, but will keep trying.

[JoeLethbridge]

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[bigbob]

first second and fourth shots do look like aged osage.

[gazza]

Looks a lot like crows ash a native timber cseers Gazza.

[JoeLethbridge]

Thanks Gazza, I think you might be right. The timber certainly fits the description of Crows Ash (flindersia australis). It is a greasy timber, but unfortunately so is Osage (or so I have heard). The pictures of the seed pods I found on google images look similar to pods I find on a tree in my street - maybe I'm living right next to a crows ash. In my opinion, it is an attractive timber, regardless of the type, and considering it has survived more than 20 years as a fence post and then a stake, a durable one too. I showed it to rob Nicoll and he suggested either Cheesewood or Yellow Walnut.
Joe

[hunterguy1991]

Don't think its Osage mate... the growth rings aren't distinct enough... a blind fella could count the growth rings in an osage stave Could still be worth sticking some bamboo on as a back and bending it tho! Keep us posted on what you do with it.

[JoeLethbridge]

Don't think its Osage mate... the growth rings aren't distinct enough... a blind fella could count the growth rings in an osage stave

Not to mention a lucky man as well!

Could still be worth sticking some bamboo on as a back and bending it tho! Keep us posted on what you do with it.

. The timber is currently in the form of four 2" x 1" x 18" planks, so unless I rip them all in half and somehow splice them together...
Would it actually be feasible to splice several short pieces of timber to make a flatbow? Haha this is just a vague idea, but would like to know your opinions.
Joe

[hunterguy1991]

Bit short for any bow really... splicing them would give you about 32" of length which isn't really long enough for even a short bow (have to check with Cam on that tho, he makes em pretty short )

I don't know if splicing them all together would be the best idea, though with a bamboo back it might work. Just have to be careful not to go too heavy with it.

[JoeLethbridge]

I was thinking much the same thing.
If I saw three of them in half and leave the fourth for a handle, that gives me a suitable length if 4 inch splices are used. because the limb tapers, each splice would have to be a different width to increase the surface area. Eg. the splice for mid-limb would be cut narrower than a splice for the widest point of the limb.
Would certainly be great to pull off!
Joe.

[hunterguy1991]

Give it a crack and see what happens! And keep us posted!!

[JoeLethbridge]

Yeah I certainly would, just have to buy some techniglue and find some bamboo.
A mate of Dad's reckon it might be white stringbark?

[rodlonq]

Could be Cooktown Ironwood. Is very hard and heavy, ADD 1220 kg/m3 according to Bootle's book.

[Flatliner]

I've seen this timber in person. IMHO it's not any of the above, it is more yellow than it looks in the photos, not red enough for Cooktown ironwood, crows ash I'm not sure of but crows foot ash is another name for tulip oak and it's definitely not that, I think it could be yellow walnut.

Rob.

[Feral]

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For what its worth.
All the osage I have has very distinctive growth lines , regardless of the thickness and pin knots from the spikes. Very old osage will go purple. But osage was very popular for fence posts. There is still a lot of feral osage in northern NSW.