Bois De Arc Osage Orange

R

Richard Grantham

New member
17shooter has kindly offered to cut some wood for call makers, here is 3 Osage calls I turned a year or two ago. If not sealed properly Osage will turn a bland brown, otherwise its a bright yellow . This stuff makes great long bow, thats where the french name came from. I got my wood from a guy that sells bow staves, swapped call for wood. First call is exact copy of Circe Trophy, other two are Circe mouthpiece and step drilled- but with little flare, only two I made and I use them as Jack and cottontail.
Richard Grantham
osage.jpg
 
Osage and red mulberry both have the same look and similar properties. They are beautiful woods when turned. They seem to have a glitter affect in the grain. I'm watching a pot call I turned a couple of months ago in mulberry to see if hte finish holds it to that color before I turn any more of it.The deer red color is nice but you loose the grain texture when it changes.

I also need to go to my dads and turn a sweetgum into lumber before the borers turn it into sawdust. Dad saved it for me because of a very unusual grain color in the log.Not the usual red color inside. I think some mineral may have gotten into the growing tree and caused it. Jimmie
 
Richard, I have turned a few wormy pieces in dogwood and spalted elm.I think they are a lot prettier woods when allowed to spalt as a standing dead. But I run the risk of borers here bigtime. There was a persimon in the creek I thought they would leave alone and it could spalt over the winter, wrong! I lost the root ball for certain as it was to well eaten to hold air pressure.I did get some cuts up the trunk that may be solid but I haven't opened them yet to see.

I sent GC a spalted elm with the varmint bites in it. They show as full of dust. Call sounded great when I shipped it , no doubt GC will ruin it /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif They show as holes or dusty streaks in the dogwood calls I have turned. One had a hole that went through into the air chamber and it was a surprise when the call blew back in my face /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

When you sand them they seem to loose more of the surface at the hole causing a slight dip in them you can feel but aren't what I would call ugly either.

As for getting the osage and mulberry to hold their colors I am trying submersing the whole call in a clear laquer finsh to completely seal them from the air and moisture. I get a thicker more even coat that way. So far I haven't lost any of that color tone and it's been two months now. I figure if it's going to turn it should do so by fall.I have a black locust predator that is treated the same way and it hasn't begun to turn either, it should get duller and grayer with time if it turns. Jimmie
 
I too use Deft wood finish, its laquer. I add one step, I heat wood slightly then immerse, I think that opens grain to allow better absorbion . I cut the Deft with about 30% thinner also to make it thinner.
Richard
 
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