Monday 25 July 2011

Splicing the Osage

I cut a splice on a scrap of 2x1 pine just to test the theory. The Osage however isn't straight! I layed it out slightly S shaped with a straight line (taut string) passing from tip to tip through the centre of the handle area. This meant the area for the splice didn't line up quite right.
I'd originally marked it up with the two ends of the billets butted up together, but once spliced they actually overlap, so having sawed one splice I readjusted my marking out on the other billet to get it all in line.
It was a bit nerve wracking sawing it, and you can see the splice needs some work with a fine rasp or file to make it fit snugly before glueing.
I'm not sure what glue to use, I don't have any of the generally accepted glues, but I suspect a good quality epoxy will do (after all it's holding my Asiatic Recurve together!)
If necessary I can take out some of the bend and twist on the tips later if necessary.
That's about it for today, although I may tidy it up to see if I can get a snug fit.
As it's the first time I've used Osage, I shall pretty much follow the 'recipe' in the Traditional Bowyers Bible vol 1.
I shall put my own twist on it by putting a bit of back set on the limbs when I glue it up.

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