Homestead mailing list

[Don Bowen KI6DIU <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

At 12/24/2007, you wrote:
> It was used in the olden days for fencing before barbed wire was
> invented. And by native americans to make the finest of bows. (See
> OHG files for how to make your own bows and arrows).

According to Labin and others, Osage Orange makes great bow material but no 
known bows in museums from the contact era were made of Osage Orange.

As for fence posts, they are the crookedest you will ever find.  a straight 
OO fence post is very hard to find so they are best for barbed wire 
fences.  Also you have to make sure they are well seasoned because a green 
OO fence post will sprout.

At one time many farms used a hedge row of OO to separate farms.  It made a 
impenetrable barrier.  One thing  have noticed on my recent trips to the 
midwest is that those hedge rows have all been bulldozed away.

> It is a hard wood and has a beautiful orange grain and is as hard to
> drive a nail into when dry as oak. Great for buildings for bugs leave
> that wood alone

Not all that great for building because it is so crooked.  My uncle had a 
single 8 foot long board in his house and it was only 4 inches wide.  It 
was the only usable board he could get.  He ran a sawmill and it took him a 
lot of searching to get what he wanted.  His living room wall has wood from 
every tree species in NE Missouri.



Don Bowen              Awl Knotted Up                       KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com