CAS -- ever make any progress on this project?
Some. I didn't go to the post yard in Kansas. I paid way to much for a kiln-dried Osage stave from an outfit that sells them to bow makers for $200. They sold me a less than perfect stave for $75 plus shipping to Tulsa. It's plenty good for a good stick.
I've been sidetracked on several projects. One, making a cane for the husband of a co-worker who is going to have first one foot and then the other operated on. Another, for a 1st ANGLICO Marine who wants a hiking stick, and who has had several rounds of radiation and chemo for pancreatic cancer. I'm not good enough, and I'm not interested in selling sticks, but this Marine kept offering to buy one. Then I found out from a Marine who served with him about the cancer, and so I feel I must complete this on an oak stick I found with some vine things on it.
So, the Bois D'Arc / Osage Orange stave..............
I've taken a draw knife to it some. The wood is still reddish brown and orange. It has not yet grayed and hardened like a rock. The grain is very coarse, and so I can remove a lot quickly, however I will have to be very cautious once the diameter gets down. The knots split out badly. The stave is probably a quarter of a post that was split, either before or after the kiln drying. And so it has three angular edges separating two flat sides and one curved side (the exterior). I think I can get back onto this in a few weeks, although I have some travel planned soon.
I'm not planning to be aggressive on this once the size is close to what I want. Probably the orbital sander with 40 grit pads will have to take it down to near final dimensions. I'm just very surprised at how different the appearance is, in terms of color and grain, as compared to the old Bois D'Arc posts that we used to use for building fence.