LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Osage Orange glue?

4.6K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  Neko2  
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I just recently acquired a large quantity of Osage Orange. It is very hard, very dense and very oily! Has anyone found a glue that will work on this type of wood? If so what process do you use to clean the oil off before gluing? Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I use tight bond 3 on Osage in cutting boards all the time. That said, the Osage that I have has been curing for a LONG time and is exceptionally dry.
 
#4 ·
I use tight bond 3 on Osage in cutting boards all the time. That said, the Osage that I have has been curing for a LONG time and is exceptionally dry.

- UncannyValleyWoods

How long is a long time?
Mine has been sitting for quite a spell too!

- FlyinWillys
Oh those are real definite times, "a long time", "quite a spell too"
It is an oily wood, wipe with Acetone or Naphtha on the gluing surface to get rid of natural oils on the surface, then TiteBond 2 or 3.
 
#5 ·
"a long time" is equivalent to an unknown quantity of years.

Three years ago I met a guy who had several hundred board feet of solid 4/4 osage, milled 2.5 inches wide and eight feet long. Never seen anything quite like it before. The guy I purchased from said that it had been milled for flooring. He purchased a larger batch and used it throughout his home.

I bought the stuff for 3$ a stick!

I imagine that the wood had been air dried many years before it was finally milled. To be used as flooring, it had to have been stabilized slowly (I assume)...

Since I got a hold of the stack, I've worked it down little by little, but like I said, I've had it laying around for three years.

If I were to put a number on it…I'd wager that they were originally milled in 2006 and could have been cut nearly any time before that.

Specific enough? ;-)
 
#6 ·
My stack is kind of the same thing! I bought a large stack of Walnut from a guy whose dad had died and he was clearing out his shop. Just before i arrived to pick it up, he called and said he had found another stack and wanted to know if I wanted it for the same price. Well long story short, I got all he had for 100 bucks and it filled the bed of my pick-up. I got it home and all of the extra he added turned out to be Osage. As all of it was all rough cut and aged, all the out side was dark and dirty so I couldn't tell the difference. It wasn't till I started to machine some "walnut" that I found the difference. No one here had ever seen it so it took some research to even find out what it was. It had been at the bottom of this guys stash for years but no one seems to know how long. Or for that matter how it ended up in this area of Oregon! Thanks for your information, I appreciate it!
 
#7 ·
Anyone willing to sell a small piece of one of those Osage boards?
I've been looking for a bit to try and replace the scales on a knife I have from the 60's where the plastic cracked.
I can get it other places but like to shop "in the community" as it were.

Also I know that knife makers use Osage often and I think they use 2 part epoxy although I've seen quite a few opinions back and forth.
 
#8 ·
Anyone willing to sell a small piece of one of those Osage boards?
I ve been looking for a bit to try and replace the scales on a knife I have from the 60 s where the plastic cracked.
I can get it other places but like to shop "in the community" as it were.

Also I know that knife makers use Osage often and I think they use 2 part epoxy although I ve seen quite a few opinions back and forth.

- Neko2

I'd give you enough for a knife handle if you would pay for shipping!