OSAGE ORANGE LEAF SPRING
When we started the car, using wood for the suspension was usually talked about with much sarcasm. The more we talked about it, however, the more we began to think it was doable. We decided a leaf spring was nothing more than a bigger, stiffer version of a longbow, so we researched bow making and came upon a wood called osage orange. The strongest wood found in North America, it has properties that make it excellent for use in longbows. Typically considered a nuisance tree, osage orange is not
When we started the car, using wood for the suspension was usually talked about with much sarcasm. The more we talked about it, however, the more we began to think it was doable. We decided a leaf spring was nothing more than a bigger, stiffer version of a longbow, so we researched bow making and came upon a wood called osage orange. The strongest wood found in North America, it has properties that make it excellent for use in longbows. Typically considered a nuisance tree, osage orange is not
especially easy to get a hold of. We
had to drive to Kentucky to get ours,
but it was well worth it. We had several logs rotary cut into veneer because the tree's twisty, knotty nature made it difficult to get good strength through an entire board. Our laminations of this wood have left little doubt in our mind that our experiment will prove successful.
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