Drying Hop Hornbeam?

[petew]

The staves I have are very wet, and sealed on all surfaces. Should I remove the sealant from the inside? and just leave the backs and ends sealed up, or just leave they completely sealed for a year+ -
The bark is removed.
 Pete

[Pappy]

I would just seal the back and ends. A year is ok but I wouldn't wait that long,I would give it
a month or 2 and then work it down to closer to bow size and it will dry much quicker than a year.
   Pappy

[bcbull]

PETE  I REMOVE THE BARK SPLIT EM SEAL ENDS BACK WITH ANCHORSEAL   BUT LIKE PAPPY SAYS  WORK EM DOWN  IF YA WANT BROCK

[sailordad]

for HHB i leave the log whole for about 3 months
then split in half,leave sit another three months,then split each half into half
thne i let each 1/4( or stave )dry by itself for another 6 months
i only take the bark off when i am ready to work the stave
thats just how i do it
i aint never in that much of a hurry to start removing the bark and roughing them out right away
in the last 2 yrs or so my wood stash has grown,and my bow making has slowed since i got the knapping bug
so waiting aint that big of a deal for me

[Dean Marlow]

I have worked with Hornbeam and it is a tremendous bow wood. One of the best whitewoods out there. What ever you do either work them down or leave it as a stave to dry strap your good ones down. It really likes to twist and warp when drying. If they are fairly straight keep them that way as much as you can while drying.

[PeteC]

Pete,you don't have to wait that long with HHB.After cutting the tree,seal the ends,let it sit for a week or so,split into staves. Lay out your bows to near bow dimension,and clamp to a reflex form for a month.Take them off the forms,then put them in a warm dry place for a couple of weeks.Start weighing the staves,and continue to do so till they stop losing weight.Tiller and finish. God Bless

[sailordad]

in my experience with hhb if you push it to fast it will twist like a pretzel
ive had it twist even after its been clamped and dried to a form
jm2cw