will it crack if trimed to dry?

[petew]

I am getting to be impatient, and want to have some HHB ready for working this winter. My bigest fear is having the staves crack and become firewood by not drying them properly. Bow wood is very hard to obtain in Alberta, and I hate the thought of ruining good staves , but I also want to be crafting bows when hunting season is over in December..
 If I rough out the shapes on the band saw and make sure the ends and back are very well sealed will I be asking for the belly side to open up some ugly cracks?  How about just reducing the thickness of the limbs to 3/4" and the handle to about 2", leaving the sides alone? This would leave more options for the type of bow I can make later on.  If I do rough out the staves should I seal the roughed out blanks completely or just the ends and back?
 I will be dryinng them in the garage, it gets hot by day and cool by night there, or should I dry them in the basement where it is always cool and dry ?
 The staves were just cut in May and are very wet still.
 I am verturing into new waters for me and don't want to have my impatience ruin things.

 Pete
 

[Del the cat]

The less wood there is and the less curvature in the end grain the less likely it is to crack.
When a log is just halved and the end grain is a semicircle the rings try to straighten out and you get splits down what was the middle of the log.
Removing wood removes some of the tension.
Even if you do get some splits, they will be much shallower if there is less wood.
Seal the ends of course.
Good luck
Del

[Pat B]

By reducing your staves to near bow dimensions they are less likely to check(drying cracks) as they are drying. If you seal the ends and the back you should have no cracking problems at all. I like to use shellac to seal bow backs(and ends) because it is easily removed later when you are ready to work on them. Also, less twisting will occur if your staves are reduced evenly so they dry evenly.

[petew]

Thanks guys. I just ran them thru the saw to a thickness of about an inch,and left them full width.
 That wet wood realy made the motor work.
 Pete

[Barrage]

Where did you run across HHB in AB?  I didn't know it was planted around here anywhere.

[petew]

I brought it back from my trip to New Brunswick this spring. Not a chance of finding any good bow woods in Alberta other than possibly Saskatoon or Choke Cherry.

 Pete

[shamus]

I'd clamp those blanks to a 4X6 to prevent twisting, They may not twist if left alone, but why take the chance?

[Barrage]

I brought it back from my trip to New Brunswick this spring. Not a chance of finding any good bow woods in Alberta other than possibly Saskatoon or Choke Cherry.

There's elm planted in most towns or cities though.  The great thing about Canadian winters is slippery roads and bad drivers...found a great piece of elm this spring because of a spring storm.