Author Topic: long term seasoning(yew) (Read 5850 times)

Blacktail · « **on:** April 20, 2011, 02:40:17 am »

o.k. i have been reading the best book ever..from the den of the oldbowhunter...NOW,i read this in Chet's book and have read and herd it from others..that people have let there stave's sit for 3-5-10 years and it makes the stave's even better...i don't know if this also applys to Osage but why is this or what happens this so specail...just curios on what you think...and does any of the guys back east that use Osage do this...john

Pappy · « **Reply #1 on:** April 20, 2011, 08:30:36 am »

Get out the Pop corn.

I let mine season as long as possible,I know folk argue about it but I have a lot better luck and not near as many suprises from seasoned wood. That being said I have built some good bow from fast dried wood and will use it if I have to,I just don't have to very
often.As far as I am concerned on Osage the older the better if it has been kept in a dry place.

Pappy

DarkSoul · « **Reply #2 on:** April 20, 2011, 09:05:58 am »

I personally think this issue has been discussed in great detail in:
THIS THREAD.

I would advice to stick to that one topic, so all information concerning that topic is collected instead of scattered around in several smaller topics.

Pappy · « **Reply #3 on:** April 20, 2011, 09:50:45 am »

Thanks for you advice.

Pappy

Del the cat · « **Reply #4 on:** April 20, 2011, 11:24:58 am »

If you leave it as a log it will doubtless need years. If you quarter it and then start working it down and de-bark it after 9 months then I reckon a year over all is fine.
The thicker it is the longer it takes... simple.
I think some people just like to be able to say "It's been seasoned for 5 years" because it sounds cool.
If you've got plenty of wood it's easy to leave it that long...why, I've got chores around the house I've left that long

no problem.
Del

Gordon · « **Reply #5 on:** April 20, 2011, 11:40:56 am »

You only need to "season" wood as long as it takes to dry. If you split out yew staves and store in a dry place a year should do it.

Parnell · « **Reply #6 on:** April 20, 2011, 11:51:05 am »

Not to hijack or complicate the issue, but I'm wondering, many native cultures "smoked" the bow to "give back it's spirit". Scientifically I suppose it activates the resins and hardens the bow along the lines of heat treating, maybe more uniformly? Could it be possible that the longer the seasoning the more this "hardening" takes place. Never worked yew, anyone know if the smoking process was common with tribes that used the wood?

loefflerchuck · « **Reply #7 on:** April 20, 2011, 12:11:52 pm »

Here in Utah where it is very dry, you need to be careful on long seasoning. I broke many bows, specially in the winter time when the wood got too dry. I now bring the staves inside when they are dry enough and put them in a room with a humidifier at 50% humidity. Took me a while to figure this one out.

juniper junkie · « **Reply #8 on:** April 20, 2011, 01:03:22 pm »

john, I feel that if the yew gets too dry it becomes brittle. the climate here in central oregon is very dry compare to the valley or other areas with higher humidity. I got some staves from a guy that were 30+ years old, he had moved to prineville from albany and didnt make bows anymore. these were fantastic staves and billets. however, every attempt to build a bow failed, even when sinew or rawhide backed. the wood was just too brittle. I would tend to agree with gordon. I was helping a friend of mine on a yew bow from billets he got that were over 40 years old, not a knot in them. it failed on the tiller tree, not just failed but exploded. I am not sure if you can re-hydrate the wood or not, maybe others know more about this.

Pat B · « **Reply #9 on:** April 20, 2011, 02:15:28 pm »

I prefer wood that is well seasoned. I have made good bows from quick dried wood that did fine but on a few others I had problems that I attribute to them being not seasoned long enough. I'm fortunate enough to have lots of bow wood so it becomes seasoned just because I can't build bows all that fast.

I do think well seasoned wood is more stable to work with and especially woods like osage, mulberry, locust, etc. Whitewoods seem to handle quick drying better that the above mentioned woods.

snag · « **Reply #10 on:** April 20, 2011, 03:09:17 pm »

I agree John. The book is an awesome read. The man who helped write it is a friend. Back to the question. I wonder if they preferred to season yew wood longer back then because they didn't store it in dry heated garages? Just a thought.

Blacktail · « **Reply #11 on:** April 20, 2011, 03:26:22 pm »

well,i should have gotten popcorn..

...i was just curios on why...it just seems to me that if you can get a stave cut out that 1yr would be good...keep it coming i like this...john

Gordon · « **Reply #12 on:** April 20, 2011, 06:20:45 pm »

John, there is nothing magical about seasoning wood. Dry wood is dry wood whether it took 6 months or 6 years to get to that point.

billy bowmaker · « **Reply #13 on:** April 20, 2011, 07:10:32 pm »

you tell em Gordon!

i cut some black locust 2 months ago. The thinnest split (1.5" from back of bark to belly) was good to go 3 weeks ago, perfectly dry. A couple larger staves were not quite dry, and when i rasped them down to shape they gave off a greenish smell. Now they have been reduced, they are nice and dry and also good to go.

Seasoning is about moisture content, as least as far as bowmaking is concerned.

Pappy · « **Reply #14 on:** April 21, 2011, 08:06:01 am »

Thats what I love about this stuff,everyone has there opinion.

There is probably no real
right answer,Dry wood will make a bow and seasoned wood will make a bow just depends
on what you like,and I like seasoned wood,no nothing magical about it,I just like it better.

Pappy

Primitive Archer