The difference between drying wood and seasoning it.

[Buckeye Guy]

Pat you ,Pappy and I and a few others have been preaching this for a long spell now!
Some of these youngens are starting to see what we have been talking about !
Woods with more oily resins take longer to season then woods that are less so !
Of course this is relative to each piece of wood and not hard numbers !
Pearly set aside one of your yellow wood bows for 20 yrs then get it out and tell me it is the same as when you set it aside ! Of course I may not be here for you to talk to by then but I will still be talking to you and so will the wood !
Take care kids and listen to your elders !
Guy

[akswift]

Is the desirable seasoning effect more noticeable in darker (with more resins) woods?

CAUTION: the following paragraph contains one big wild ass guess.
Perhaps there is a moisture level (or some other condition) that is optimal for the resins to saponify? I have observed that you can force dry (evaporate volatiles) in resins used in finishes, but "dry" is not always the same as  properly cured.  Perhaps we can learn how to season staves more effectively by controlling conditions for ideal seasoning. Once we bring moisture levels down enough to prevent deterioration, perhaps there is an ideal R.H. or temperature to hold at for some time before a final reduction to the finished M.C.? Maybe some other physical condition we can control will help the resins reach the desired state sooner?

As Pat observed, scientific proof is scarce about seasoning or quantifying its affects, however  as I consider experience to be the best teacher, I would like to ask if any body has any "do's" or "don'ts" about the methods they use to season, that they would like to share?

[sleek]

So a massive tree trunk is under lots of stress, and it take a while to unravel it self. What about saplings and smaller branches? I dont imagine they are under the same stresses larger trees are under, so is seasoning these needed? 

[Gordon]

Dry is dry. I see no particular advantage in letting wood "season" longer than it needs to. As for resins, they would only exist in the outermost layer of the wood which is generally scrapped off when making a bow. The inner wood only stores water.

[Bryce]

I was reading a book on Chester Stevenson, he said that when seasoning yew, that the stave should e turned every six months for 6 years. And the moisture entering and exiting the wood would 'temper' the stave.


But as far as Bryce is concerned. Dry is dry.

[Pappy]

To each their own,it's like arguing over instinctive shooting or which wood is best,
 or what set verses string follow is,heating wood or not heating wood, no point you ant going to change anyones mind ,as for me I will take seasoned wood over just dry wood every time if I have a choice.
   Pappy

[akswift]

Pappy-
What would you want to see or know, to make that choice?
Bob

[Pappy]

Age. don't want anything less that 3 years and prefer 10 or more, if it has been cared for properly. 
   Pappy

[BowEd]

In my limited experience of making bows to some of you guys.Maybe 50 or so made for me.I really think there is something to wood seasoning well before it is made into a bow.Properly cared for of course.Out of the elements inside off the ground.Hedge people know of friends making bows from fence posts that are over 30 years old.

[lostarrow]

When wood is dried it will still absorb moisture during humid periods and then release it again during dry seasons. This effect diminishes every subsequent time. A seasoned stave will not regain the moisture that a freshly dried stave will and therefore is "springier". The heat treating or tempering has the same effect.

[toomanyknots]

I know luthiers generally feel there is a difference in seasoned wood verses just dry wood. I hear alot of guitar players claim that one of the reasons a guitar will play better overtime is due to the resins crystallizing. I think a big name company tried to figure this out one time, why this was, and came to the conclusion that on the cellular level, little pockets of moisture held by the plant cells broke overtime, and released these little things which supposedly rattled or somehow made the guitar more resonant. Something like that. I can't reference any of that though. 

[PatM]

Gordon,  Really? With woods with heartwood in particular the colour is resin.
Wood becomes denser as it seasons because it shrinks through moisture cycling. That's why tool handles become smaller over time, even if they were "dry" when originally fit.
 A person only needs to try to whittle a piece of firewood stored in a barn for a few years and then a HD board to demonstrate the difference between dry and seasoned wood.

[Pat B]

Like Pappy said it is the time envolved that seasons wood. If you keep your wood in a dry area, over time it will season. I have even cut dead standing osage that has been dead so long the sapwood had totally decayed and fallen off. The heartwood was way harder and more brittle than fresh cut or even year old dry osage. The coloration alone showed a long seasoning time.
 Everyone has their own ideas about this and what everyone else says their belief is is what they go with. For me, I will take one well seasoned stave over 10 fresh cut ones.

[Buckeye Guy]

For you yellow is king folks
If its still yellow when you cut into it ,it is not seasoned !
Completely seasoned Osage is brown all the way through !!!
Let's see what kind of arguments that statement brings !
Guy

[Pat B]

I'd love to try some brown through and through osage, Guy. You got any to spare?