lets try again

[Squirrelslayer]

ok after my christmas tree bow failed    im getting back up on my feet and build another bow. this time from maple. i got a maple branch and got it split in half. it does have 2-3 knots but nothing to bad. the 2 peices are around 35" long and im going to splice them them together. i started removing the bark and getting it down to one ring as i go, so that i can seal it up and let it dry. i have heard of the term speed drying and was wondering how this is done. here are some pics of it so far. im not sure how to do the splice but will worry about that when i have the profile drawn out but that will be much much later on. SS



as you can see i have got it down to one ring and left extra wood around the knot.




ok i finnished removing the bark from one of the billits and sealed the ends and ill continue with the other one tommorow. here are some pics. SS


here you can see all the bark has been removed 






and i was carfull removing bark aroud knots.


and this is the glue that will seal the ends

[ionicmuffin]

Im glad to see that your getting somewhere. Speed drying will dry out the wood faster, but i doubt that it will really be seasoned until 6-12 months from when it was cut. sometimes it could take longer. but i would imagine that 6 months would be sufficient.

[Zion]

Looks like what your calling wood is actually the inner bark Cambium. With maple you don't need to chase a ring anyway.Looks like nice billets. 

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

Squiggle,

Does your school teach woodworking?  If so the shop teacher will be happy to help you.  Just tell him you want to do a "W" splice and he will walk you through it when the time comes.  In the mean time, strip the rest of that bark off, seal up the ends with a few layers of latex paint, and set it in a corner to cure for a year

If your school doesn't have a shop program, you can use the next year to work on a couple board bows, buy a good hand saw and a couple clamps and the splice will be easy-peasy.

When I was your age I was playing around with rocket fuel.  This hobby is safer.

[Slackbunny]

You can speed up the drying by putting the stave in a drying box. A drying box is usually made from plywood or something similar. It has a heat source like light bulbs and a fan to blow air through it. This produces conditions that will dry the stave very quickly. But its not all roses and no thorns. A drying box increases the risk of cracking and warping both of which can turn your nice stave into firewood. I would recommend letting them dry naturally in a safe place out of the weather and away from the bugs. 

[Squirrelslayer]

Squiggle,

Does your school teach woodworking?  If so the shop teacher will be happy to help you.  Just tell him you want to do a "W" splice and he will walk you through it when the time comes.  In the mean time, strip the rest of that bark off, seal up the ends with a few layers of latex paint, and set it in a corner to cure for a year

If your school doesn't have a shop program, you can use the next year to work on a couple board bows, buy a good hand saw and a couple clamps and the splice will be easy-peasy.

When I was your age I was playing around with rocket fuel.  This hobby is safer.

yes my school does have a wood working shop. thats how i got the wood split, on the bandsaw. infact this was from a tree the school cut down a few weeks ago and then i asked if i could have it. once i remove the bark im going to seal it and tie it to something solid so it dosen't warp on me.

and really playing with rocket fuel guess it could be another way of firing arrows  SS

[Del the cat]

Keep the bow wide (2").
leave it full thickness at the grip to allow plenty of surface area for the glue line in the splice.
I did a couple of Maple bows last Autumn, first one chrysalled a bit, so it's worth checking my blog to see where I screwed up.
searching for Maple in the blog brings up the posts.
Del

[mikekeswick]

I presume you want to make a bow quickly??
Buying a kiln dried hardwood board is probably the easiest way. I respect what the other people are saying about splices but learning yourself from scratch is not easy. If you can get your teacher to help then that is the way to go. Before doing the splice on these maple billets I strongly recommend doing a few practise splices on either scrap wood or billets cut from a board. Your splice should really be perfect with no gaps....in a perfect world. One tip is to get the fit as good as humanly posible then steam the splices for 15 - 20 mins, clamp together and let them cool clamped up, the fit will then be perfect.
If you really want to get these billets dry quickly.
Reduce the width to around 2 1/4 inches for the full length of them. Following the grain and not cutting through knots.
Then reduce the thickness at the handle end to 1 1/2 inches for 5 inches then taper down to 3/4 inch thickness over the next 2-3 inches. Reduce the rest of the limb to 3/4 thickness as well then seal the ends and put somewhere inside and dry.
Measure the weight of the billets accurately and write the weight on them.
Keep weighing them everyday and writing the weights on.
You will notice that after a while the weight loss slows down.
Now make yourself a simple hotbox and pop em in there until they stop losing any weight for a few days.
Your wood is ready!

I just don't go along with all this talk of having to let wood season for years. I've made many bows from trees that were only cut a few weeks before and they have been low set fast durable bows. Sure if you leave your stave as a wide thick chunk then yes it will take years to dry, even in optimal conditions. It's all about reducing the stave to the minimum thickness dimensions whilst green.
 

[Squirrelslayer]

I presume you want to make a bow quickly??
Buying a kiln dried hardwood board is probably the easiest way. I respect what the other people are saying about splices but learning yourself from scratch is not easy. If you can get your teacher to help then that is the way to go. Before doing the splice on these maple billets I strongly recommend doing a few practise splices on either scrap wood or billets cut from a board. Your splice should really be perfect with no gaps....in a perfect world. One tip is to get the fit as good as humanly posible then steam the splices for 15 - 20 mins, clamp together and let them cool clamped up, the fit will then be perfect.
If you really want to get these billets dry quickly.
Reduce the width to around 2 1/4 inches for the full length of them. Following the grain and not cutting through knots.
Then reduce the thickness at the handle end to 1 1/2 inches for 5 inches then taper down to 3/4 inch thickness over the next 2-3 inches. Reduce the rest of the limb to 3/4 thickness as well then seal the ends and put somewhere inside and dry.
Measure the weight of the billets accurately and write the weight on them.
Keep weighing them everyday and writing the weights on.
You will notice that after a while the weight loss slows down.
Now make yourself a simple hotbox and pop em in there until they stop losing any weight for a few days.
Your wood is ready!

I just don't go along with all this talk of having to let wood season for years. I've made many bows from trees that were only cut a few weeks before and they have been low set fast durable bows. Sure if you leave your stave as a wide thick chunk then yes it will take years to dry, even in optimal conditions. It's all about reducing the stave to the minimum thickness dimensions whilst green.

thanks for the great advice. it's not that i wan't to make a bow quickly i was just wondering what speed drying was for future projects.  im going to get my teacher to cut the splice on the bandsaw  and then ill use the steaming prosses that you described. again thanks for the great advice. SS

[mikekeswick]

No problem.
But remember it MUST be dry before you try to cut the splice.
Wood shrinks a lot as it dries.

[Squirrelslayer]

yep this weekend im going to remove the bark seal the ends and back with wood glue and let it sit for a few months. a few questions, can i dilute (add water) to the glue to make it easier to apply to the back? and also i have another log like this but it's only 30" long so could i make a spliced bow from it? SS

[Squirrelslayer]

Looks like what your calling wood is actually the inner bark Cambium. With maple you don't need to chase a ring anyway.Looks like nice billets.

i know that that "wood" between the bark and wood is actually the inner bark. and why don't i need to chace a ring with maple? and yes they are some nice peices of wood. i have another branch same diamitre but only 30" long. could i make a spliced bow from the 30" branch?SS

[Squirrelslayer]

Keep the bow wide (2").
leave it full thickness at the grip to allow plenty of surface area for the glue line in the splice.
I did a couple of Maple bows last Autumn, first one chrysalled a bit, so it's worth checking my blog to see where I screwed up.
searching for Maple in the blog brings up the posts.
Del

whats the name of the blog?

[PatM]

There is already a ring on the outside. There is no need to seal the back of Maple. You'll just create a mess to deal with later.

[Weylin]

You don't need to chase a ring because you are going to use that first layer of wood right under the cambium as your back. "Chasing a ring" implies that you are cutting down through actual rings of wood to get down to a preferred ring. You wont do that on this wood.

You can water down the glue slightly to make it easier to apply. That shouldn't hurt anything.

EDIT: I agree with Pat that sealing the back is unnecessary and will be a pain.