Anyone ever try to quick dry yew?

[vyadha]

I was lucky enough to get 5 yew logs. 4 are 50" and 1 is 80".
I split them all and took the bark off the really green stuff. Ends are all sealed up. I might put some shellac on the debarked backs.
I live in Southern CA and the average humidity is 45%. The yew is from Oregon around 3500 ft elevation. 33-36 RPI.
has anyone ever tossed a yew stave in the back of a truck camper to speed the drying?
Ive never worked yew period and am curious what I should/can do with it.

[blackhawk]

First off.....SEAL THE DEBARKED PIECES ASAP!!!! I like to leave the bark on yew,and you should for good reason.

It really doesn't favor well trying to speed dry yew and isn't worth it IMHO. If you do strap it down cus it has a nasty tenendency to deflex,twist,warp etc....it prefers to be slowly seasoned with the bark on...it just doesn't like rapid moisture loss IMHO...I've done it to a couple pieces and it just isn't worth the hassle...my two cents.

[Bryce]

I would've left the bark on as well. The sapwood holds alot of moisture. Seal the back with a couple coats of sealer or a wax. I agree with bluebird. Let it dry slow. Or rough one out and set it in the Corner for a few months.

[vyadha]

I just sealed them up with shellac. Thanks for the help. Theres so much info available on yew I got overwhelmed and confused.
I was hoping to have some workable yew by July. Looks like ill be a bit more patient.

[Bryce]

ill be a bit more patient.

Atta boy!

[adb]

Yes... be patient! Yew is valuable... treat it as such. If you try and force it, it often checks and/or turns into a pretzel. I just started working some yew staves that have been seasoning for 5 years. See my recent post 'Yew selfbow ELB.' That stave was 4 years old. Split your logs, leave the bark on, seal the ends, set them somewhere out of sight and WAIT!!
If you're itchin' to build a bow, find another wood that's ready. In my experience, yew will take a lot of set if it's too green, and it would be a shame to ruin what sounds like some good staves.

[DarkSoul]

You still have three and a half months to get that yew dry then. That should be enough, even without really quick drying. How quick should drying wood be to still qualify as quick drying? I dunno. But three months isn't quick drying in my book.
Rough the stave out somewhat. Not even CLOSE to bow shape, but just remove the bulk to make it THINNER, not narrower. Store indoors at, or slightly below, room temperature with a RH of 50-60% for two months. Then reduce to floor tillered dimensions and store the blank again at room temperature and RH 40-50% for one more month. Then continue making a bow, until you are halfway in the tillering process. Then put it aside again for two more weeks at room temp. and perhaps a slightly lower RH of around 40%. The wood should be dry by then, although some people might argue it won't exactly be seasoned/aged.

I strongly dislike speed/quick drying wood. Especially yew, which is so rare and precious. But if that wood needs to be dry in July, I think three and a half months should be enough to get you there, if you time the steps right and keep an eye on the wood. It should be enough time to get you there, but it's tricky. Possibly not worth the risk, but it's doable.

[dwardo]

Pretty much all the bows i have made from yew have been "fast dried".
As above reduced in stages to bow dimensions combined with storing in a warm room over the months.

Only tend to remove the bark mid way through the process. Bark seems far better than any sealant for the back and the ends sealed with pva. Never once had a stave check but living in the UK low RH tends not to be a problem. 

[burn em up chuck]

    quick drying yew for me was, a couple of months to calm down after the dramatic event of cutting, then splitting, then rough shaping, then some relaxing, than some more reduction. I think, if I remember correct the best I could do was 1 year, and thats cause I didn't want to push it. I will say its worth the wait though.

                                                                                              chuck

[vyadha]

Everything is now sporting a thick coat of shellac and sitting under my desk. Ill be watching the backs for the next few weeks. Kinda worried about checks now that i took off the bark.
I never thought Id make a yew bow because for whatever reason it didnt spark my interest. Funny how that changes when someone offers you some.

[Bryce]

The back is gonna get a little wrinkles. But oh well

[Gordon]

Yep, I tried fast drying yew once - bad idea. Yew is too valuable to take chances with shortcuts.

[Hamish]

I'd put at least 3 thick coats of shellac on the backs. Then follow I'd follow Dark Souls advice.
 Hamish.

[Weylin]

I agree with what's been said. Put a couple more coats on there. I made the mistake of peeling the bark on some yew that had been already been sitting outside for a year. I put a coat of shellac on it but it wasn't enough. It still checked fairly badly. Still salvaged a nice bow from it but it wasn't the choice section of the wood and I easily could have lost the whole stave.

[vyadha]

Thanks
Ill put some more coats on in the morning and wait. Then Ill wait. Then Ill splice up some BL billets. Then Ill wait some more.