ok thanks everyone, but one more question. how long should i let my next stave dry before i begin to work it? it will probably be either cherry or hickory
Have a good search through the forum about drying wood. It doesnt have to take as long as you think. I find it best to split so that you have half or less in each round. So if its sapling them into half, if its larger then more. I then leave for a week or two outisde under cover. Then i take it down to rough bow dimensions and leave it for a bit again. Then debark, yet again leave it for a week or so. The it comes indoors in my office which runs a few computers all day so its nice dry and warm and leave it for a few more weeks. Then i slowlly work the bow down further and store it indoors between sessions. If you want to know if its still wet then weight the stave, once it stops loosing weight for a few weeks its pretty much dry. Try and do a few staves at a time dont limit your self to one, all eggs in same basket etc.
You can go from green to bow in no time at all but you need to understand what happens when wood dries and how to best control the loss of moisture. Reading and expereince will help with this. But a blanket statement of 6 months or years isnt quite true. Also look of heat box or drying box.
