Lesson learned

[mikekeswick]

Every bow maker should have a copy of this....store it in your favourites!!!! Use it and bingo...no checks!
http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

[Dances with squirrels]

Yep, or to heat gun it without checking.

Seasoned and dry don't necessarily mean the same thing.

I love my shellac, but once a piece of wood is dry, I don't reapply it.

You should not have to change the color of the wood to get it hot enough to bend.

[TRACY]

Fill it with super glue and proceed Daniel, you're still good. If you want, bring it up to Scottsburg and work on it there .

Tracy

[Pappy]

I'm with Pat,ya it probably had some moisture but sometimes it's hard to tell even
on a seasoned stave,so for me it ant worth the chance,I mean really how much trouble is it to seal it , 5 minutes and a little time to dry,and then it is very unlikely you will have a problem with checking. JMO I have found that a little prevention with selfbow building is worth the time,if you think their might be a problem try and do something to prevent it before it really is a problem. 
   Pappy

[George Tsoukalas]

It was probably still wet. Takes sometime for wood to loose moisture unaided.
I never seal a whitewood just osage and BL.
Looks like the crack is with the grain and that should be fine.  Superglue it and clamp it.
Jawge

[Don Case]

Every bow maker should have a copy of this....store it in your favourites!!!! Use it and bingo...no checks!
http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

I'm a little thick this morning, can you explain how to use this???
Don

[Marks]

Every bow maker should have a copy of this....store it in your favourites!!!! Use it and bingo...no checks!
http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html

I'm a little thick this morning, can you explain how to use this???
Don

Seems to me this would be most accurate when kept regulated indoors since an unregulated and uninsulated garage/workshop changes constantly as day and night and weather changes. Say I kept my stave in my house where the temp is 72F and humidity is 20% I could expect the moisture content of that stave to equalize around 4.5% using the chart. At the same time if I kept it in my garage where the temp is 100F and 80% humidity in the summer it would equalize are 15.1% moisture content. For more precise calculations you can feed your humidity and temp into the calculator. I had been storing the stave I'm working on in my garage but lately I've had it in the house when I'm not working on it.

I hope I explained that in a coherent manner. Sometimes things make more sense in my head than the do in words.

And @ Mike- Am I right about a unregulated garage/workshop stored wood?

[BowEd]

I think your on the right path there Marks.I've never had the supposed problem of the subject of this thread because I'll bring my roughed out bows inside where I keep it 45 to 55 % humidity at 75 to 80 degrees F for at least three weeks before I start to work on them.Especially if I know I'm going to heat treat the bow.Done lots & lots of bows that way too.One of these days I'm gonna make a hot box.

[Don Case]

And is there an ideal EMC for all woods or does it vary?

[Don Case]

Another question. How does this stop checking? I was under the impression that checking was caused by drying too fast.

[DLH]

Thanks for the replies everyone been a lot of help moving forward. About how long would be a good time to bring it inside after its been roughed out before heating to be on the safe side? Assuming its dried atleast a year outside? Is this too relative of a question? What should I do from here leave it inside and put it on hold for now?

[BowEd]

Yes DC checking is caused by the outside surface of wood shrinking too fast for the inner wood to keep up.If the wood is the same moisture throughout the thickness it won't check.If you get the wood say below 15% at least you can hurry it with a hotbox.
I find that out by weighing the roughed out bow at a certain controlled temp and humidity untill it quits losing weight for at least a third of the time that I started weighing it.It'll take as long as it takeswhich is usually for sure in 4 to 5 weeks.You can put a fan on it too if you dare.The closer to tillering profile you have your roughed out bow the quicker it will get ready.The last 1% can take a while,but every 1% of less moisture gains the wood about 6% in strength.Add it up.I'm quoting Tim Baker's findings in the TTB4 book on bow wood[which you should look at if your curious] and have done it this way with lots and lots of bows.I tiller my bows to the average humidity that is in my area.I find that to be around 45 to 55 % at 75 to 80 degrees.Then my moisture I estimate is around 8%.I try to keep my bows at those numbers while I'm not shooting them.I only use wood heat in my place so it can get dry here.Winter dry air will gain poundage on self & especially sinewed bows.At that moisture I have never had wood check on me from heat treatment.
While heat treating limbs that have shellac on them I've seen the shellac on the back get so hot it boils and crusts up.Through 1/2" of wood.This is with no kick back up from the heat guns heat onto the back of the bow.I'd rather make bows without the heat gun myself but most times it seems that's not what happens with all of the recurving going on.I've got a few hedge staves in my shed are natural profile reflexed some type of staves that I think I won't put a bit of heat to.Let them be natural.I'm learning all the time yet too but pushing the envelope more.Hope this clears things up for you a bit.

[Don Case]

Thanks Beadman. So far I seem to be doing it right. Most of my staves are Ocean Spray and in my shop 60-65 degrees@ 75-80% RH I can get away with them losing 25 grams or so a day. I got a little pushy yesterday, put one out in the sun for the day, lost 45 grams and got a small check.
Thanks again and sorry for the hijack Daniel
Don

[BowEd]

Yes sorry Daniel and to that after I debark and remove sapwood of staves like BL or hedge I coat the back with a sealant.The ends should be done right away before this.Then I like to keep them in a shed for maybe three to six months 60 to 80 degrees.I like to do it in the spring.Temperastures cooperate with me then.Then rough out the bow but keep it at least 2" wide and mabe 3/4" deep on the limbs.You can rough em out sooner but that's the way I do it.I've had em warp before.Build up your inventory of wood so you are'nt waiting all the time for wood to dry.Then I take em inside at the humidity and temperature that I want and wait.Take more than one inside.I do.In 4 to 5 weeks you should be able to tiller your bow.

[DLH]

Your good guys sorry for opening a can of worms. That's similar to what I did Beadman I may invest in a hot box to get that extra moisture out for the future. I've got a stash started in my apartment it's getting in the way and everyone I know ribs me about it haha