yew ???

[soy]

Have one halfway done ...been sitting in the humidity for a while will it handle a little moisture or do I risk drying it and watching the explosion? It has some natural deflex but I don't want to cause any undo set .....what say you yew guys

[DarkSoul]

Yew can handle a bit higher EMC percentage than most woods before taking set. While hickory needs to be really dry, yew can withstand a bit more moisture. Still, you want the wood to be of adequate moisture level, and at EMC at all times. Without knowing how moist your piece of yew is, we can't say whether is needs to be dried more. Determine the EMC in your situation, and see if the stave has reached EMC (i.e. measure weight loss). If that EMC is around 8-11%, you're good to go.

[wizardgoat]

I'd bring it inside, and weigh it everyday for a week to see if it starts shedding some weight

[soy]

Thanks...it has been a stave for at least 30 years ( maby more from what I'm told) really hate to have it too dry and loose out....

[Weylin]

If it's been seasoning for 30+ years I would just make a bow with it and not worry about a little humidity. It's been waiting to be a bow for a long time, don't make that poor stave wait any longer.

[DarkSoul]

Wood that is one year old, 30 years old or 100 years old will never become any drier than EMC. There is absolutely no need to worry about old wood being too dry!