problem with red oak board

[Glenn R.]

I foung a nice straight red oak board, straight grained, 1 x 3 at the lumberyeard and bought it to make a youth bow. Thinking it was too dry I put it outside in the damp weather for 4--5 days. Then took into my shop to dry and normalize to the humidity level. The board twisted badly--not straight enough now. Aside from steaming now, what should I have done? Should I have made the bow even though thre board was kiln dried. Haven't tried making board bows before. My intent was a youth bow 25--30# about 48" long. Any ideas would be great.   GLENN.

[Hillbilly]

A board shouldn't really be too dry if it's been in your shop a few days. Outside was probably way too damp for it and it picked up too much moisture. My wife works for a company that kiln dries oak lumber, and she says the standard is to dry it to somewhere between 6-8%. After it leaves the kiln, though, it will normalize to the local humidity. Around here, the big problem is getting/keeping wood dry enough. Most whitewoods would be like noodles if I left them in my unheated workshop.

[Pat B]

You could rehydrate the wood and clamp it to a board until it dries.
   I make picture frames for my wife's watercolors. When I purchase wood for the frames I let them stabilize in my basement shop for a week or more before I saw it to frame pieces. I learned long ago to do this or the wood will move if not stable for your area.    Pat

[Auggie]

I agree with Pat,clamp it to a board for a few days. You might also want to check out ruuderbows.com they have a decent how to build a  board bow dvd or check out George T. stuff on board bows its good too.Auggie.

[adb]

Hi,
The ideal moiture content, for any bow wood, is around 9%. Most kiln dried wood is around the 8 - 10% area, so you really don't have to do anything with it before you start, especially if you're making such a light weight bow. Hickory and oak are really poor with too much moisture. They take a great deal of set, and have poor cast, if they're too wet. If you've found a nice, straight piece of anything, make some sawdust!!

[Glenn R.]

Thanks guys--I'll rehydrate it and clamp til dry