sakatoon drying time

[jayman448]

so i bought a moisture meter today and was testing all my staves to check for readyness. so anyways i tested some staves that i cut LAST YEAR and they are reading between 18 and 27% still. meanwhile i cut one a week a go (just a sapling stave) and debarked it and glued the hell out of it. put the meter to it and its already reading 12%... what the heck is goin on here. am i maybe just reading the moisture of the older staves bark or are these things kinda wishy washy? after a year shouldnt they all be ready to work by now?

[wizardgoat]

Rough out your blanks and weigh them. When they stop losing weight they should be good to go.
I have a moisture meter but stopped using it, an accurate scale is the only way to be sure there's no moisture in the wood

[crooketarrow]

 One don't use the bark

  Your answer is size in the different reading. I you have just the 2 rod meter your only getting a surface reading (RELITIVE HUMMITY). If you don't believe me. Take a drill bit 1/6 Th drill 2, 1/2 inch deep somewhere it wouldn't hurt your bow.
 
  Check the surface at the holes. Then put you pins in the holes. A 15 year old stave's won't read the same.

  Now that was 15 years, now unless moisture meters have really Improver. Just used the old system. Just give it another years. Most white wood stave's stored it a dry ventilated  place  (that aren't tree's. Have seasoned good enough in 2 years to make a bow. Of course 5 or 6 years is better. 

  You have a lot better chance making a nicer bow from a stave that a board.

[DC]

Split staves have their belly exposed so the water can escape. With saplings if you leave all the bark on and seal the ends you just lock the water in. Leave the bark on the back if you want but you should expose the belly so the water can get out. Just rough the bow out to expose the belly. If you remove the bark seal the back. Always seal the ends.  A friend gave me a 3" Black Locust sapling that had all the bark on and ends sealed that had been drying for months. When I roughed it out it was still damp to the touch inside.