How Long to Cure Hickory Stave

[csmcartor]

Hey all,

I'm living overseas and just got a hickory stave shipped to me so I can work on making my first bow.  The bark is off, back and ends are sealed, and it has been like that since being cut in March.  How long do you all think I should wait before I start working on it.   I live in Iraqi Kurdistan so it is hot and dry now (highs about 110 and rising, humidity in the 15% range).  Should I keep it indoors or out?

Thanks for your help!

[burchett.donald]

    Hickory likes that kind of weather...Do you have a way of weighing it each day to see when it stops losing weight?   
                                                                                                                                                                            Don

[Pat B]

I'd say to start shaping your hickory and get it to floor tiller stage. By the time you start regular tillering, especially in your environment(hot and dry) the stave will be ready. If you notice it starting to take set just give it a week and start again. Your climate sounds perfect for hickory.

[George Tsoukalas]

All good suggestions above and let me add you should seal the back with some kind of poly. n those conditions moisture may escape through the back and case some checking. Jawge

[csmcartor]

Thanks for all the replies so far!  I have a pretty good home scale I use to weigh myself, so I can weigh myself with and without the stave and get accuracy down to 0.1 lbs. (1.6 oz.)  I don't expect that would be super useful, but I guess it might be.

Any feedback on if I should leave it outside in the heat?  The back and ends are sealed well, but I'm curious if the extreme heat and lack of humidity would make it dry too fast.  Any thoughts?

[jeffp51]

I'd say keep it inside after you have reduced it some

[bradsmith2010]

Start roughing it out,,enjoy

[Pat B]

I don't think 110 deg(F) is too hot just don't leave it in the sun. A nice shady spot with a little breeze should work just fine.

[ohma2]

Hope you get a good bow from it cause your in the right place for hickory to show its attributes.

[Hawkdancer]

Don't leave you in the sun, either!  I understand there is a bit of hostility in that region!  stay safe!  Good luck with the hickory, overbuild a bit or more!  It is easier to take off more wood than to put it back on!  Post pics!  Mine turned out good!
Hawkdancer

[csmcartor]

Another question I had as I've been thinking of laying out the design of the bow is should I go for a flatbow type design or a pyramid design?  From what I've read (which is admittedly not a lot so far) either should work with hickory.  Are there pros/cons of one vs. the other?

[Pat B]

Either will work just fine. If you are not experienced maybe a slightly over built flat bow. Like Hawkdancer said you can always remove a little width later if necessary.

[csmcartor]

I've been keeping the stave in the shadiest corner of our balcony.  It gets direct sun for the first few hours of each day but it shaded after that.  Yesterday, I drew the design on the back on the stave and I've spent a little bit today trying to reduce the sides of the stave down to my lines.

The biggest lesson I'm learning so far is that I need some better tools.  So far I'm just using a rasp, and in the time I've had I've just been able to rough in one side of the handle/fades.  In a couple weeks my brother is visiting and so I'm having him poke around their farm and my parents' garage looking for a drawknife to bring me.  That should speed things up substantially.

[bjrogg]

Yes good sharp tools. I like a good farriers rasp, draw knife and cabinet scrappers. Some people like a hatchet.

Many other helpful things. Like vice, tillering tree and caul. Heat gun and a way of steaming.
 
You have time to accumulate stuff.
Bjrogg

[csmcartor]

Next time I'm in the US I plan to bring back some more tools.  Until then I'm stuck with what I've got here or can find (not much).  I'll probably make a scraper out of a pair of scissors like I read about on this site.

If I can find the wood I plan to make a tillering tree that either is freestanding or can be clamped to a doorframe.  Unfortunately, I live in the city and wood isn't really a common building material here so lumber has proved hard to find.