Heat-treating in the old way?

[PatM]

It would be interesting to put a thermometer in the apex of a typical tepee  and see what the temp holds at up there.

 I think there night be some enhanced "seasoning"  benefits from that environment  if you believe there's more to curing wood than just drying.

[Marc St Louis]

It would be interesting to put a thermometer in the apex of a typical tepee  and see what the temp holds at up there.

 I think there night be some enhanced "seasoning"  benefits from that environment  if you believe there's more to curing wood than just drying.

I would agree with that.  I remember I used to say that heat-treating was also a method of speed seasoning wood

[Bryce]

It would be interesting to put a thermometer in the apex of a typical tepee  and see what the temp holds at up there.

 I think there night be some enhanced "seasoning"  benefits from that environment  if you believe there's more to curing wood than just drying.

I would agree with that.  I remember I used to say that heat-treating was also a method of speed seasoning wood

Agreed there is definite merit in proper seasoning/curing of staves. The cold are in the winter and the hot air in summer moving in and out of the wood I believe tempers it.. Making a difference between cured wood and dry wood.

[Badger]

Some bows will continue to creep up in weight and get faster as the years go by, if you are using the bow all the time you may not notice but if the bow is mostly sitting it becomes more apparent.

[PatM]

It would be interesting to put a thermometer in the apex of a typical tepee  and see what the temp holds at up there.

 I think there night be some enhanced "seasoning"  benefits from that environment  if you believe there's more to curing wood than just drying.

I would agree with that.  I remember I used to say that heat-treating was also a method of speed seasoning wood

Agreed there is definite merit in proper seasoning/curing of staves. The cold are in the winter and the hot air in summer moving in and out of the wood I believe tempers it.. Making a difference between cured wood and dry wood.

   
   Apparently the fluctuation if moisture and temp really does make a difference over time.   It is readily apparent when you work both types of wood.

 Try whittling an old hickory Axe handle or even re-working  an old bow.

[Bryce]

It would be interesting to put a thermometer in the apex of a typical tepee  and see what the temp holds at up there.

 I think there night be some enhanced "seasoning"  benefits from that environment  if you believe there's more to curing wood than just drying.

I would agree with that.  I remember I used to say that heat-treating was also a method of speed seasoning wood

Agreed there is definite merit in proper seasoning/curing of staves. The cold are in the winter and the hot air in summer moving in and out of the wood I believe tempers it.. Making a difference between cured wood and dry wood.

   
   Apparently the fluctuation if moisture and temp really does make a difference over time.   It is readily apparent when you work both types of wood.

 Try whittling an old hickory Axe handle or even re-working  an old bow.

Exactly. Even when you bounce em in the shop floor the sound it makes along with the bounce compared to just a ‘dry’ stave is totally different

[Badger]

  This is one of the reasons I have become interested in a slow prolonged heating process over days. I would be curious if anything changed.

[Santanasaur]

Has anyone tried speeding up the seasonal fluctuations to happen over days rather than months? If humidity or temperature fluctuations really are contributing to seasoning then maybe that effect can be sped up to a faster cycle.

[sleek]

This is done to artificially age aluminum to harden it for aircraft use. Makes sense to me that wood can be similarly affected.   

[Bryce]

Has anyone tried speeding up the seasonal fluctuations to happen over days rather than months? If humidity or temperature fluctuations really are contributing to seasoning then maybe that effect can be sped up to a faster cycle.

I’m talking years man. I usually don’t pick up a stave to use for a bow unless it’s over 6 years cured.
I even rotate my staves 180 degrees every 6 months to insure even air flow over the whole thing.

[Santanasaur]

I gotcha Bryce, I’m not saying it’s better to do it fast...just faster. Just like there’s quick drying  maybe there’s quick curing too. Hopefully I’ll be in less of a rush when i haven’t been building bows for less than half as long as you’re drying staves.

[Santanasaur]

I also think it’s worth it to separate the variables of seasonal fluctuation and aging. how are they both contributing to curing? is a stave brought to ideal humidity and held exactly there for years worse than one that has gone through some fluctuation? maybe by speeding up the seasons we could get  an idea what each does

[lonbow]

Speeding up the seasoning... that sounds really interesting. I wonder if the smoke does a contribution there. Im not sure if the smoke can reach the inner cells of the bow stave.
I wouldnt underestimate the temperaturs some meters above a fire. I think that the temperaturs might sometimes reach 390°f. Bit I dont know that of course. My only concern there is that the back of the bow gets brittle.

[sleek]

Well, heat and cold trigger the tree to turn sap into heart wood. Maybe this is a chemical reaction that is temperature sensitive and still happens to a degree even after the tree is dead?

[Santanasaur]

That really gets me wondering, sleek. Anyone know a name or keyword so we can find out more about that process? I haven’t found anything in my limited googling. I guess it makes sense that if we want to harden wood we should start looking into all the ways trees do it.