Quick drying hickory

[Fox]

So Ive got a hickory stave that's been in my shop ( in the basement)  for a year and i stuck it I'm my heat tube for a week and then am going to flip it over for another week (the stave has been ruffed out) so anyway i weighed it before i put it in the tube and when i took it out, when i took it back out of the tube it had lost a bunch of weight (of course) so i left it out overnight and it gained some weight... so how do i know how long to leave it in the tube fore? And when it gets out of the tube its just going to gain moister again?

-Fox

[Santanasaur]

Use an equilibrium moisture content chart, like this http://www.moisturemeterguide.com/page226.html#.XsqSQ-Rq0lQ

 And then find out what the moisture content in the air  and temperature in your hot box are. These will correspond to a particular equilibrium moisture content for the wood. So when you let your hickory dry until it stops losing weight, you know it’s at the MC indicated by the chart. hope that makes sense

[DC]

When you're weighing your wood you have to take the RH of the room into account. I was amazed at how the weight of the wood followed the RH. I've found that it is one of the ways of seeing if your wood is approaching equilibrium. If the woods weight is tracking the RH in the room, up and down, then it's about as dry as it's going to get in that environment. As long as there is excess moisture in the wood the weight will almost always go down. I say almost because if you get a big rise in RH the weight can temporarily go up by a gram or two.

[Fox]

Hmm okay well using the chart my equilibrium is 15%  wich that will deffinatly be a problem witj hickory... i posted something about that a while ago, guess i need to figure out a way to get a more dry room...

[willie]

Fox.

I am guessing the equilibrium of 15% you are reporting is from your room? How did you determine the relative humidity?

Give us a better idea how ruffed out the stave is, ie the weight, and how much weight it lost  and how much weight it regained.

[Pat B]

While you are not working on your stave put it back in the heat tube until your next work session. When you are done tillering put the bow in the heat tube for a few days then add the finish.

[Fox]

 Okay thanks guys.... before i put it in the tube for a week it was 1646 grams, then it went down to 1584 after a week in the tube, then after 2 days out of the tube to see if it would go back up, it went up to 1593....

[scp]

The best way of doing no set tillering is to make a bow without bending it. If you have made several same style bows as what you want to make, you can simply make an almost completed bow even with green wood. Then seal the back. You can also heat treat the belly deeply but only to light brown. It will be dry enough to be bent without getting set, pretty soon.

[willie]

Its not changing very much. Its hard to visualize the environment you are working in though. dry climate or humid?, and how much difference are the inside temps from outside?

[Hawkdancer]

Things dry out fast here so, have fun and listen to the folks who don't live in dry climates !
Hawkdancer

[DC]

When I start drying a piece of wood I write the weight on it. By the time it's ready to start working it will have lost something in the order of 30-40-50% of that weight. This will obviously vary due to moisture content when started(it drops rapidly in the first few days) and species but my general rule is if it hasn't dropped at least 30% it ain't ready.

[Fox]

Okay so my question is, since the weight of the stave is going up while just sitting in my loft does that mean its to equilibrium? Or dryer i guess?
Also the air is usually around 60-70 percent humidity in my house

[willie]

Fox, can I ask how you know what it is in your house? what part of your house is it measured? we are most likely looking for less humid place.

[Fox]

I am measuring humidity with a humidity gauge wich is downstairs ... Alright i just set up a small room with a dehumidifier in it and its at 50% humidity in there... so ill leave it in there a few days and see if it gains/looses more weight? Thanks for the replies

[willie]

humidity is relative to temps, so if the dehumidified space was warmer than the other rooms , it would help.  I am guessing you live in a humid area, so there is nothing wrong with keeping it in the heat tube while you are not working on it. might be easier than dehumidifying a room.