Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: knap_123 on September 15, 2009, 10:20:47 am
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i cut some red oak last jan. (8 mths.) and had it inside since then. how long does it take for r.oak to be sufficently dry?
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depends on the thickness of the wood, the RH of your house, is the bark still on? There are lots of factors that dictate how dry your wood is. The best thing I can tell you to do is go ahead and rough out a bow and get it to the floor tiller stage. Let it sit another month or two and then proceed with tillering. When you start carving on it you will be able to tell if it is still wet. :) -josh
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Post us a photo of it John.
David
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Like Josh said, you'll know how wet it is when you start working. Recently, I went from tree to shooting selfbow in about a month and a half by drying the immediately roughed out hickory bow in a car. However, I also have some hickory I cut over a year ago that still is green ????
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thanks, i got this one roughed out ands it feels like it has some wet/dry places, so iu'll let it set awhile longer(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l338/knap_123/abbydrumstave003-1.jpg)(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l338/knap_123/abbydrumstave006.jpg)(http://i328.photobucket.com/albums/l338/knap_123/abbydrumstave005.jpg)
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If it was left in the round(a log) and with bark on it could take years. A rule of thumb for air drying wood is 1" per year(if you have a 2" thick board it will take 1 year; 1" each way from the center). By reducing it to near bow dimensions you can speed up this process.
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thanks pat, i'll have to remeber that. i might put this in the truck wich stays parked in the sun. i have some nice dry osage that i got from ridgerunner that i need to work. and a lot that will have to season.
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General rule is 1 year per inch of thickness for air dry. Bow wood needs to be dried below ambient temp so find a way of driving some of that moisture out. Be gentle with though.
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If you have a hot box built. (Insulated plywood box with 4 ceramic light fixtures hooked up to a dimmer switch) You can take your roughed out stave and put it in there "on low" and weigh the stave on a regular basis (every other day or whatever) When it quits losing weight at a certain humidity, you can go ahead and consider it dry enough. My box has one of those home weather stations mounted to it, with the sensor inside. I have a chart attached to the side of my box to give me that number, but I'm not home right now. Personally, I believe that if your humidity is fairly stable, and you bow stops losing weight, you can work on it. If you're worried about the humidity, then throw it back in the box each night.
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Bow wood needs to be dried below ambient temp...
Why? Never heard that before.
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ya i aint never heard that "dried below ambient temp" before either
how does one get it below ambient temp.
i live in mn.i cut hhb in the winter time.
how am i supposed to dry wood below ambient temp,when the ambient temp can be as low as neg 30 or colder???
dont have a deep freeze available for this purpose,hel half the year the state is a deep freeze lol
i am guessing he meant "at ambient temp",but i could be wrong
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I guess this is what happens when I start using fancy words. I meant won't lose any more moisture just sitting around. Here in the NC mountains most air dried wood is stored outside under cover at saw mills and is about at about 10-12% moisture content after a year. After 10 days in the dry kiln it is 6-7%.
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Knap:
Good advice here. I would add to always clamp down the wet wood and leave it a bit wider at the start to help prevent twist. Use several clamps, one off each fade, midpoint and both tips seem to help. As nearly stated, 7 to 10 days @ 95 F in a constant air flow of 25% to 30% RH will do the trick on Hickory slimmed pretty close to floor tiller. If you plan working with wet wood please consider building a hot box. The key to quick drying wood is constant, dry air flow which can be accomplished quite easily with a hot box. Doesn't cost much to make, either. Does this one get one of those fine copperhead hides?