Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: nsherve on November 09, 2016, 06:08:01 am

Title: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: nsherve on November 09, 2016, 06:08:01 am
Have any of you put a fresh, green one in a freezer to see what would happen? If so, was there any damage to it? I don't have a freezer big enough for it, but I'm curious on what the affects would be.... Would it help to season to wood quickly? We often have a very warm winter, with maybe a frost here and there.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: Hrothgar on November 09, 2016, 06:54:36 am
Never tried this one. The moisture needs to evaporate from the wood cells, freezing a green stave would slow or prevent this process.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: nsherve on November 09, 2016, 07:09:56 am
I just read an article on pre-freezing eucalyptus, (I made it a quick read, so I don't know it..) prior to kiln drying. It compressed the cells and made the wood stronger (my understanding, I could be mistaken since it was a quick read) and less likely to split and twist.https://ncsu.edu/bioresources/BioRes_10/BioRes_10_4_6417_Liu_GC_Color_Shrinkage_Changes_Pre-freezing_Mod_Eucalyptus_6664.pdf
I know that frozen water still evaporates, just takes longer...but seasoning takes quite a while, correct? I wonder how it would be on a stave. Or, on the log prior to splitting...or, freeze, thaw, split, refreeze. I'm curious on what the effects would be. If I ever get a big enough drop freezer, I'll try it out. Probably won't be anytime soon (so, maybe I'll remember)...
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: ajooter on November 09, 2016, 07:47:09 am
I would think that by the water freezing and expanding it would cause the wood to split
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: PatM on November 09, 2016, 08:23:29 am
What prevents a live tree from freezing and suffering damage? Many guys in the North have probably split staves and just left them in an outdoor shed a good deal colder than a freezer and just left them until spring. I know I have.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: osage outlaw on November 09, 2016, 12:48:46 pm
It gets below freezing in my garage where I keep my staves. 
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: Pat B on November 09, 2016, 12:56:56 pm
In my experience, logs do split easier when frozen.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: PEARL DRUMS on November 09, 2016, 01:10:14 pm
Can evaporation take place below freezing? If not, it would certainly slow it down rather than speed it up.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: PatM on November 09, 2016, 01:29:32 pm
Can evaporation take place below freezing? If not, it would certainly slow it down rather than speed it up.

  Ice goes directly from a solid to a gas through the process of sublimation. It doesn't have to melt.
 
 " Freeze drying" exploits this by using pressure differential to enhance it.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: DC on November 09, 2016, 01:35:47 pm
The important thing is still the RH. If you have cold dry air with lots of movement things will dry quickly. On the other hand, in a freezer there is probably no air movement and being a confined place the RH will probably climb. Not good conditions for drying. On the other, other hand steaks do get freezer burn.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: bow101 on November 09, 2016, 01:58:10 pm
Have any of you put a fresh, green one in a freezer to see what would happen? If so, was there any damage to it? I don't have a freezer big enough for it, but I'm curious on what the affects would be.... Would it help to season to wood quickly? We often have a very warm winter, with maybe a frost here and there.

#1 why bother
#2 why even thing about it................ ;D
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: PEARL DRUMS on November 09, 2016, 02:21:33 pm
Same reasons Marc decided to cook a bow with a heat gun one day.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: BowEd on November 09, 2016, 10:29:54 pm
Had a friend talk to me about drying osage down with dry ice once long ago.Thought  it was kinda quacky but there might be something to it though.
The only good I use the cold for is splitting wood for the stove when the temp is below 10 degrees.The sap freezes I think/gets brittle and comes apart with lesser persuasion.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: Newindian on November 10, 2016, 03:07:25 am
sublimation of H2O wont take place until pressure is less than .006 atm ( top of Everest is about .34 atm). So the ice wont sublimate much in your average freezer( a tiny bit will). I don't see how freezing would help the wood in anyway, it's more likely to do harm, trees go to great lengths to prevent freezing, and the thereby the ice crystals which destroys cells.  Its possible that throwing a stave, cut in the colder months, doesn't even freeze when you throw it in a freezer.
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: bradsmith2010 on November 10, 2016, 04:07:45 pm
billets would fit,,, just try it,, :)
Title: Re: put green stave in freezer?
Post by: DC on November 10, 2016, 04:22:11 pm
There's two or three guys on here from Alaska and Yukon. They probably know. They probably put their staves in the freezer to warm them up ;D ;D