New wood freshly cut

[Catfish42]

Need to find out if I want to make a stave out of oak. Have freshly cut oak so question how long do I need to let it dry out , or can I speed the process up

[Pat B]

You can reduce the stave to floor tiller stage and it will dry quicker. Maybe in 2 months...but your best bows will be built with well seasoned wood. Take the time to cut more than one stave so you will have well seasoned staves later.

[steve b.]

I just finished an oak bow and am halfway through another, both from staves that had sat for 6 months through a hot, dry summer.  And yet I still had some checking on the first stave when I got into the center.  My first ever oak bow was supposedly seasoned and it checked so bad that I abandoned it.  I see the moisture in this latest one but no checking.
Your oak may be different but I'm guessing that cutting into a fresh stave might increase the liklihood that it will crack.  Probably depends on the humidy and maybe it has something to do with the quality of the wood.  The oak that I have is not so great..

[Pat B]

Reduce a stave to floor tiller stage and seal the back it is less likely to check as it dries. For the first month or so let is dry slowly, reach equilebrium with the R/H and don't stress it until you are sure it is dry. Just because it feels dry and works like dry wood doesn't mean it is ready to build a bow with. You can tell if it is ready by the way it recovers when bent. If it feels mushy or begins to take set, put it aside to dry some more.

[Catfish42]

Need to know if I need to leave it as a log and let it dry or split it up in to staves

[steve b.]

Split it.  Remove the bark whilst its green.  Seal the ends.  The checking I encountered occured while I was working the stave.

[Catfish42]

Sorry I'm new to all this what is checking, And what should I Seal the ends with after I split it. Sorry fellows going to have to be patient with me I'm new to all of this. Love archery just don't know enough about it to build one. But I'll give It a try, Thanks keep the advice coming.

[steve b.]

Not a problem.  I share what little knowledge and experience I have and for the other 95% of the time I'm taking in what others have done.  Also, I had the benefit of a pro bowyer teaching me and giving me info.  I try to pass on only what I feel firmly is right.
My experience with checking is with hickory and oak.  The osage and vine maple I've done didn't have that problem, no matter how fast they dried.
What I experienced was what appeared to be a perfectly good and dry stave that I began cutting down.  As I got into it I would see dark sections and sometimes with a crack in it.  Within minutes the crack would increase in length.  I would mark other cracks with pencil and verify they were growing before my eyes.  Those dark spots would eventually "dry" up.

But also checking occurs on the end of a stave, sometime shortly after the tree or log is cut.  So sealing the ends is a good idea asap there.
The bark is sealing the back of the stave.  If you leave the bark on it can act as a seal but if may be more difficult to remove that bark and cambium later as it adheres to the wood when it dries.
I have not had checking after removing bark but I suppose it could happen.  What I would do is just remove the bark and watch it over the next hours and days.  I would then seal the back if I saw cracks forming.

So cut your tree or log, seal the ends asap, split into staves, remove bark when you get around to it, watch for checking, seal if necessary.  Start working the wood whenever you want but don't start tillering until the stave is ready (dry).  IMO

[Catfish42]

Another question when making the staves the part of the wood that's against the bark should be the front of the bow and the center of the tree should be the Back of the bow is that correct. Also are you saying that I can work the wood down to what even though it's not dry and then just set it up and let it dry and then I can work it To finish after it dries.

[ionicmuffin]

You have your bow terms wrong. The Back of the bow is the wood right underneath the bark the center wood is the Belly of the bow. Yes, you just reduce the amount of wood on the stave to approximate dimensions of what you want. then you let it dry for a month or two and your all set. Make sure to follow the instructions others have provided on this post. PatB said to seal the back. so basically you can put something like glue or shellac on the back of the bow(and the ends i believe) This will prevent the back of the bow from cracking and checking. this will be the fastest method to dry your wood.

[steve b.]

Yes, what ionic and Pat B said about reducing the stave to floor tiller, etc.

I've only ever read one book on bowmaking and that was Tradition Bowyer's Bible vol. I.  I HIGHTLY recommend that book to someone at your level.

[George Tsoukalas]

Comstock's The Bent Stick is also a great book. My site has info too. Jawge
http://georgeandjoni.home.comcast.net/~georgeandjoni/index.html

[BowEd]

If it's freshly cut and you reduce it just let it set in building outside out of the wind.After a couple of weeks you can take it inside where it is warmer and speed things up a bit.What I'm saying basically is take it slow in the beginning then as weeks go on you can step up the process.
George's right about the bent stick.It's a good book.

[crooketarrow]

   Put the stave in a hot box. But don't reduce it to much or it'll warp. If you reduce it down to bow form. Seal the back put it up high. Let it dry on it's own. Or put it in a old car with the windows up.