How long in the hotbox?

[PAHunter]

I'm trying a recommendation to leave wood in the hotbox until it quits loosing weight.  I've been tracking the weight of these staves every day or so.  I have a few questions:
* Do you keep staves in the hotbox until they completely quit losing weight? 
* Is there harm in leaving them in after they quit losing weight?
* What temp do you recommend?  (it's at about 90 now)

Thanks!

[HickoryBill]

Rob: couple questions...What woods are ya dealing with?...Are they green or seasoned and just damp?
The 90 degrees sounds about right if not a little warm..
Once the staves stop loosing weight its ok to leave them in the hotbox, but I would drop the temp some...If any of the staves you have stored in there are at the bending stages..IE: past floor tiller...I would let them re acclimatize for a day or so, if stored for a long period of time, before any serious bending takes place...Especially with hickory...To wet it will take excessive set...If too dry it might come apart on ya.......Just my 2 cents worth tho

[bowmo]

Just don't leave them in there too long at high temps once they stop losing weight. Wood dried more than 8% tends to go boom.

[PAHunter]

@Bill: good questions!  And for the record I think your 2c is worth a lot more than that.   
* It's hickory and Osage ATM
* The I reduced them to pre-floor tillering. (inch or so of bend)
* They are NOT green.  Been in my garage for a few years
I really like the idea of taking them out for a day or two before bending them again.  I was worried about them getting too brittle and going boom.  I'll down the temp some too.
Thanks bud.  BTW your osage is up on a rack waiting for ya.  I'll let ya know next time I'm heading out your way.

@bowmo: thanks man.  Ya I've read Osage 9-12% and hickory lower recommendations. However I bought a moisture meter and it's as useful as a broke &$*@ dog.  That's what motivated me to try this weight loss method.

[J05H]

If you check out this chart http://www.csgnetwork.com/emctablecalc.html it will tell you what your MC will be when they quit losing weight, but you need to know the RH inside the box as well as temperature.

[Dances with squirrels]

Be especially careful with yew. I wouldn't leave it in there for too long. I had a beautiful yew bow, fully tillered, explode while I was BRACING it.

[Pappy]

I leave them in for long periods of time, especially Hickory and have had no issues. With Osage and  Yew [what few yew I have done] I just put them in /in between working sessions when it is damp out and don't just put them in and leave them. I really prefer putting them over a dehumidifier or close to an AC or heater duct depending on time of year. Hard to get Hickory to dry. I keep my boxes at about 85/90 most of the time.
   Pappy

[blackhawk]

Rob...I'll let everything but yew n erc sit in 80-90° at 30-40%rh(n a hair less in winter which equalls  drier) for months on end or over a year with no issues.

[PAHunter]

@Josh: Awesome link thanks!  It seems the Relative Humidity (RH) has a much bigger impact on the Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) than the temperature.  Makes sense when you think about it.  Not sure how much I can do about RH but I'll get a cheap meter to at least know what it is.  Come to think of it I remember Blackhawk telling me to get one of those years ago.     

So looking at the chart if my RH is between say 30-50 my EMC would be in the 6-9% range.  So perhaps it would be best to start working on hickory straight out of the box but to let Osage rest outside the box for a few days (as Bill suggested) to get up closer to the 9-12% range. 

@DwS: thanks, noted.
@Pappy: Sounds good about watching the weather for Osage, will do.  Thanks Pappy.
@Chris: cool bean, thanks man.

[DC]

I got a dehumidistat (it's the one you turn on after you've had a shower) from the hardware store and connected that in series with a small fan and a heater. If the humidity gets too high the fan and heater blow warm dry air into the box. The box isn't airtight so the new air displaces the old air. You can adjust the humidity to what ever you want. I also keep a hygrometer in the box to double check.