Question about cutting and curing staves.

[ionicmuffin]

Im going over to my friends house tomorrow to cut several staves(first time cutting real staves) and will be splitting them. I know i need to seal the ends, anything else? should i peal the bark? seal the back if i do? I will be going for hickory, oak, ash, pacific yew, locust(black or honey) Maple if its good, and any other woods that i can find in his 20+ acres, We live in washington state. 

[Pat B]

Peel the bark on the hickory and you shouldn't need to seal it. If you remove the bark on any others seal the back. I like to use spray shellac to seal the backs because it works well and is easily removed. I think you should probablr leave the bark on the yew but I don't know that for certain.  If you remove the bark on locust you should remove the sapwood too then seal the heartwood back.

[Weylin]

The general consensus for yew is to leave the bark on. I had a problem with checking on a yew stave that I removed the bark from even after I coated it with shellac.

That's quite the menagerie of bow woods on one property , good luck. Hope you find some good bows in there. make sure to post a pic of your haul.

[ionicmuffin]

will do!
 

[ionicmuffin]

i forgot to ask about how long they will need to dry. any thoughts on this?
 

[danlaw]

I know nobody else does this, but I wrap all my staves in painter's tape. I cut an Osoberry (Indian Plum) stave last week, roughed it in, wrapped it in masking tape, and left it in a black travel box on the top of my van (in full sun all week). There is not a crack in it. I do it with all my wood now. I never get checks in anything anymore. I work on the wood right away, each night re-wrapping, then leave it tapped up in my house for a couple few weeks before final tiller. I usually keep the handles and fades wrapped up for longer just in case. Anyway, just what works for me.

[Weylin]

the drying time will depend on the type of wood and more importantly the diameter. You can split the wood and even rough it into shape to speed drying time but a basic estimate is a few months to a year+. There are people here that have much more experience than I concerning seasoning wood but one thing I can tell you is that you don't want to start bending green wood, it's just not worth it.

[DarkSoul]

You need to finally buy the first volume of the Traditional Bowyers Bible and read the first chapter.

[ionicmuffin]

Ok, so i did buy it and ive read through that. I just need to go print out some tree identification pages so i can tell when i see each one.

[JW_Halverson]

Also check with your local County Extension Agents, they often have great literature on tree i.d.

I will echo the sentiments from others about peeling white woods immediately and sealing the backs.  Shellac, wood glue, cheap latex paint (buy dented cans, mis-tinted cans, returns, etc...always the cheapest!), shellac, polly-you're-insane, or anything like this will do the job.  No need to blow big bucks, just something to slow down the evaporation of moisture from the ends or the back.

Pick the worse stave of the bunch, and start reducing it to clost to bow dimensions.  It will dry faster that way, and with less experience under your belt who cares then if it gets boogered up!

Good luck, MuffinMan.

[vinemaplebows]

I would like to know where you are finding hickory in wa. state???

[ionicmuffin]

Im just guessing, may not have hickory, would be cool if we did though.

[George Tsoukalas]

On hickory, maple, oak and ash remove the bark. I cut some oak last spring, removed the bark and got some checking on one stave...not much though. It doesn't usually check. Still made a bow. There's no hickory growing around me so I never cut it. The staves I got had the bark removed and no checking. They were unsealed. I've cut maple, waited a few days and removed the bark. No checking. BL will check if you remove the bark. You must seal it.Not much ash around me but the staves I got had the bark removed and were unsealed. No problem. No yew in NH. Jawge

[ionicmuffin]

Ok, i will do as posted above. Also, i have a 90+ degree attic when its heat of the day(and more than likely 70 when its night) Is this a good place for drying? remember that its VERY humid here in Washington. many of you may have heard of the Midwest drought, we however, have been completely full of rain and humid or cloudy days during the SUMMER!

[JW_Halverson]

The logs are more humid inside than the atmosphere, even in Washington.  Let them cure for a couple months before sending them to become flowers in the attic.  The drastic change at this point could still cause cracks to develop where you do not want them. 
 
I know it is hard to be patient when you wanna rip into the wood immediately.  If you gotta sacrifice a stave, like I said, pick the worst first.