How fast?

[Mounter]

Say I cut down an Osage tree tomorrow, debarked and reduced to near bow demensions. Is there time to have dried and workable by September?

[bubby]

Should be able to, i believe one of the tbb has an chapter on speed drying

[Tuomo]

If you keep the stave inside, in dry place (below 40 % RH), it will be dry in 3-4 days and very dry (stable) in 10 days. Osage is quite dense so just add a couple of days to be sure. You can weigh the stave regularly and when the weight of the staves drops about 0,5 % per day, the stave is dry enough.

[Pappy]

You can , but I wouldn't.
 Pappy

[mikekeswick]

September is 6 months away. No problem just don't rush it too early. Let the intial moisture loss happen slowly then you can speed up the dring progressively as time passes. Weight the stave regularly and you'll see a pattern.

[Pat B]

I agree with Pappy. You can but I wouldn't.

[Eric Krewson]

All of us experienced bow makers have dabbled in speed drying. I have ruined some really nice osage in the process, deep checking and twisting were the result of my attempts.

[akila]

Completely dry in 10 days?? I'm sorry, but i realdy dont think so...with the stave reduced to bow dimensions, it should be possibile to make a bow in 6 weeks or so..it depends ofcours on a fiew factors, but in 10 days, its impossibile. I just bought an osage stave on ebay, and it was cut in november last year. It still had the bark on it, but it was not a very thick piece of wood aniway, and its still not completely dry..i had to seal the ends and the back after i removed the sap wood, an now it still loses 15grams per day weight.
Reduce the stave to bow dimensions, seal the back, and the ends, and check every week to see how much weight is being lost.  I would say that in 4-6 weeks, it should be stable. But remember, dry enugh, is not the same with cure enugh. It will always be a direference between a piece of wood wich is stable (dry)but lets stay 2 months ''old'', and a piece of wood, wich  is one year old, or even moore.

[Lumberman]

For oak you don't want to lose more than 3% MC a day or you run the risk of checking and the following internal checking called honeycomb, I imagine that would not be too far of a safe rate from Osage. Plus the warping and twisting could be too severe but we properly stick and weigh down to avoid those issues so I am not as sure what the safe rate of loss is there

[Mounter]

Thanks for the advise everyone.  I figured it's not the best way, but I'm on a mission.. My little farm here has tons of osage on it and possibly wasting a stave or two is not a huge deal.

Just to explain my hurry ... I made a rule years ago that I would only harvest deer on this place with bows I made, with wood from the farm. A few years ago, I made a osage riser, hickory limb glass bow, with home grown wood.. I'd really like to go primative this year.. I have a hunting weight osage bow I made years ago, but it wasen't cut here.. Call me wierd, but it wouldn't be the same..

Anyways, I have a few trees picked out, I'll try to get a pic. or two up for advise on the best one.. Thanks again!

[Pat B]

I you had cut the osage a few years ago when you cut the other it would have been ready now.

[Mounter]

That is sound wisdom Pat. Too bad I'm not a wise man!

[Tuomo]

I had three rowan stave, cut to rough bow dimensions (length 200 cm, width 50 mm, thickness 30 mm). I took them inside where it was +20 C and 30 % RH. From forest to drying place it took about one hour. See this chart. Y-axis is weight relative to starting (wet) weight and X-axis is time in days. As you can see, 10 days is enough.

Zero problems with the staves. I have also one oak stave drying fast and no problems. Of course with syringa, serviceberry, etc., difficult woods prone to check, you have to be careful.

When the stave is dry, it is dry. I think it is just a myth that bow wood gets better with the time. To prove this is not the fact, I will made three bows from those "young" rowans, test them now and test them after one and two and three years to see if there is any improvements. So, I will be back!

[mikekeswick]

If a bow checks - you've dried it too fast. Warping is linked to the same thing but if you cut a tree that wanted to warp....and then didn't reduce it correctly....guess what...it'll warp.
There are ways around these problems but if you just go blindly ahead and try to rush drying a stave you will get checking /warp problems.
Like I said do the intial drying slowly and then speed it up. You will have a great bow if you do your job tillering.

[Eric Krewson]

I have found if I let a stave get to 16%MC before I put it in my drying box I won't experience and problems speed drying it the rest of the way.