Getting started

[Allyn T]

Hello all, I'm ready to jump down the self bow rabbit hole and I'm just looking for general advise. I've already cut down a shagbark hickory and a red cedar. I sealed the ends and split the wood over the following week. It's all stacked in my basement now which is about 60 degrees but I have a box fan blowing on it. I ended up with 30 hickory staves and four cedar, all are 78 inches long. I would like to make a flat long bow with the hickory for my first project. I also made a long tillering string out of B55

[bjrogg]

That’s a good start. I’d suggest trying to get to MOJAM this summer.
Welcome to PA
Bjrogg

[Del the cat]

Woo, looks like you mean business
See if you can rapid season (30 days or so) one of the skinnier staves and have a go early. Sooner you get started and get the early mistakes out of the way, the sooner you'll be making a good bow.
Good luck
Del

[TimBo]

Welcome!  Those look like some nice staves.

[George Tsoukalas]

Winter time bark is hard to remove from hickory. Nothing is to be gained by leaving it on.  Get close with a draw knife and then use a scraper to get the rest.  It's ok to leave a little of the inner bark on.

Much such better to cut hickory during the growing season so the bark just slips off.

You can take one of the staves, get it close to bow dimensions  and get it bending about an inch or so. It will dry faster.

You could weigh the stave every to check and see when moisture loss stops. I assume you do not have a moisture meter.

Some of the hickory staves I've used have checked in the back and some have not after bark removal.

I've never used shellac but that's an option. What I've done is prepare the back by sanding (don't worry about the ridges), stain, and give it a coat of poly.

I guess watch them. At the first sign of checking do what I said.

I've never used red cedar.

More on my site.

http://traditionalarchery101.com

Jawge

[Allyn T]

Thank you, I do wanna quick season some staves. I debarked one on Saturday but had a hard time telling where the cambium ends and the back begins. As far as roughing out goes, how much leeway should I give myself on the outsides? I cut this in the winter because I wanted to have a usable bow by hunting season and figured I would need a lot of practice. I do have a moisture meter and it seems to work. I just read about mojam on Saturday and will def go if I'm able(gotta get the wife to agree)

[BowEd]

I see your serious about making some bows with good looking staves to boot.A lot of good hard work.What kind of elm is that?I'm going to guess red elm?That red cedar is tantilizing.Ditto what the man previously said.
Reducing limbs down to 3/4" thick and full width then taken inside to dry can speed things up.

[Allyn T]

I see your serious about making some bows with good looking staves to boot.A lot of good hard work.What kind of elm is that?I'm going to guess red elm?That red cedar is tantilizing.Ditto what the man previously said.
Reducing limbs down to 3/4" thick and full width then taken inside to dry can speed things up.

The white wood is shagbark hickory. I wanna save my cedar until I feel confident I won't break it, I think cedar bows are just stunning! I drive a concrete truck for a living so the physical labor thus far has been a welcome change to my life, it is def hard work. I had no idea hickory would be so hard to split, the cedar split with ease.

[Hawkdancer]

Nice wood pile!  Sounds like you're on the right track with seasoning the staves!  Hickory is a good starting point!  Take your time, post pics and ask questions!  Look me up at MoJam at Marshall, in July!
Hawkdancer

[Allyn T]

Nice wood pile!  Sounds like you're on the right track with seasoning the staves!  Hickory is a good starting point!  Take your time, post pics and ask questions!  Look me up at MoJam at Marshall, in July!
Hawkdancer

What exactly goes on at mojam? I figured hickory is supposed to be tough so it could handle my mistakes easier. And I want my finished hunting bow to be able to take punishment, I like the rugged terrain.

[Eric Krewson]

All it takes is one winter cut hickory and going through the debarking process to make one wait until spring has sprung and the bark easily peels off before you cut another.

Been there done that;

[bjrogg]

Nice wood pile!  Sounds like you're on the right track with seasoning the staves!  Hickory is a good starting point!  Take your time, post pics and ask questions!  Look me up at MoJam at Marshall, in July!
Hawkdancer

What exactly goes on at mojam? I figured hickory is supposed to be tough so it could handle my mistakes easier. And I want my finished hunting bow to be able to take punishment, I like the rugged terrain.

MOJAM is a primitive meet in Marshall Missouri in July . If you look towards bottom of page with all the different section on this site you’ll find something like  primitive shoots and events. If you look in that section you’ll find up coming events . You can also look back at years past events and see what people posted about them.

Just be aware there are two different meets in Marshall. One is in Michigan and one is in Missouri.

Bjrogg

[willie]

You can take one of the staves, get it close to bow dimensions  and get it bending about an inch or so. It will dry faster.

Allyn, this method is preferable to force drying. a stave will loose guite a bit of "free water" weight the first few days after cutting, but once the free water is gone, the remaining moisture or "bound water", takes much longer to dry without causing checks and warping,

the reduce the stave to near dimension works well, and about the time you get the stave reduced, most of the free water will be lost, so fans and heat will ruin your work. That being said, a reduced stave can be tillered in about a month of judicious drying. by that I mean an environment that is not a whole lot less in relative humidity than when the stave was first cut.

I use a cheap digital food scale to monitor daily weight loss of the reduced stave and keep an eye out for checks starting to develop. In winter,  this means keeping it in a cooler part of the house, depending on your local climate. If you want more specific recommendations, tell us a little more about where or what part of the country you are at,  particularly if you are in a coastal or arid area.

[Allyn T]

Eric I def will be cutting my next white wood when the sap is up!

Bjrogg I'll look more into it.

Willie, I live in East Central Missouri. The humidity in my house right now is about 35 percent. I imagine it was close to that when I cut my trees too. I haven't reduced any staves yet but I'm prolly gonna get three going so I have them available. I wanna make a bow so bad!

[willie]

allyn,

35 in the house is probably somewhat drier than outside, which is where the wood was stabilized at. If you get a cold spell and run the heat hard it will be drier in the house, but as heating season subsides into spring, and the humidity inside rises to 50 or so you might move the stave to a warmer area of the house. Others in the area might hopefully chime in with some tips. the main thing is to dry at a moderate rate that will nor cause warping and checking. reduction of a green stave is easier if you are using hand tools, but there is a fair amount of work to get started on if you want to keep three staves in the "works"

How do you plan to reduce your staves?