About to harvest some wood.

[Swamp Bow]

Hi all,
I'm about to harvest a good sized Eastern Red Cedar.  I've never cut down trees with bows in mind.  I will be splitting, debarking, and sealing right away.  How much longer than the bows I intend to make should I cut the logs?  Also, how long should I let the staves dry before I even attempt to make something out of them (I know the longer the better), keeping in mind I live in SW Florida and we tend to have a little bit of air mixed in with our humidity?   I don't mean power drying them either although I may play with one just for fun.

Thanks

Swamp (told you it's humid )

[Dano]

I'd cut em about a foot longer than bow length, just to allow for any checking on the ends. I'd say next year this time they'd be dry. Get one down close to bow dimensions and weigh it, when it stops loosing weight get ur done.   

[dwardo]

I cut the length so that it just about fits in my car, maybe 8 ft.

The more length you have the more options you have later on

[Pappy]

I do like Dano about 72/74 inches for me,most of my bows are 60 to 66.
    Pappy

[Pat B]

Living in south Fla I'd bet you have a/c. Being in the house with a/c will be the driest place around. a/cs are great dehumidifiers.

[Swamp Bow]

Thanks.

Dano/Pappy:  Cool. That would be about 95" +/-.  ELB's, I'm 6'3"...

Dwardo:  I've got a plumbers rack that came with my big truck, so that means I could cut them at 25' and let 2.5' hang off the front and back!    Seriously, I got ya, leave them at a length that I can reasonably deal with.

PatB:  Yup AC or die!  Of course we only turn on the AC because of the dog and cats!  That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.    I'll see if I can't sneak one or two into the house.  I'll be turning it off soon I hope, but that will only be for a few months.  What about putting one in the water heater closet?

Being cedar, do I need to worry about bugs?  Also can I stack them horizontally after a couple of months once the lion's share of moisture gets out?  I just need too remember where I put my froe now.

Swamp

[radius]

make sure not to just cut randomly:  look over the wood, decide approx where handles will be, then measure outward from there

[Swamp Bow]

Good point! Thanks

Swamp

[Pat B]

I use my utility room to store bows and arrow shoots, right next to the hot water heater. It has a more constant climate in there.

[mullet]

 Bjorn, I cut them in length like Pappy and Dano. You will not have any trouble with cedar down here. I cut it and then split it into staves and dip both ends into a bucket of acrylic paint. It is good to go then. Cedar will not take long to dry, and I really think it is a little better with more moisture. They tend to blow real good, when they blow. And I think over drying them helps.

[Swamp Bow]

Thanks.  I've got the saws gassed up and ready to go.  Harvest a tree in the morning and a bunch of extra roosters in the afternoon. 

Swamp