stupid idea for drying wood.

[hunterbob]

Ok here may be a stupid idea. But do you think it would work if you got yourself a piece of 70" pvc with an elbow at each end and a connector in the middle so you can open it up and put a roughed out bow in or stave and have each end of the elbows connected right in to a dehydrater . You would have two dehydrater's running. That would pull the moisture out right?

[bowandarrow473]

I would imagine so.

[Eric Krewson]

I have tried a variety of "quick" drying schemes over the years, all but a temperature regulated drying box were wood cracking failures. My attempts were; a closed up shed in the summer, attic, car in the sun and a corner behind the water heater. Bottom line, you have to go slow curing wood, at least until the MC is around 16%.

[DC]

I think the thing that controls the drying is how fast the moisture can move through the wood. The water in the center has to make it to the outside. If you dry too fast the outside starts to shrink before the inside and it checks. It has to dry at the same speed(or slower) as the moisture moves through the wood. Some woods like OS and Plum seem to want to hold the moisture and take forever to dry without checking. I think the only way to safely speed it up is to shorten the trip the water has to make. Make the stave smaller/thinner.

[Zuma]

I micro wave wooden knife handles and other wood that will fit in.
It pushes the moisture out from the inside. It has to be done
a minuet at a time and the oven opened to let the moisture out.
Now if you had a six foot microwave Wala!
Slow moving air blowing equally over the wood may help.
Zuma

[mullet]

Instead of steaming wood to bend, like recurving bows, I microwave and then bend.
I cut two holes in the oven and you don't need a 6' microwave.

[stickbender]

     Oooh, Eddie is exposing himself to radiation!  You can find him at the Classic, by looking for the glow at night
                                    Wayne

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

I hope you have a lead codpiece....lol

[paoliguy]

Where does one find a wife that would let you poke holes in the microwave?

[DC]

One thats had enough kids

[JoJoDapyro]

Where does one find a wife that would let you poke holes in the microwave?

I just buy all of my own small appliances. That way I can do what i want with them. I have a blender, a steamer, a crock pot and a hot plate for the shop. Now I guess I need a Microwave. 

[mullet]

No radiation in a micro-wave and I bought the oven for $5 at the Flea Market. Used a 2" hole saw and cut a hole through both sides. Just wrap the limb in wet towels and cook about 40 seconds.

[JW_Halverson]

I think the only way to safely speed it up is to shorten the trip the water has to make. Make the stave smaller/thinner.

Osage can act like a spoiled child when chasing a ring on a wet stave.  I have had grain tear out with sharp drawknives and dull drawknives alike. Who needs the headache?  Just quit several growthrings before final back and reduce the belly. Seal the back, and stand it in the corner. 

Buy a cheapie digital kitchen scale, one that weighs in grams.  Weigh your inch and a half wide by inch deep stave every week or so.  Write the weight in pencil on the back to track your weight loss.  When the stave really starts to slow down losing weight then move it to where the sun hits it during the day and air is moving (forced air, fan, or wind).  Keep tracking every few days.  When you are losing single digits daily, you can stick the stave in a hot car in a Phoenix parking lot if you want and it won't crack! 

I pushed a green osage stave to dry in under 6 weeks and didn't suffer a single crack.  It made a decent shooter, too.  However, I asked for the bow back several months later because the tiller looked a little off.  When I checked the draw weight, it came in another 4 lbs heavier and it needed to have the handle heated and bent to get the string back in line with the handle.  It needed a touch up to the tiller and came back at the same draw weight as before. 

If you start with slow drying your stave until it is losing only 10 grams a week, you could probably throw it in the dehydrator to finish making jerky out of it.