Author Topic: Hickory Question  (Read 1714 times)

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Offline Scallorn

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Hickory Question
« on: May 20, 2017, 01:31:53 am »
  I'm wondering how long hickory needs to dry. I know it depends on the moisture in the environment, but I'm just looking for a ballpark number. I live in NE Texas along the red river so humidity is moderate. Thanks

Offline Stick Bender

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2017, 05:34:26 am »
I was told when I started making hickory stave bows to ruff the bow down & let it sit on the wall for 2 months at 50% RH & that worked for me , but did another hickory bow with the same method & it seemed to still be a bit green so I let them set longer & I also hot box hickory now for a week after use a simple electric blanket as a hot box the one I'm working on this morning has been curing for over a year and hot boxed for a week, some times this bow making is hurry up & wait that's why I have 4 or 5 bows in the works at the same time so when one is setting I can work on another , hickory is a great bow wood when cured !
If you fear failure you will never Try !

Offline bushboy

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2017, 06:13:41 am »
From what I've seen,its best to have a stock pile!if you can have staves seasoned for at least a year debarked ,should be good to go.
Some like motorboats,I like kayaks,some like guns,I like bows,but not the wheelie type.

Offline PEARL DRUMS

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #3 on: May 20, 2017, 08:46:22 am »
Rough it out to about 20-30% over finished dimensions and stand it straight up and down on an AC register. Give it a few months and it will be ready. I will flip them end for end weekly so its gets consistent air flow over the whole length of the stave. Works for me on any wood I've used.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline Pat B

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2017, 11:48:28 am »
Hickory is slow to release moisture but if done like Pearlie suggests it should dry enough in a few months. If you have a hot box with a fan in it it should dry quicker.
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline BowEd

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2017, 12:58:23 pm »
A cheapy version of a stove pipe with a light bulb will work too.Invert it every other day for evenining out the drying will hurry things up too.With a small low voltage fan.Just like drying clothes.If your in a hurry.
Using the weighing method to see when it quits losing mass weight.
BowEd
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Ed

Offline nakedfeet

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #6 on: May 20, 2017, 04:40:27 pm »
A cheapy version of a stove pipe with a light bulb will work too.Invert it every other day for evenining out the drying will hurry things up too.With a small low voltage fan.Just like drying clothes.If your in a hurry.
Using the weighing method to see when it quits losing mass weight.

WHYYY did I never think of that. That's an awesome improvised hot-box idea.

Offline DC

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #7 on: May 20, 2017, 05:32:12 pm »
If you make a lid for the top with about a 2" hole in it, with a scrap of wood you can control the air flow and heat in the box. I use one for drying arrows and a hundred watt bulb will get it up to 90 degrees with a 1" hole. You should always check the temperature in stuff like this, sometimes they can get too hot and cause checking.

Offline BowEd

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #8 on: May 20, 2017, 06:00:33 pm »
Yes a analog thermomter is handy to have to keep things under check.100 degrees will dry things out in a hurry if roughed out to 3/4" thick in the limbs.In a hurry is at least 2 weeks yet though.Closer to 3 really.That's 24 hours a day all day.Last to leave will be the handle moisture if a stiff handle bow is desired.
BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline timmyd

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #9 on: May 20, 2017, 08:12:09 pm »
I don't work hickory without a drying box and moisture meter. Some claim to be able to tell but I guess I'm not that talented. I'm working a hickory blank now that I roughed out years ago. Pegged at 14%. Just leaving hickory sit for a period of time doesn't work.

Offline BowEd

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #10 on: May 20, 2017, 09:53:24 pm »
I usually leave it in a 50% humidity area at 75 to 80 degrees.When it quits losing weight for a 1/3 of the time it was losing weight it usually is around 8 or 9 % humidity and ready to be made into a bow.That process has worked for me on a roughed out bow.
BowEd
You got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
Ed

Offline Eric Garza

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Re: Hickory Question
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2017, 10:05:36 am »
I'm partial to wood that's dried nice and slow. I prefer to rough a stave down to about 1 inch thick and let it sit for a few years indoors to fully season. But I don't make bows commercially, so I have the luxury of being able to wait.