Drying Osage

[apg]

Hey all,
I bought a couple of osage from Ebay, and I’ve got them down to floor tiller. The wood has only been treated/dried for about a month. If I was to dry them, would a warm dry room work for a month or so? I’ve got a good space by the heater under my stairs that’s super dry and hot.
I also have this boiler, and can place bows above them to dry there, but I did that with my old bow and over dried it and it exploded..!
Any tips?
Ash

[Pat B]

First thing to do is be sure you have the back well sealed or it will check.  I think I'd place the stave in an area without too much heat to start with, maybe for a week or two then you could move it to a warmer area but not hot. You will need more than a month to dry them to workable stage.
Patience grasshopper!   

[apg]

Ahhhh. Good advice. Thank you!!

[Dvshunter]

Pats advice is sound. It takes time. If you try and dry to fa you risk losing all of it. Read up and cu t some more sraves while you wait.

[apg]

Also, I should note, I have shaved the back of the bow back to my desired ring, and worked it to the floor tiller level. That’s okay, right? I’ll seal the ends and the back as suggested and use the not hot room... but I’ve seen people say they do this to lessen drying time.
Ash

[Eric Krewson]

About 20 years ago I shellacked the back of a  green stave and put in the corner behind the water heater to speed the drying process up. I checked the stave a week later and the checks went from the back to the belly, you could drop a dime in them.

I have a pinless moisture meter and have found if the woods M/C gets down to 16% I can put the stave in my drying box at 90 degrees and it will be OK provided I have at least 3 thick coats of shellac on the ends and back.

It is always best to not get in a hurry on stave drying.

[osage outlaw]

Osage doesn't like fast drying.  You might waste your investment trying to go from living tree to a bow in 2 months.  I don't like to bend green wood.  You can end up causing set that will hurt the performance of your bow.  If you want to experiment with force drying a stave get a piece of hickory.  While your osage is drying you could pick up a couple of red oak boards and work on your tillering skills.

[Pat B]

You are fine chasing a ring and taking it to floor tiller stage but don't go past that. Give it plenty of time to dry on it's own and you will be pleasantly surprised when the time comes. Get it sealed fast, both ends and the back.