Hickory Processing ??s

[willie]

consider the cellulose kitchen sponge as it dries. It can go from sopping wet to sorta dry without distortion or shrinkage.  after the "free water" ( the water you can wring out),  has evaporated, shrinkage begins.

even thicknesses help consistency in drying

in very dry conditions I have found that not only the ends need to be sealed, but the stave needs to be sealed on all sides for a few inches from the end

your staves may need to be moved to more humid  or cooler conditions when the free water has left, monitor your stash

[Pappy]

Good advice above, that's how I would handle it. 
 Pappy

[ssrhythm]

Press-8 it Hamish and W.  That makes a lot of sense.  I'll probably go ahead and quarter or 1/6 this tree, get better/more even drying, and deal with what it gives me.  I'd love to be able to move my staves to a more humid environment, but I don't have that option at this time.  I do have an insulated shop now with a barn-type ceiling.  I just need to figure out the hanging system I want to go with, and I can move all my staves from my garage to my shop.  I can at least keep it a constant temperature in there, as I have a big window unit AC in the wall and a killer shop heater.  I guess I can add a humidifier...I wonder if anyone makes a room or area humidifier with a receiving thermostat-like....hmmm...humidostat?!...that kicks the unit on and off based on RH in the building so you can maintain a set RH in a shop?  Surely.  If not, someone needs to make one.  Again, thanks for the advice.

[ssrhythm]

Well YES, yes they do...and I even guessed "Humidistat" correctly.  I know, I know...but I take joy in little wins like that!  Doesn't look like a terribly expensive endeavor to get that shop to where I won't be at the mercy of this climate 100% of the time.

[bassman211]

Some good ideas above. I don't store hickory anymore. I just go out ,and pick a nice straight green sapling. Remove the bark ,and floor tiller ,put it on a form,and fire harden. Process takes three days for me, but some guys can get a bow made in one day with good results. See Doug  Shannon, and Clay Hayes on Utube.

[willie]

look at
 https://www.windy.com/-Humidity-rh?rh,2025072109,37.597,-107.227,5,m:eQJaddR
for differences between day and night humidities

keep the staves in a "cool" box in a shady spot
we have had similar problems drying fish too fast as the filets become "case hardened" on the outside.
a baby humidifier on a humidistat in the "smoke house" worked well
(the "smoke house" is more for keeping the flies out, and only gets smoke and heat on a very limited basis)

[ssrhythm]

So...I think I'm going to kerf those 1/2 logs with my skill saw to try to ensure I get as many staves as possible by encouraging the wood to split where I kerf it.  I've never done this before, so

1. how deep do I need to run the blade of my saw?  I'm hoping "not too deep," as I can already imagine the binding/bucking that will occur trying to skill saw a curved. uneven surface.

I bought a Thermometer and Humidity indicator for the shop, and my RH in there is pretty consistent at ~40%.  I'm going to install something that will let me hang my staves above my work area in there and make that 40% area become my friend.

Any specific advice on kerfing is welcome and appreciated.

[willie]

I would use a heavier blade wirh some set maybe specified for  ripping.  problem is with 7-1/4 is most blades are "combination"
keep the front of the saw table in hard contact with the work even if you have to lift the rear of the table up some sometimes

pappys idea about quartering and splitting off heartwood would be the best, and you can still kerf it if you wish

[Eric Krewson]

I used a carbide tipped blade when I kirf hickory and go as deep as my saw will cut or about 3".

[Pappy]

I use a chain saw, takes a little more wood but just easier for me to handle. Like I said before I do always split off the belly, it will usually split right down the grain between the sap and heart wood and make the 1/4 split split truer. 
 Pappy

[ssrhythm]

Thanks fellas.  Ill keep you posted.

[ssrhythm]

So, I used my skillsaw and quickly bailed and grabbed the chainsaw.  I divided one half log into 5 staves and cut most of the way toward the center/belly of the 1/2 log.  I decided on 5 staves for that 1/2, because I wanted to leave plenty of width/margin for error.  I probably could get 7 from each 1/2, and I’ll likely go for 7 on the other half.  Regardless, my narrowest stave is 3.5” at its narrowest.  My widest stave will be just over 5”….and that’s due to where it naturally started splitting on the end despite my shellack job.

Here is my take on the two types of staves I’ve cut and processed myself.

1.  Osage…hell on a chainsaw and a challenge finding a good section that happens to be in a tree that isn’t going to threaten your life during the felling process.  That said, it’s a freaking breeze to split into staves, and as long as you take the bark and sapwood off shortly after cutting it, it’s about as easy to process as splitting and debarking and removing sapwood can be…not easy, but not horrible.  If you split into staves and dry it with the bark on, removing the bark and sapwood royally suck donkey balls. 

2.  Hickory…not too bad on a chainsaw.  If you haven’t had enough beers with your buddy prior to tree selection, I’m sure it would be much easier to cut a good hickory than to cut a good Osage.  This is, however, an assumption, because we were buzzed just enough to cut a stupid large hickory.
Peeling the bark off when wet is a dream; if only Osage bark and sapwood peeled off like whitewood…but then that would be just too easy.  As for splitting…WTELF!?  Thank God for chainsaws, because I got the cuts started with the chainsaw, beat wedges into the ends and along the length of the log, then beat out the wedges, and commenced to cutting the whole damn stave free with the chainsaw.  So far, Ive liberated two staves, and I’m calling it quits for the night. 

Tomorrow, I’m determined to get the other staves split from the 1/2 I started on, and I’m going to cut the other 1/2 in half and let those dry as I work on the 5 or 6 staves from the 1st 1/2.  I’m hoping that by the time I get to that 2nd half log that I’ll split in two (two 1/4 tree staves) sometime next summer…I’m hoping it’ll split somewhat reasonably, because what I’m tangling with now is an absolute biatch!

I hope I can make some sweet shooting, zippy, tough hunting bows out of this stuff, because the harvest, travel, and processing thus far is kicking my teeth in!  I’ll be looking to travel to the PNW for yew next time I want something other than Osage!