Seasoning Yew Stave

[CraigMBeckett]

I have just imported to Australia a Yew stave I bought from Dave Robertson at Medicine Bow Woods.

The stave is 80 inches long and will, if I don't bugger it up, become a nice English war bow.

It was the last 80 inch stave that Dave had but unfortunately it has not been seasoned, I bought it anyway as it was his last and its twin was bought while I was talking to Dave about it.

In order to comply with Australian quarantine regulations Dave has had to remove the bark, and as I  live in what is generally a very low humidity area, we have been in a declared drought for the last 10 years, even though we have had a bit of rain lately, I am pondering the best way to treat the stave to to prevent checking during drying and seasoning in our upcoming summer.

Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Craig.

[Keenan]

 Get a couple cans of spray on polyurethane and spay the entire stave. The urethane will control the moisture loss to keep from checking but still allow it to breath and dry out. I have done many this was on full logs and sawn staves and live in a very dry region as well.

[bcbull]

i say seal the end s and back with anchorseal  i do that  never had one crack yet but does take longer to dry  brock

[CraigMBeckett]

Keenan, bcbull

Thank you both for responding.
Polyurethane I can get and will probably use this method, anchorseal does not appear to be sold over here.

Craig.

[radius]

how much that stave run ya?

[billy]

Hi Craig,

I would definitely do what others have said and spray the log with urethane.  Also, keep it in the coolest part of your house, either a basement or a garage.  You definitely don't want it in warm, dry conditions, as I've seen Pacific yew crack and twist in very unusual ways when exposed to such conditions.  Dry it slowly and carefully, and you'll have a great stave for a longbow...

[adb]

Yes, don't dry it by leaving it in the sun, or any forced heat source. Store it in a shaded and well ventilated area. Do you have rafters in a garage? If it's green, you'll probably want to let it season for a year. I have 3 staves of yew I purchased a while back, and I'm not even thinking about touching them for at least a couple years. I've noticed on my staves, that the heartwood turns a lighter shade of brown when the moisture content drops, and the stave becomes noticably lighter in weight.
I'd just seal the back and ends, and let the moisture escape through the belly. However, Oz is pretty dry, and if it dries too rapidlly, it will check. Listen to Keenan, he knows what he's talking about with yew.
I'd be interested to know what Dave charged you for that stave, also. I have purchased from him in the past, but don't anymore, because his quality and price weren't matching up.

[CraigMBeckett]

Hi,

Thanks for the information and advice.

Radius, adb, the stave cost USD200 plus postage of USD150, the USD200 is his standard price for warbow sized staves. Yes it costs a fortune to send stuff from the US to Oz.

Had a look elsewhere and either 80 inch staves were not available or the general cost of yew staves was far greater. Dave's price seemed good to me. He sent me photos of it and talked to me about it.

The stave has no twist, is relatively straight except for about 3 inches of reflex, there are 2 bumps in the back as a result of knots,
one of the which is completely gone the other is in the side of the stave and should not appear in the finished bow. There are a couple of pins but they should not cause any problems, all in all it appears to be a nice stave.

My garage has rafters but like most places over here including my house it has a metal roof, so at the height of the summer when we get temperature over 40 degrees Celsius, that's 104 degrees Fahrenheit to you people in the US, it  gets rather hot up there. So will probably put the stave in the spare room during that period.

As a side note I was also looking for an Osage stave, but the only 80 inch stave I could find would have cost me USD270 in postage/courier alone, which was a bit too much. Have found a Hungarian bowyer, who is sending me what he calls a bow kit which is a semi prepared stave, again 80 inch and suitable for a 100 lb plus bow, string, leather grip and lace. Not that I will be using the grip on the warbow but it may come in useful for other bows. Anyway this kit costs GBP89.00 and postage GBP53.00 all together approximately USD235.00, less than the postage of a stave from the US. The Osage is Hungarian grown, aparently they have been growing Osage and Mulberry since the 18th Century when they set up a silk industry.

I would also add I approached a well known supplier of osage in the US, looking for an 80 inch, relatively clean and straight stave and was not impressed with the tone of his reply not the suggestion that if he in fact did have such a Mythical stave it would cost $375 plus postage, said no thanks and crossed him of my list of potential future suppliers, especially as I saw such a mythical stave for sale on ebay at the same time as I was speaking to this unhelpful supplier.
 
Regards

Craig.

[OldBow]

After the ends are sealed, I would shrink wrap (buy roll from Staples, etc.) the whole stave. Leave in as cool and dry a place as you can find, like Montana .

[CraigMBeckett]

I like the invitation from some of you for my stave and myself to come and stay in the USA 

You did mean for me to accompany my stave didn't you Oldbow,   

Craig

[billy]

Of course Oldbow wanted you to accompany the stave.  But he wants you to return home without it!!!   

[shamus]

How arid is your climate? See map:




firstly,understand the relative humidity of  your home climate and how it relates to wood: http://analogperiphery.blogspot.com/2007/02/relative-humidity-and-selfbows.html

then, Drying and seasoning  wood: http://analogperiphery.blogspot.com/2008/08/drying-and-seasoning-wood.html

This might help (evaluating yew): http://analogperiphery.blogspot.com/2008/06/evaluating-yew-wood.html