Problem with seasoning my bows....

[Jericho117]

For the past two years I have been making bows using green wood and letting the bows dry out for a couple weeks, usually indoors. But this winter, I have made at least four bows and when I set them in my room to dry, I wake up to a bow with large cracks all over it. This never really happens to me, I thought it had something to do with the dryness of winter (????). Can anyone help me or tell me why my bows are turning into crap. Thanks

[crashdive123]

What type of wood are you using?

[Jericho117]

Im using, well I don't really know. I will have to look into it and reply back later. All I know is I get saplings for my bows, I know for a fact I don't use Birch.

[crashdive123]

Possibly due to the conditions that you are drying them, the outside is drying faster than the inside, causing the cracking. Try sealing the ends in parafin wax.

[Rick]

I'm not bowyer but I do wood working and it sounds like the drying process to me. Did you dry them in the house last winter? If not, then you might want to check the percent of humidity in the house. If you did and did not have a problem is it possible the humidifier on the furnace has stopped working (if you have one)? I try to keep my house about 30% humidity year round. You might also make certain your bows are not in direct air flow from a heat register.

[canid]

thirded. it's probably drying too fast [different woods and different growth conditions effecting the grain will impact this]. the way i seal my staves if they begin to crack from the tips [the most common in my experience] is to dip the tips [once the crack has just started] in titebond II wood glue, my favorite wood glue. it works well. i also use it for some of my arrow knocks, and often don't have to wrap them thereafter to prevent splitting.

if i have large diameter boles, such as those i intend to get two or more staves from, i've started splitting the staves after a week or so of drying, when they are a little more easily split that when green and let the staves season on their own. this maked them dry through evenly, so they are seasoned faster and not forming differential pressures inside the wood, as you can get when the outside of the bole is drying faster than the moisture is being drawn out from the core of the boles.

unless it is extremely damp outside, you might season your boles in a garage or on a porch for a few weeks untill they're stabilized to the moisture of the outside air before bringing them into a very dry environment like indoors.

[Jericho117]

Thanks guys. Im going to try what you guys suggested.

[MedicineWolf]

On a stave for a bow when drying it should dry out but not to awful much, I tend to rub a little wood oil on mine as I work with it so it don't get too dry.

[dilligaf2u2]

Just not enough salt, pepper or Mrs Dash!

Is the wood drying too fast? I have had this problem before and getting the wood out of the weather but not in the dry forced air heat, used in homes has helped.

Don