Timber drying / curing

[rodlonq]

I would like to plan ahead for when I have time to have a go at making a bow, so I have a few questions for those who have dealt with Aussie hardwoods.

How long should a billet of timber (say red ironbark) be dried for after felling, before it is ready to hack into to make a self bow?
Should it be from an older or younger tree?
Should the timber used come from close to the heart or close to the sap?
What orientation should the bow be facing in relation to the heart of the tree?

There are probably a hundred more questions that need answers before I can even start, and this discussion may raise most of them hopefully

Thanks in advance, Rod

[longbow steve]

Hi Rod, You can use the sapwood on most natives without concern, ie remove bark and the back of the bow is done.
Curing if you rough the bow out to near dimension should be near complete in 12 months but can be sped up a little after initial stabilisation by using a hotbox or the like.
The bowyers bibles are a good read but keep asking questions here as we have some great selfbowyers with a lot of knowledge of aussie timbers. Steve

[rodlonq]

Gidday Steve,

Sounds like you could take a flitch of a standing tree much the same as Indigenous Australians have for many generations for making canoes, and rough that out (I would use a chain saw though, not that trad yet ). I wonder how paperbark would go?

Would the hot box you refer to be much like the typical box used for curing laminated bows? I am also going to build one of those one day but it might be a tad expensive to run for a long term curing job. Perhaps chucking the blank into the storage container would suffice, its plenty warm in there.

I ordered the 1st volume of the Bowyers Bible this morning on your advice from yesterday and looking forward to reading it. Would like to have ordered the 4 of them but my kids have to eat something as well .

Thanks for your continued advise on this subject.

Cheers, Rod

[longbow steve]

Hi Rod, Dont know about Paper Bark but there are a lot of untried species in Aus'. The hot box I am refering to is the same as those used in making lam bows but one can use anything that elevates temperature artificially such as a car in summer or storage container would be good. You need to seal the back and ends of the stave/billets to prevent cracks regardless of your chosen method of drying.
Get stuck into board bows while your waiting . Steve

[rodlonq]

The board bow idea sounds like a good plan Steve.

Thanks, Rod.

[Glenn]

Rod I have used paperbark in the past but I found it to be very brittle and broke easily, but that's not to say wont wont have success with it. Rough the stave out and they will dry a lot quicker, I have made red and grey ironbark bows with sapwood and heartwood, one red ironbark bow I have which I have hunted with a lot has 50-50 sapwood and heartwood, it's a very good bow and has taken little set. With the hot box you don't need a lot of heat, just one 60 watt bulb will do, you don't want to dry the stave out too quick...Glenn...

[rodlonq]

Thanks Glenn,

Looks like this is a long term project. I will have a go with some timber from a local supplier for now, but I reckon it would add to the selfbow experience to have cut the timber from a tree (a nuisance tree growing too close to a fence) on my own place. Rod