No Drewster, I really do not. I can't even get information online about what all different chemical compounds there are in different species of woods, what their evaporative rates are, or even what effect their evaporation/oxidation/reduction has on the wood. No, I just like to leave wood to slowly air dry for a few months, then if I have to, hurry the drying process by moving it into sunlight and wind, or sometimes even putting the wood in a car in the sun to bake to a finish!
Now I have seen firsthand what effects long term curing can have on woods such as osage and douglas fir. I was able to work some 100+ yr old osage beams from a cow shed once. Under a draw knife, taking off growthrings, the wood almost seemed brittle as it flew off the stave! It was an absolute cakewalk to chase a growthring. Beautiful wood, virtually impossible to get grain tear-out! The douglas fir were arrow shafts from a fellow here in South Dakota. The wood came from boards that lay in a barn loft for almost 100 years. They were stickered between layers and the sheer weight of the bunk of wood had kept it pressed tight and resistant to warping. After how many seasons of variable humidity, the wood absorbing and releasing relative humidity, it was as stable as you could get. Tom ripped blanks with a saw, ran 'em thru a doweling machine and matched for spine. He never straightened! From a dozen shafts, I would have three or four that needed a small correction, the rest were ready to shoot. (That wood is all gone now. I weep. It was true old growth...one arrow shaft had over 50 rings in it's 11/32ths thickness. I had to cut it at a steep angle and count rings using a magnifying glass)
I can't add any knowledge to the basics of curing wood:
1) Keep the bugs out of it
2) keep the back sealed to prevent checking
3) keep it out of excessive heat and out of the rain
4) keep it off the ground
5) keep your mitts off it as long as you possibly can.
If I had the patience, the materials, and the conditions, I would love to age one sister stave in my garage for 20 yrs and the other at 400 ft of depth in Lake Michigan. But that is beyond me at this time.
