Seasoned vs. dried white wood is there a difference?

[bassman]

Better than a hot box for what ever reason. I hot boxed a couple of the bows I made. Then belly heat treated repeatedly till the belly turned brown. The back of the bows were hot to the touch each time I heat treated them.. I got a few bows that ended up with some reflex, but not like the fire hardening process. All Hickory bows. I am trying  White Oak right now,and having a hard time getting it dry enough with the hot box ,and belly heat treat to try, and tiller. That wood is also green.The limbs are moving left ,and right , and twisting.  The next 2 white Oaks that I make will be wider, longer, and fire hardened. I really do think I will get better results.

[Pappy]

  I always love this topic . To me seasoned is much better, to some it make no difference, dry is dry, and the debate goes on. 
 Pappy

[Yooper Bowyer]

So the experts consider aged wood to be better, but fast dried works as well?  How do they think about kiln dried lumber compares?

I have an 11 month old elm stave that is about a straight as they come, but most of the wood I let age is full of character.  (I use the straight stuff first.)

[Pat B]

I think of kiln dried wood as dry wood, not seasoned.

[JW_Halverson]

So like a primitive hot box?

Could you do that with a space heater in a small room or in a curtained area?

Let the wood dry slowly at first. If you rush it too soon you will have drying cracks develop. A good way to monitor this without purchasing expensive moisture meters is to weigh the wood on a kitchen scale, preferably in grams since they are smaller units and will give a better degree of understanding.

Once your wood has slowed down drying, you can begin to push it. One way of doing that is to stand the wood in direct sun in the warmer season. Later, when this doesn't draw the weight down very quickly, you can put the stave in a closed up vehicle in the sun and really finish things off quick.  I haew also put a de-humidifier in a small linen closet with the stave. The dehumidifier will raise the temp and lower the humidity, and as a side bonus you get warm towels.

[bassman]

JW a couple of months ago having done some research before hand I bought a General MM4d. moisture meter on amazon for around 25 bucks. Works great, and gets a top rating.. Wished I would have had it ten years ago. This morning I finally got a 54 inch 45 lb white Oak bow  dry enough, and, stable enough to string ,and shoot. Threw it in a hot box for a couple days,and repeatly deep heat treated the belly ,and kept checking with a moisture meter each time. After shooting it for a good long while today it held 1/2 inch reflex. Built that bow from green to finish in 10 days. That moisture meter was a big help in the process. For building bows it is the best 25 dollar investment I have ever made.  Every body on here should check it out if you are interested in a moisture meter. Sorry for the long wind.

[Black Moshannon]

I got rid of my meter, I wish now I had kept it around just to have it but I stopped using it.. I started weighing wood and also cutting staves down to floor tiller size so they dried fast and I didn’t have to worry about wood staying wetter inside a bigger stave. None of them have split when I put them into my dryer and when I heat treat. The meter just didn’t really indicate how dry the wood was inside I don’t believe. I like focusing on the process of drying the wood and trusting the process rather than electronics. I do own a humidity and temp monitor though.

[George Tsoukalas]

I feel strongly both ways.
All kidding aside, kiln dried wood makes awesome bows. You betcha and I know that for a fact. Some of my best and quickest bows were made from kiln dried.


Jawge

[Pat B]

I sold my moisture meter years ago and never regretted it. I go by feel and sound as I'm working the stave plus I'm sure the wood has seasoned for a year at least before I start. Most of my bow building(not much any more) is done in winter and between sessions I put the to-be bow near my wood stove, or in a hot box to keep it dry between sessions. I also seal the ends early on and the back every time I remove wood to establish a good, clean back ring. I use shellac for this as I work on the bow. Even seasoned wood will hit moisture equilibrium during the process and as the wood dries back out it can check. I like spray shellac and keep a can on my work bench because it dries quick, seals well and can be easily removed if necessary or sealed over.