Maple bow

[Lee Lobbestael]

Ok i have done a little research and the staves I cut I believe to be sugar maple. I have one ripped down to almost bow form. At this point how long should I let it air dry before I begin tillering?

[JEFF B]

i thought ya had to leave the staves to dry first before ya cut them. mind you i may be wrong.oops looks like i was wrong.

[sssnap]

How long ago did you fall the tree? Did you paint the ends with glue?

[Lee Lobbestael]

I cut the tree on october 31st. I left four staves untouched to air dry. I hear it dries much faster if you reduce it to almost bow size so Saturday I reduced one down to almost bow size leaving a little of the cambium layer on the back.
I didn't paint the ends with glue because the staves are much longer than the bows I intend to make and any checking that occurs on the ends will be cut off anyway.

[John Scifres]

You should be fine.  I'd go ahead and shellac them though.  The thicker parts can still check.

[Pat B]

...especially the back since you removed the bark. You may have to clamp, wrap or tie it to a form so it doesn't twist as it dries. A month or two in your heated home should dry it enough to start building a bow. You will be able to tell by the feel of the stave and if is is springy or soft when you bend it.

[talkingcabbage]

I've used silver maple before just like you are.  be sure to seal the back so it doesn't check as it dries.  In my experience, after reducing to near-bow dimensions, take it inside and put it on a curtainrod above a register, or a few feet above a baseboard heater for a couple weeks.  Then flip it over for another couple, then you're good to go.  I left mine on the back of a couch above a baseboard heater for a total of four weeks, and it was dry enough to continue.  Haven't had a problem with it.
btw, some indians used to just build the bow green when they were in a pinch.  It usually got some pretty wicked set, but it still worked!

You can take it to floor tiller stage, then clamp it in a reflex or reflex/deflex form while it dries, and it'll take on the shape (if you're into that sort of thing)

[sssnap]

When I dry a reduced stave I use a hygrometer and thermometer to keep track of the drying condition where I am drying my stave. I use the chart in TTBB4 on page30. So if the temp is 70 and humidity is 50 the wood M/C will eventually be 9.2% with time. Then I weigh the reduced stave on my postal scale when it quits loosing wieght the m/c is 9.2%.
  Radio Shack or places like it sells hygrometer-thermometer combo's cheep. I lay floors for a living and own a very expensive state of the art moisture meter I use while installing hardwood floors. For the moisture meter to get an accurate reading you need to stab the wood several time each time tested and average the readings.Thats why I don't use my meter on staves. Hope this is of some help. Good luck

[Lee Lobbestael]

Thanks guys, lots of useful advice. I have it reduced to almost floor tillering stage and now I have it clamped straight to a board in a warm room in the basement with a fan blowing on it 24/7. I sealed the back and ends with floor wax

[Lee Lobbestael]

Still not entirely sure what kind of maple it is tho. I'm pretty sure it isn't striped, black, or red maple. Has a light gray bark and the leaves turn yellow in the fall.

[talkingcabbage]

I wasn't sure on mine either, Lee, till I did some research.  Silver maple (what I have) has a light grey bark, and it's kinda shaggy, like shagbark hickory, although not as shaggy.  Don't know about the leaves, though.  Mine was cut for me by the power company in the winter.  I never even saw the branches.

[Don Stokes]

I don't think silver maple leaves turn yellow in the fall. My guess is sugar or chalk maple, with yellow fall foliage, although there's a lot a variability, so it could even be red. They tend to be more orangey, though. There's also a bunch of minor species. The important thing is whether it's a hard or soft maple. If it dents easily with your thumbnail when dry, it's soft. Hard is, well, hard.