Hickory moisture content reduction

[Skeeterlegs]

I've got a Hickory (3" x 3") stave that's been seasoning for 5 or 6 years. It's as dry as it's gonna get without help. Yearly relative humidity around here averages about 50%. My stove pipe stave dryer heats up to 130 degrees and about 15% RH. How long would you cook this Hickory stave to reach say 8 or 9% moisture content?  I've read the Flight Bow guys take hickory down to as low as 6%. I don't want to go that far but would like to have it lower than 10%.
Is it a myth that Hickory hangs on to moisture?

[Pat B]

It is not a myth that hickory hangs on to moisture(hygroscopic). If you live in an area of high humidity it's hard to keep hickory with low M/C unless you keep it in a low humidity area such as a house with A/C or in a hot box while not in use. Hickory preforms best at about 6% M/C but you would be hard pressed to do that in a high humidity area. If you can keep it at 8% to 9% to 11% you will be doing good because it's M/C will fluctuate with the relative humidity.
 If you are concerned you can build your hickory bow to floor tiller stage without damage to the wood even in a high humidity area. At that stage, keep it in a hot box while you tiller the bow beyond floor tiller and don't overly strain the bow until it is at it's driest.
 Even after you seal your hickory bow it will still take on moisture from the atmosphere(hygroscopic) but this doesn't happen over night. I've hunted with a hickory bow in high humidity and in the rain without loss of performance during the hunt. Once out of woods I'd wipe it down with a dry rag and store it in a controlled environment to prevent the
moisture uptake.
 

[Skeeterlegs]

Thanks Pat,
What you suggest has been my plan. My concern is leaving the stave in the heater for 3 or 4 days  at a time before I get back to working on it. Like 3 days in the dryer then work on it then back to the dryer for another 3 days etc. Do you think that this cycle repeated 3 or 4 times  would lower the MC too much? Given the temp and humidity parameters of my stave dryer how long would you estimate it would it take to lower the MC from 12% to 8%? I've left Osage and White Oak and Elm in there for 72 hours before and not experienced any problems with the wood becoming brittle but thats total length of time spent in the dryer. I do store my bows in the house.

[Pat B]

I doubt you will get a hickory stave too dry. Hickory likes 5% to 6% m/c and most other bow woods would blow at that m/c. That's where hickory preforms best. Until you get past floor tiller stage you don't have to worry about over straining the bow anyway. Working it after 3 or so days in the hot box then back in the box is a good way to do it.
 You can weigh the stave with a postal scale and observe the weight loss from day to day and when it stops loosing weight for 2 or 3 days in a row it will be at m/c equilibrium.