how to cure raw wood

J

Jason Fry

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Jun 5, 2008
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I cut a piece of osage orange today about 4 inches in diameter and about two feet long. It was from a tree that had already fallen, but there was still some moisture in it. What do I need to do to cure this wood properly so that it won't crack and I can saw it down to make knife handles?
 
jkf96a said:
I cut a piece of osage orange today about 4 inches in diameter and about two feet long. It was from a tree that had already fallen, but there was still some moisture in it. What do I need to do to cure this wood properly so that it won't crack and I can saw it down to make knife handles?
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The moisture needs to be kept inside and released slowly.

If it evaporates to quickly the wood will split and crack.

Having access to a moisture meter can give you a close approximation of the percentage of moisture that the wood contains.

Wood will air dry to around 10 or 12 percent no matter how long it is left to dry.

From there on you will have to have it dried if you want to get it to furniture grade dryness which is 5 to 6 percent moisture content.

This is where most companies, want it, if you are interested in getting it stabilized.

Hope this helps you a little.
If not get back with me, Fred
 
I just cut up a bunch of that today. Had to toss some nice pieces near the end where it had been originally cut because of cracking. If it were me, I'd wax the ends and sit somewhere for a couple years.

All my wood is aged in my shop at least a year before I cuts scales. I've had some of it ten years, though that is a bit overkill. Any time I've tried to speed things along I got problems, though that's just me...
 
You are absolutely correct Nathan, you can't rush dry wood. Screws it up every time.

I have some big chunks of spalted maple burl, that I cut last year about this time; it stood dead for 25 years and still was at 35 percent moisture when we cut it down.
Now, after a year under cover its right around 20 percent.
Maybe next year; we might get to cut it up. No hurry;):D

Fred
 
The Traditional Bowyer's Bible goes into considerable detail
on curing wood for self bows......great Info. Vol. 1.

Bois d'Arc Press 4
P.O.Box 233
Azle TX. 76020
 
A lot of bowyers I know will coat the ends to prevent checking and put the billet in the trunk of their car for several months.

They say you can microwave handle sized pieces of wood but I dunno.

Edited to add:

There's no need to stabilize osage, mock orange, bowdoc or whatever else you feel like calling it, once dry it's tough, tough wood. When shaping with power tools be careful around the pins because heat will turn the osage a red color around the pins/bolts.
 
Guess I'll wax the ends and wait. May export it to the dry climate of eastern New Mexico, then pick it up next summer. I also got a dead dry piece that I'll go ahead and slice, and maybe microwave or alcohol the slices.
 
I have worked with osage off and on over the years making bows. It is notorious for checking/cracking on the ends if you cut a log or limb. The reason for this is that mositure ecscapes quickly from the open grains of the cuts at each end of the log,where it escapes much slower through the bark. This is the reason you coat the ends with something (wood glue, paint, wax) to slow the moisture escaping. If you are wanting to make knife handles, try cutting some of the wood into 3"X3"X???" pieces making sure there is no bark (or any of the white sapwood) left on the pieces. These should dry relatively quickly without checking. However, all wood behaves differently, so you may want to try a sample first before commiting your entire limb to this process. A good way to tell if the wood is dry is to weigh it on a small kitchen scale, these can usally measure to tenths of an ounces, once the wood quites losing weight it is at equalibrium moisture wise to what every part of the counry you live in. The only way to get the wood to dry quicker is to heat it. A fan blowing across the wood will also help drive moisture off more quickly. wood can be dried relatively quickly if it is cut into small sections and not heated too severly. I have cut a tree down, split the log into billets and then roughed out my bow leaving it about 1/2 inthicker than I though I would need. I then placed the roughed out bow in a dry box consisting of some insulation and a few 110 light bulbs with a small fan from a computer blowing across the wood. This setup brought the wood up to about 110 - 115F. I had a moisture meter and had the wood to around 8% within a week. This was cut the tree to shooting the bow in about three weeks with no checking and almost no string follow.

Sorry for the long explaination. Just trying to pass on that you do not need to leave the wood in log for for several years if you treat it correctly.

Mark
 
Mark that is a great post. I have read about people making their on kiln with glass and a small fan that seemed to work pretty good. I know a person who would cut their pieces about 1/2 inch oversized and dry them in the oven. He would set the oven at its lowest temp and leave there for 24 hours and then let them sit for 24 and repeat several times. Says he has good results with it, but I have never tried it with green would. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the info, I like to make handles for Axes hammers hatchets, I will now try a knife handle. I am a machinist so working with wood is hard. I am used to much closer tolerances. I use Hickory for handles, do I cure it the same way as other wood? thanks
 
This thread is crazy old. Funny thing is that stick of Osage is still under my workbench.
 
So I have access to a a kiln used for drying lumber. It is a large warehouse style, and my buddy said he could easily put some small blocks of wood in the kiln. He said they usually have the lumber in there for 1-2 weeks at a time. Would this be a good idea for drying my handle materials. I have some Koa and amboyna that I would like to dry out faster.
 
My daughter had quite a few osage orange trees on their farm and were clearing them out, I asked them to save the larger limbs and let them dry in the fields. I do know bodarc takes a really long time to dry/cure for use.
 
I know this thread is old, but +1 to the traditional bowyer's bible (vol. 1)! Fantastic reference on drying wood!
 
I was given some birch burl ,that was dried in a micro wave not long after it was taken down. I was told to start with an oversize for scales or block for a hidden tang. Give the wood just a couple of minutes at a time several times. It sure caused the pieces I received to wrinkle. I still have them on hand. They had a lot of soft spots I didn't want to fill. Frank
 
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