The Perils of Using Kiln-Dried Wood

Quite a while ago, I discovered my interest in bow making. I took out several books out of the library, most of them being survival books. Making a survival bow is quite different than making a bow on the workbench--as a life-or-death situation requires speed not necessarily quality.

I had read from multiple sources that wood was better for bow-making when dried to 7-10% moisture level. Although kiln-dried wood dries to around 7%, it's done rapidly, making the wood brittle and unfit for making bows with. My idea was that 7% moisture content, kiln-dried or not, was ideal. Well, I eventually broke that bow trying to make an arrow rest in it. Later that same day, my dad and I went to the library. I pulled out the only book on the subject and started reading. There it was, plain as day...

. . . if someone tries to convince you to use kiln dried wood for a bow, you should wave your arms and make  horrible faces. If that doesn't scare him off, be prepared to run for your life. Kiln dried wood is brittle and will NOT make a bow . . . Bows & Arrows of the Native Americans by Jim Hamm

I sure learned that lesson. The bow I made did bend nicely and I was able to string it and shoot a quite a few arrows with it. But once I cut that arrow rest, it cracked and broke. Thankfully, it broke on the tiller stick, not in my hands (ouch).

Also, I've gotten a resource page up now where you can find videos, articles, and books I've read. I'm going to be updating it periodically as I go, so check it out!

Splitting the Wood to Make Staves

My Dad and I got to working on splitting the log. It took longer than I had expected; nevertheless we got it split with some metal chisel/wedge spikes we found in the garage. The split wasn't very clean, in fact we cut through my sharpie-line marking the where the bow was going to be. Fortunately, I found a good spot to shape the bow on both halves. This way, if I mess up on one half, I'll have the other half to go back to.

One of the things I planned wrong, was splitting the log on a knot/cut-off branch. Knots are not very good when making bows, and by splitting through, we basically made both halves have the same problem...ugh.

I need a draw knife now to get the half down to the rough size and shape, so I've posted some 'wanted' ads on freecycle (they're expensive). I'm going to let the staves dry for a couple of weeks or more. Some people let theirs dry for a few years. To get around this some people use kiln-dried wood which can be bought at the hardware store. This stuff if brittle and will NOT make a bow. (I'll get into why not and my experience with it in another post)

I'm going to let mine dry for a couple weeks (or until I get my draw knife if that will be longer than a couple weeks) and then rough out the bow. After, if gets rather warm, I'll stick it up in the attic to dry quicker. (a month or so should do) If it doesn't get warm soon, I'll probably work it while it's still green. That way, if I want to add some re-curve to it, it'll be easier to bend with steam and heat. I haven't made up my mind exactly how the process will go, but I'll know later down the line.

Each stave is about 50" long, a little short, but that's okay for my first bow.  :)

Putting wood glue on the ends of the staves slows the drying process to prevent checking or splitting.

Kaya thinks we split it for her...

Day 1 - Collecting the Wood for the Bow

Wednesday, February 23, 2011:

I went to go pick out a good size straight log of bodark--also known as Bois d'arc, Osage Orange, and Horse Apple--for my bow. There were plenty of pieces of bodark lying around, but they weren't suitable for bow making. Anything with many cracks or twisted bark I can't use for a bow. We actually found a perfect size and grain log, but ripping the bark apart, we found that it was ant-infested. Ah well.

The man who owned the property was kind enough to cut a green piece off of one of his trees. Even better since a green limb will be easier to work with. I coated the ends of the log with wood glue to prevent the wood from drying to quickly and cracking as a result. To give you an idea of just how big this thing is, I uploaded a few pictures.

I hope to split it into staves very soon. Maybe tomorrow? I'll make sure to give you guys updates on how it goes.

Zachary