I don't often use my moisture meter, generally just relying on feel and giving the wood a year to season.
However:- I just tested the offcut from the Yew stave I've been working on and one edge which had been exposed to the air for a long time gave a reading of 10% which is fine, but another face, recently worked read almost 15% which is rather 'wet' still. I think this shows the value of working a stave down rather than leaving it for a year and then taking off vast quanties of wood and expecting the centre to be seasoned.
Maybe I should have de-barked it even sooner (I think I did it last month), perhaps I'll give it the warm radiator treatment once it's a bit closer to approximate dimensions (I wouldn't do this on a fresh stave or one which wasn't worked down for fear of splitting due to drying too quickly).
I've spent a fair bit of time on it today and worked it down as a squareish cross section with my drawknife.
It's begining to flex, so I'll probably round off the corners on the belly and think about getting on the tiller next week.
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He, great blog, bowyers are exploring the networks. Really great bows, I like the way you´re making your bows.
ReplyDeleteI´m a selfbowyer too, have a look at my blog.
Michael
Thanks, I've had a look at your blog, some great pics and interesting timber. Looks a bit chilly where you are, I like the horse and donkey.
ReplyDeleteDerek