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Some woods are better candidates than others for quick drying...hickory is a prime candidate and in my opinion THE number one and at the top of the list. Here's something pertaining to quick drying certain woods and how fast they lose there moisture. I wrote up on another forum pertaining to black locust,but it applies here,so I copied n pasted it here.


Let me state some findings and nonconclusive results yet here,but ill share with what I have found out so far as to quick drying various types of wood.

Whenever I harvest a species ill take one or two staves and reduce them to floor tiller(bending no more than 6",and def no more than 8")..it seems the 8" mark or around there is when dripping wet green wood starts to take set. I then write that date down onto the piece of wood the day i floor tillered it and ill weigh it immedietly and record its starting weight. Then once a week ill weigh the stave recording that number. Then its just a waiting game of when it stops losing moisture.

Here's a list of the woods I've been experimenting with in quick drying.......all these have been harvested by my own two hands

Osage....yew....black locust...hophornbeam....american hornbeam...hickory...eastern red cedar...elm...rosebay rhododendron....serviceberry...???...I might be forgetting one or two....but here's my point.


Out of all these woods ill start with the slowest

Osage...by a milestone it loses its moisture slower than any other...but it can be quick dried CAREFULLY..and needs to be closely monitered and babied

Hickory....its a dog that loves to slobber and salivate with moisture..lol

HHB and american hornbeam....it seems so dense from its compact grain and small ring structure that it like to hold onto moisture as well...but my record from stump to shooting bow is 36 days with an american hornbeam...and yes it was dry because I heat treated it deeply with no checks.


Serviceberry...not too many comments...just average


Elm....it dries pretty quick when reduced


Rhododendron...its the wettest wood when cut...literally dripping wet...but dries farily quickly and the back should be sealed after debarking


The next are all fairly close and might surprise you


BLACK LOCUST...when the bark and sapwood is removed it'll lose moisture at a very rapid rate..it surprised me big time. But if the bark and sapwood is left on it really holds onto its moisture.

Yew...yup I said it ....yew. it can be quick dried n must be carefully monitored,but if debarked and reduced to floor tiller it loses its moisture fast....so fast it'll want to move in every which way on ya....so if ya don't mind heat corrections then go for it.


Eastern red cedar....enough said there...I believe juniper wood fall into this category as well since its a juniper.


Hope this helps some folks and opens up some discussion


Here's what I would do with your hickory stave.

#1. Floor tiller it to it bending 6" of movement and no more,and remember if this is for your warbow then it'll need a lot of your weight being pushed into it. So be careful how much you remove and how much you push into it. You don't wanna incur set. After floor tiller make sure ALL surfaces are smooth with no dings or cuts anywhere.


#2. Seal the back with shellac. If you have access to steaming it,then steam it and set it oover a form to induce a couple inches of reflex. If you don't then no big deal,it'll take just a wee bit longer and maybe a lil dry heat correction and reflex induced over a form.


#3. Weigh the stave,record and write down its weight and the date. You are going to weigh and record its weight once a week. Then let it set a few days.

#4. Stick it in a heating duct if you can get access to one in your house. Its the best and cheapest hot box in my opinion. I do have a hot box but I haven't used it in a year n a half. I know your underage and still living with your parents so you'll have to ask them for permission in doing this. For the first week stick it in there everyday for several hours and taking it out. Look it over thoroughly everyday to make sure its not checking everywhere. This is one of the keys. DON'T forget about it in the heating duct,and look at it closely and baby it. If all is fine after a week,you then can start leaving it in there for 12+ hour periods the second week monitoring it everyday stil. By the third week you should be able to leave it in there for days at a time,but still look it over everyday.

#5. Once it has stopped losing weight circle that number and date. Weigh it again next week and see if its still that same number. If so then your stave is prob dry.

#6. Make a bow .......carefully montioring any set. If it starts to incur anymore than usual then let it set another week in the heating duct. And keep the hickory in a really dry place in between working sessions. Like a heating duct..lol and I wood heat treat hickory.

#7. Have fun shooting your new FULLY dried bow.