# best way to dry



## lukie29 (Jan 18, 2014)

I found a piece of chestnut tree with a nice chunky fork. It was already down so i shaved off the bark and got it into a nice shape and was planning on finishing it up today. The branch was wet when I found it but the inside was dry, plus it had been out of the tree for months so I figured it was good but to be safe I left it next to the radiator over night. Today it has some cracks in it so Im wondering what I did wrong and is it worth finishing? I put pressure on it and it seems very stable. Whats the best way to dry without cracking when you dont want to wait a year?


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## ghost0311/8541 (Jan 6, 2013)

cover it in wood glue and let it dry that way.


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## Rathunter (Feb 14, 2014)

Or rub it with olive oil.

Or grease.

The checking shouldn't affect its shooting properties...


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## lukie29 (Jan 18, 2014)

Do you sand off the glue afterwards?


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## Rathunter (Feb 14, 2014)

Probably.

But some glues make a nice finish.


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## lukie29 (Jan 18, 2014)

so just paint the glue on? whats the technique?


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## Rathunter (Feb 14, 2014)

When I cut a tree down to make a bow, I take Elmer's glue-all(white glue) and just put a big dollop on the end of the stave, then smear it around with my finger.

When I remove the bark, I just pour it on my hand, and run it down the length of the wood.

Just paint it on, maybe thin it a tad.

Olive oil is cheaper, and works nearly as well. when you are cutting 20 staves at a time, the cost of Elmer's adds up.


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## Lacumo (Aug 18, 2013)

There have been a lot of threads about drying natural forks. Search "microwave", "drying", etc and you should find a lot of reading. Many use microwaves---30 seconds in the MW, and then give it >20 minutes to cool down fully to room temp for several repetitions. Repeat until no more moisture comes out of the ends. You can just coat the ends with latex paint, candle wax, paraffin, etc and let it dry naturally, though that'll take a long time--depending on the width of the wood. I've seen a couple references to using a regular oven, but that can be problematic since some times the inside can turn to charcoal. Do some searching and reading and you'll find a lot of posts on this subject. One thing I've seen said repeatedly is to cut the fork >2x as long as you need it so you can cut the ends off when you go to work on it. That way, any cracks should hopefully be in the chunks you cut off.


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## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

Lacumo said:


> There have been a lot of threads about drying natural forks. Search "microwave", "drying", etc and you should find a lot of reading. Many use microwaves---30 seconds in the MW, and then give it >20 minutes to cool down fully to room temp for several repetitions. Repeat until no more moisture comes out of the ends. You can just coat the ends with latex paint, candle wax, paraffin, etc and let it dry naturally, though that'll take a long time--depending on the width of the wood. I've seen a couple references to using a regular oven, but that can be problematic since some times the inside can turn to charcoal. Do some searching and reading and you'll find a lot of posts on this subject. One thing I've seen said repeatedly is to cut the fork >2x as long as you need it so you can cut the ends off when you go to work on it. That way, any cracks should hopefully be in the chunks you cut off.


 :iagree:


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## Rathunter (Feb 14, 2014)

Lol.

Just turn the oven to 200 and let it sit for an hour after rubbing oil into it.

Or dip it in wax, but the wax melts off.


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## AmmoMike (Dec 31, 2013)

Just learned a lot about drying naturals.
Rockslinger, in what part of AZ do you reside?
If you don't mind me askin.


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## rockslinger (Nov 16, 2010)

AmmoMike said:


> Just learned a lot about drying naturals.
> Rockslinger, in what part of AZ do you reside?
> If you don't mind me askin.


PM sent


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