Harvesting persimmon for bow staves?

[Dakbay5387]

Hi, Im new to selfbow making and am in the process of gathering wood up to season for staves . I have a large straight persimmon tree , approx 20-25" in dia. that i would like to harvest and get several staves out of .
im confused at all the reading out there of when you should remove the bark, when to split it into staves, should you paint the ends and how long do you let it dry?

anyone had any experience with persimmon before?

im just wondering if i can go ahead and split into staves after i cut it down or do i need to leave the bark on or off and paint the ends and let it sit for 2 years in my barn attic?
any advice would be much appreciated
Thanks!

[Kirkll]

i cant imagine trying to get a 20-25" log 6' long into your attic.    

Seriously though... The attic shouldn't be used at all.  Air drying wood takes time. anything you do to shorten that time , your harvest yield goes down. 

you'll have to wait for the self bowyers for advice on making staves and when the best time to split it is.  I'm a glass bowyer myself.    Kirk

[Mo_coon-catcher]

Go ahead and split into staves and debark. Seal the back under the bark and the end grain with something. I like to use the cheap Elmer's glue in the gallon jug. But anything that seals the moisture from escaping will work. Otherwise it'll crack. If you leave the bark, bugs will tunnel into the wood.

I wouldn't start with storing in the attic as the wood will dry too fast initially and crack. Store in a more normal temp area like a shed for the first month or two so the bulk of the moisture is gone. Then shift them to the attic if you'd like. Moisture leaving too fast will cause cracking and splitting: the more dense the wood the worse the effect.

You can also rough out a bow bow to speed up the drying process on that one if you'd like. Shape the bow and seal the back and any exposed end grain. Let it dry a month or two then floor tiller. Give it another month and long string tiller till about 15-18". At this point the limbs should be thin and dry enough you can heat treat the limbs and drive the remaining moisture out while also shaping the limbs to your desired profile. Now you can continue as normal.

Kyle

[Dakbay5387]

i cant imagine trying to get a 20-25" log 6' long into your attic.    

Seriously though... The attic shouldn't be used at all.  Air drying wood takes time. anything you do to shorten that time , your harvest yield goes down. 

you'll have to wait for the self bowyers for advice on making staves and when the best time to split it is.  I'm a glass bowyer myself.    Kirk

Yea i didnt make that clear lol its a barn loft ,we have alot of lumber stacked up there
And i do have a way to get it up there lol

[Dakbay5387]

Go ahead and split into staves and debark. Seal the back under the bark and the end grain with something. I like to use the cheap Elmer's glue in the gallon jug. But anything that seals the moisture from escaping will work. Otherwise it'll crack. If you leave the bark, bugs will tunnel into the wood.

I wouldn't start with storing in the attic as the wood will dry too fast initially and crack. Store in a more normal temp area like a shed for the first month or two so the bulk of the moisture is gone. Then shift them to the attic if you'd like. Moisture leaving too fast will cause cracking and splitting: the more dense the wood the worse the effect.

You can also rough out a bow bow to speed up the drying process on that one if you'd like. Shape the bow and seal the back and any exposed end grain. Let it dry a month or two then floor tiller. Give it another month and long string tiller till about 15-18". At this point the limbs should be thin and dry enough you can heat treat the limbs and drive the remaining moisture out while also shaping the limbs to your desired profile. Now you can continue as normal.

Kyle

Preciate the info!

[Jackpine Boyz]

Not sure how persimmon splits, Some woods like red elm or ironwood do not split pretty like hickory or ash.  Use a chain saw.  For a wood that stays straight you can go right to rough staves which will dry faster.  For woods such ironwood that like to twist I will cut kerfs into the log with chain saw and then let dry for a month or 6 (basically when I trip over it my pole barn and finnally remember its there). If I'm in no hurry I leave it until I need it, but at that point a lot of initial moisture is out then I would break it down to moveable peices.

One iron wood 6". dia I laid out 3 staves and kerfed.  Need enough to just keeep it tied together so it supports itself but deep enough to allow faster drying.

I had a red elm about 12" diameter, cut in half long ways.I then kerfed a straight sided profile about 2.5-3 wide down the center. (roughly a rectangular cross section) for really nice bow options which left the two outter staves kerfed out with a more triangular cross section.  The outter two had enough back for 1.5-2" back but the triangle is shallow enough that you don't aways have a super deep handle ( I'm not a deep handle guy though).  Sorry for long post and not sure how persimmon reacts, but has helped a lot to keep ironwood in particular manageable for me.

[Pat B]

I'd give it a month or so before harvesting it. Wait until the growing season begins in your area and the sap starts rising. That way the bark should peel right off and give you a pristine back for your bows. Kyle knows his stuff so listen to what he said. I've made a few persimmon bows. The wood is heavy and contains lots of silica so it will dull your tools.
 Also, study the bark well before harvesting. If the bark spirals up the tree the wood will have a twist to it. Even though the trunk is straight the bark will tell you if there is a twist in the wood.

[Watsonjay]

I have some Osage I've been aging for a few years. I spray shellac on eds and back and take it a step further by zip tying the end's about an inch down not sure if it's necessary but peace of mind.