From: John
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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I have a beautiful Ed Scott bow that has been displayed on the wall above our wood stove. Bought it to shoot some and as a work of art to display. It gets warm above the stove, maybe 80-90 degrees on average. After hanging on the wall all winter I’m worried about stringing it and shooting it for fear of the wood splitting now. Is it possible for the wood to get too dry? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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From: Bentstick54
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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Assuming it’s an all wood bow, YES, DEFINITELY. Get it away from any hot exceptionally dry area and give it time to absorb some moisture. Different woods prefer different moisture levels also.
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From: M60gunner
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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Wood, weather it’s a bow or say a table can get to dry. Temp changes affect the wood as well as moisture contents. I recall old timers leaving their all wood bows on the porch in winter. Then “rubbing them down” before stringing it up.
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From: Scoop
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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I snapped my older brother's Hill bow above the upper riser when I was a young teenager. It had been stored in an old closed up small house for two years that was hotter than heck all summer in the kitchen, It was heavy poundage, and I have forgotten how much now. We figured it just dried out too much and I didn't know any better back then. I think the posts above explain it correctly.
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From: longbowguy
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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Propping it near the shower for a few weeks will let it absorb some moisture. - lbg
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From: fdp
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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Absolutely all wood bows can. DEPENDING on the type of finish it has on it, it may happen quickly or not,
But, if it has a finish that allows it to dry out, that same finish will allow it to rehyfrate.
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From: John
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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So I live in the dry southwest. Besides setting it in the bathroom by the shower, is there anything you’d recommend to help,add moisture back into the wood?
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From: Longtrad
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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depends on the finish I would think, Ed made beautiful bows, maybe someone here will know what he used to finish them.
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From: fdp
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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Just take it an put it somewhere that stays in the average humidity level of your environment and store it there. It will regain the proper moisture level as quickly as lost it if it did lose any.
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From: John
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Date: 16-Feb-18 |
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I appreciate all the input.
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From: JusPassin
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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If it's a hickory bow, likely not. Yes for about all others.
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From: MStyles
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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All wood, yes. But even a wood/glass laminated bow can dry out. I bought a bow sight UN-STRUNG. Big mistake. A 75# American Archery recurve. I could barely get it strung using a stringer. It felt like 100# plus. When I got the stringer off, and stood it straight up, it started to twist and move like Little Egypt (1890’s belly dancer)..then it exploded...like no other bow I’ve ever seen. Those Rock Maple lams were dried out to the max.
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From: Jeff Durnell
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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Hanging it above a working wood stove is probably the WORST place you could put it in your home.
Yes, wooden bows can become too dry. When that happens, they lose their ability to flex, and in some cases will be very hard to brace just as MStyles said. In fact, if you force an overly dried wooden bow to brace when it doesn't want to, it can explode very violently into many pieces before you can even get the string on it. Been there.
I doubt ANY finish is a 100% moisture barrier. They certainly slow it and protect it for a while, but the more extreme the environment, and the longer the exposure, the more dry and brittle the wood becomes.
The big questions are, what type of bow is it? Ed Scott made a lot of sinew backed bows, didn't he? How dry has your bow become? Has it come down to a dangerous level? It's hard to tell.
Without knowing exactly what the moisture content of the wood is, I'd have to err on the side of safety and assume a working wood stove underneath brought it to dangerously low levels, and would put it somewhere the relative humidity was 50% or more and leave it there for at least a few months before I tried to brace it.
If it is indeed a sinew backed bow, carefully inspect the sinew and the sinew to wood connection to insure there's no separation. Run your hands up and down the limbs listening for any 'hollow' sound, tap your fingers stoutly on the bow's back while listening for any sign of loose backing, especially in areas of reflex or recurve. It'll probably be fine, but I'd check it. And get that thing away from the stove! ;^)
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From: RonG
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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Yes, send it to Florida, we have the opposite problem here.
Jeff, that is a very good list of cautions and instructions on how to inspect the bow and what to do with it.
Everyone needs to read that.
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From: PEARL DRUMS
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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Dont boss me around Ron! I'll read Jeffys ramblins' if'n I wanna!!
That kind of extreme heat and dryness can forever change a bow and make it useless. As Jeff said, dont store any kind of bow above or very near heat sources, especially mega dry heat sources like wood fire. Hopefully your prized possession is in good shape still.
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From: badger
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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Bows will gain weight as they dry out up to a point, once the fall below 6% they enter a real danger zone and can actually start dropping in weight. We have a dryer climate at the salt flats in Utah that I have on the coast in southern California. My osage bows tend to gain a couple of pounds over the week I spend there. I have had yew bows break on me because of the dry weather.
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From: John
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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I appreciate all of your input but I guess I’m a little confused. This is a mesquite wood bow, backed with snakeskin. Scott built bows in New Mexico.....a desert climate. I live in high desert with an average humidity of about 17%. How much more can a piece of wood dry out?
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From: RonG
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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John,
I believe it's where you have it stored like the fellas said, My humidity here is on the average of 60% and much higher I put my iron wood billets in the drying box for three days and the moisture content went so low my meter couldn't detect any moisture so I had to wait until it went to 8% in order for me to glue it because the glue requires a certain amount to bond the surfaces. My temps are 80 degrees in the box. That wood is so dense you wouldn't think it could possibly dry out.
Wood will dry out, like was stated take your bow away from the heat source for a few weeks and then check it out. Good Luck!
Pearl Drums, there you are, I knew that comment would bring you out of hiding, haven't heard from you or seen any of your great knowledge, craftmanship and experience posted recently.
Jeff, How is that for buttering up Chris, do you think he will send me a bow, I think the Osage dust is getting to him,........could be the glue, snicker snicker. He probably will send me one of them there turd herder bows...Ha!Ha!Ha!Ha!
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From: dean
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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True pig nut hickory is different stuff. I made a longbow.flat limb with local hickory. I let it dry for a year, before I tillered it. It turned out sluggish. I was sent a pig nut stave from the south east. Just the same but way different. It shot hard. I used terrible finish on it, shellac. I wanted something that dried fast, because I wanted to use the bow later that same day. It looked really cool. One day out duck and goose hunting , I noticed the finish was not holding up, it rained. That thirsty sucker drank up half the rain that fell out it. It turned into a total dud. I sanded it off, fastened it to a to a ply board and put it in a furnace duct for a year. On a day when the humidity was under 15%, I redid the entire bow and sprayed a better finish on it. I am not sure that pig nut hickory can get too dry, I know that it can get too wet very easily.
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From: Traxx
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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John,,,,
Ed made both Self and backed bows..If it is mesquite,,it is a sinew backed bow,under that snake skin..
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From: Bowlim
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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1) Strength/performance:
The ideal strength level in any wood is not at it's driest, it is some moisture level usually a little lower than normal (meaning the ideal that people enjoy if they have both temp and moisture control) ambient moisture levels, depending on where you live. It also varies by species what the exact moisture level is.
2)Cracks/Damage:
Allowing moisture to rise or fall quickly is not good because it can cause splits or checks. So if you have it over a stove, putting it near a shower is a very bad idea. Normal ambient will get it done. Carefully dried or hydrated wood is not at any particular risk so long as the moisture level is allowed to vary gradually.
If you know the ideal moisture content is, you can probably find that on the forest products site. Then there are charts that will tell you what temp and humidity you need to hit that level, and what level your bow will be at in the temp and humidity of your storage conditions. Theoretically you could determine an approximate weight for your bow in those conditions, and see if you can find a place that will hold your self-bows at that moisture level. But unless you are shooting flight or something, being close is good enough. You can probably get a good idea of what you need to do if you ask local musicians who own natural wood guitars, violins. Often all you need is a closed environment with something damp in it.
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From: RonG
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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Bob, That is Pearl Drums name for one of those PVC bows, It is funny.
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From: Earl Mason
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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You ask Mike Yancy he was Ed's partner in the bow school.
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From: PEARL DRUMS
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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Its not about climate, Ed or Mike. Its about hanging bows above a wood stove. Bad idea if its a working stove.
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From: John
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Date: 17-Feb-18 |
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Ok guys, thanks again for all the input. I’ll proceed accordingly.
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From: Arvin
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Date: 18-Feb-18 |
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I had Osage go from 7% to 17% in a matter of days. It has been so humid here the last couple weeks I just give up onbow making for a while. Arvin
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From: Stoner
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Date: 18-Feb-18 |
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When I lived in the Phoenix valley, AZ. I use to have my bows stored in my shop. Let the bows adjust to the climate so I could shoot or hunt any time in the desert.
Don't think I would purposely put a bow above a stove. Kinda like your threatening the bow. If your not a good bow this is where you could end up! As the bow shakes if fear for it's life.... John
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From: Stoner
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Date: 18-Feb-18 |
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Old stone shop in the west. John
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