Simple "D" bows... Anybody making em"???

[Kegan]

  Harvested some long poles (branches ) from my Crepe Myrtle tree.... look like bows, got some arrow wood too  .... going REAL Primitive on these...branch D bows  .... Drying now ... the long wait .... Grrrrr!!!!  Thinking of roughing out a few of these , just to facilitate drying ...   Pics as soon as I figure how ...

I've gotten to the point where I don't even consider it drying until it's roughed out anyore

[RyanY]

So I started tillering my D bow today. Got it nice and even on the long string and switched to the normal string and bam! Took a ton of set! I was like, "what the heck is going on?!". Turns out it was not completely dry. Hopefully it will still work out. 

[gpw]

Kegan , yeah I hear ya' ... takes forever just as a log...
Ryoon , perhaps you can pull the bow into a small reflex and apply a thin backing ... That might help , then let it dry completely... re tiller ...
 I know this is a Primitive Forum , but having a moisture meter  pretty much takes the guesswork out of drying...  Before I got one , I just had dated  staves around for years  piled up , more aging than anything... Guess work at best...

[Kegan]

Lately what I've been doing is cutting a tree, removing the bark, and as soon as I get a chance I rough out the bow (hickory or white oak). After I rough it into a thin flatbow (the D bow, my thickest one, is 3/4" down to 7/16" or there about), I throw them into the hot box. My wide limbed stiff handled bows take about two weeks to cure down to a workable level, but this D bow seems to be drying a little faster. I check how light they are in the hand compared to how stiff they are floor tillering. I know that if they're wimpy and week when they go in, but about 80# against the floor, they're good to go. First time I take the drawknife and rasp to them is usually enough to know for sure. Dry and wet wood certainly have their own working characteristics.

Not properly seasoned, but fast and that's perfect for folks with as little patience as I have

[Parnell]

I'm liking to give'em a good smoking over a smoldering fire for 4-6 hours once they are at floor tiller.  Last one I did I 'tarped' a sheet over the bow to hold some smoke.  I think it adds some life to the wood.

[gpw]

  Didn't the Indians rub the bows with Fat and then smoke em' in the top of the Tipi or lodge???  Wonder what that does???

[Parnell]

I'm learning that it is an important step when processing your own staves.  What does it do?  Some folks may say it hardens the wood resins, others may say it gives the wood back it's spirit...maybe there are other perspectives, guess it just depends on what you believe.

[dragonman]

I like the sound of smoking my staves, does anyone have any idea if there is a practical (or spiritual) reason to do so and if it improves the bow in any way??

[gpw]

  I kinda' think it's just about the heat , but there could be some interaction with the chemicals in the smoke affecting the wood ... I dunno' , but like they say ... ten million Indians can't be all wrong ... hahaha

[HoBow]

Smoking leather makes it waterproof...perhaps that is what they were doing.

[gpw]

Thinking now that may be a two fold thing going on ... The smoke cures the fat , making like a sealer , and the heat dries out the wood ...  Where's a Primitive Chemist when you need one ...