BL and Cold

[bootboy]

I have found that black locust  seems to snap in cold temperatures? Bows that were seemingly well tillered, and shoot well in warm temp. have expolded in the cold weather. Has anyone else found this.

[Pat B]

Could they have dried out too much? This time of year is a lot dryer than in warmer weather.

[sonny]

very good point Pat!
the humidity meter that I keep over the thermostat is reading in the 29% range right now.
makes me leery of stringing up any of my wood bows.

[George Tsoukalas]

Never had a problem with cold on BL. I let the bow sit in the cold for 5 or so mins before shooting. Jawge

[loefflerchuck]

I really think it has nothing to do with temp outside. The way we heat our houses in the wintertime will suck moisture out of wood till it is brittle. It took me years to figure this out. I used to snap bows in the wintertime. I thought it was due to the fact that my heart belonged to skiing and the mountains and my bow making was half assed for this season. Maybe, but also the floor vent heat in my house would keep humidity at about 20%. At that wood will loose so much moisture it will not bend safely.
 Simple fix: Get a humidity meter and a cheap humidifier. With those two things keep all your staves and pre treated bows in a room with these two things, with humidity at about 50%.

[druid]

Last winter I set my 125# bl bow for 45 minutes in snow, braced. After that I immediately pulled it 2" further than normal full draw (tillered to 29" and I draw it to 31") about dozen times- nothing happened. Maybe winter has something awith moisture in wood, my bow was well sealed.

[sadiejane]

ok, now you guys are making me worry(i tend to do that...)
should i get all my bows outta the house and into the shed or garage where there is no furnace?
thinking they are all sealed well enough, but...sure would hate to lose one when it can be prevented.
thanks

[M-P]

I don't think there is any sealer that will prevent movement of water in and out of wood.  I remember reading about experiments to make water pipes from paper.   All sorts of plastic and epoxy resins were used to "water proof " the paper, but the paper always got soggy and the pipes burst.   Now recall that paper is made from wood.  With a good sealer that moisture exchange is greatly slowed, but not stopped.
Ron

[Buckeye Guy]

Sadie
You should be fine, its only extreme cases !
I know you would be devastated if it happened but it is not likely !
I put mine on the floor under the bed for winter.
I hunt in Feb.,in single digit temps, no problems yet!
Guy

[dbb]

If dry winter air is the problem you could always do as i...i have 11 aquariums spread out in my place
That keeps the humidty pretty stable summer or winter.

/Mikael