selfbow care??

[bowtarist]

I've got an osage selfbow, no backing, w/ a leather over jute/hemp wrapped handle.  It has been finished w/ bees wax.
It's February in Indiana, sleet, rainy, cold, 28-45*.  I shoot nearly every day, I dry the bow when I come in and hang it back on the nail, but that's about it.  Will I know when to apply more bees wax, or should I be doing more of something?  Kinda worried about the handle w/ the jute/hemp under the leather getting too damp.  It's been saturated w/ some type of glue, but bare fabric is showing.  Any ideas on sealing that seam if needed would be great. 

Thanks for your ideas, derik p gratz 

[chasing crow]

I am far from an expert, but here's my 2 cents. I use "SNOW SHIELD" on my non wood areas. I have used it on my moccasins and other leather gear for years. just coat the areas to be protected liberally and heat with a hair drier, heat gun (not too hot), or other heat source. Just laying it on a warm surface out in the sun will work. After it has soaked in just wipe off any excess. Works great.

[crooketarrow]

  I also use snow seal on leather handles. Leather out last everything else. I also use bee wax with a hair dryer. If by bow gets wet I dry it off keep all my bows in a wool sock. Lay IT flat to let

[crooketarrow]

  I also use snow seal on all leather. I also use bees wax and a hair dryer. Heating and thining the wax with heat alows it to feel the pours of the wood. I keep all my bows in wool socks. But lay all my bows flat after use. Laying flat between to pegs alows your bow to restraighten with out any restrickons.

[Pat B]

I rarely use leather for bow handles anymore. The bows I have with leather handles I have used Montana Pitch Blend.   For the bow, you can use car or furnature paste wax to repel water. My bows hang from a peg through the loose string unless I'm working on them then that lay flat on my work table or near by.
  I use my bows no matter what the weather is. I make all my bows to be used this way. If I'm hunting in the rain I try to protect the bow the best I can but if I'm hunting, I'm hunting so I don't worry about it. When the hunt is over I immediately unstring the bow and wipe the moisture off of it. Generally speaking rain won't hurt your selfbow. R/H has a more adverse effect than rain.

[bowtarist]

R/H has a more adverse effect than rain.

"R/H" ? rough housing? rough handleing?  I hang this one on a peg between the upper limb and string.

Thanks for the comments guys.  I have some snow seal and plenty of bees wax.

[Pat B]

R/H = relative humidity.  Rain will mostly run off of a bow. The R/H (water vaper) soakes into the wood as the wood breathes.

[bowtarist]

R/H = relative humidity.  Rain will mostly run off of a bow. The R/H (water vaper) soakes into the wood as the wood breathes.

oh yea, relative humidity  So it's pretty dry here now, but Summers are humid.  I'll keep her as dry as possible and sealed good when the humidity goes up.  Thanks Pat and others, dpgratz

[Pat B]

If I know I'm dealing with high humidity I don't use bows that are susceptable to moisture(R/H) like hickory. No matter how well you think you are sealing a bow, water vapor will enter the wood as it breaths. This intake of moisture(hygroscopic rate)is not an instant thing either. I have sat through rain storms with a hickory bow with no adverse effects to the bow. A few days in high humidity however will make a hickory bow sluggish.
I'm not just picking on hickory either. Other not so oily woods are susceptable too. Oily woods like osage have a slower hygroscopic rate so less susceptable to R/H.

[Slackbunny]

I wouldn't worry at all about getting water drops on your bow if it is well sealed because liquid water will be repelled much better than water vapour in the air. In fact water vapour is much more likely to penetrate into the wood than actual liquid water because gasses can diffuse though anything, given enough time, relative concentrations, and relative pressures. A good analogy is the balloon. If you fill it full of air, the gases will diffuse through the balloon walls and it will reach equilibrium with the atmosphere in a couple of days. If you fill it full of liquid, the liquid will stay there a long, long time with very little change. This is because gases diffuse through solids, whereas liquids do not (at least nowhere near as fast). The humidity in the air during a rainstorm should actually be more detrimental to your bow than the actual water drops if your bow is well sealed.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Mink Oil works good for leather and cloth. I wouldnt sweat it too much. Osage self bows are pretty mean critters. 

[DRon knife]

Pat,could I store my hickory bows in a warm dry room or my drying box during a damp or humid spell? I been hunting with my hick stick 3 years now and I really haven't had a problem,but the weather really wasn't to damp.

Bowtarist,I don't know if its best thing or not but I use linseed oil on the wood and leather,Ron

[Pat B]

Ron, keeping it in your house with A/C or heat on will help. Both dehumidify.

[DRon knife]

thats what I doo   forced hot air to the rescue!! Thanx Sir!!