What causes temporary set?

[Don Case]

My new bow takes about 2" of set when I first unstring it. A few hours later it's down to about 1/2". What can cause that?
Thanks
Don

[Pat B]

Moisture?

[Don Case]

That was my first guess. It is OS and it's only been drying since Aug so I am pushing it a bit. Impatience to get my first real shooter   I've kept it behind a gas stove. Since I live on the coast (RH is 70% right now) am I going to be fighting this kind of problem forever?

[Pat B]

Have you tried tempering the belly? I've not used OS s I don't know how it handles tempering.

[Don Case]

Apparently it takes heat well. I hesitate to heat it as it's at the limit of what I can pull now. I'm trying to build some muscles but a guy can only eat so much spinach. Also if it is a bit wet and I heat it, it might check.

[Don Case]

If it is moisture will it sort itself out as it dries?

[adb]

My new bow takes about 2" of set when I first unstring it. A few hours later it's down to about 1/2". What can cause that?
Thanks
Don

What kind of bow is it?

[Badger]

Don, does it have a rounded or flat belly? Sometimes if a bow with a rounded belly behaves like this it is just the tension wood on the back applying a constant pressure to pull it back into shape. If this is the case you might try heat treating some reflex into it and then retillering by scrapping the crown off the belly.

[Don Case]

Ocean Spray with a flat belly. I remember when I first started last summer I read a post about OS and someone said, "OS takes set."  Do some woods simply "take set" or is it always a design/dryness issue?

[Accipiter]

OS does seem to take a bit of set, for me at least, but it also responds well to heat treating since its so tension strong.

[Bryce]

It's too wet.

[Don Case]

So I should be building a hot box?

[Weylin]

You may just need to wait longer. I know that answer sucks when you're first getting into making bow because you are excited to get started. I remember what that's like. Once you get a stash going and have plenty of seasoned wood to work with it stops being a problem. If you really can't wait then you should buy a stave to work with while you wait or do a board bow.

[bubbles]

I always thought the set a bow has when first unstrung is its "true" set.  That is the amount of set when the bow is actually in use.  The amount of set it ends up at after 2 or so hours is irrelevant as it will just return next time you string it and shoot.   

[PatM]

All bows show some type of creeping return to straight or whatever the original profile was. Yours is just a bit on the high end of movement.