sinew , how long to wait

[bradsmith2010]

I am guessing that with the weight change,, you could pull it shorter or longer to compensate a bit,, still hitting the same weight,, allowing for accuracy and same arrow spine,,

[Stick Bender]

I shot this Mohegan style sinew/backed hickory bow with heat treated belly  last year  in a 3 D event where it rained most of the day & really didn't notice any weight change or arrow trajectory I wonder if heat treated belly & 6 coats of poly helped , the only time I see weight increase is in the winter when it's real dry , the Turks seemed to use there sinew bows in some pretty adverse wheather I'm interested in the smoke conditioning too , wheather proofing sinew could be a whole new thread !

[Pat B]

It's not rain that does it. I've sat through some pretty wet hunts and never noticed ill effects. It is the water vapor that gets into the wood, sinew/glue.   The above mentioned bow never went out of tiller and never shot badly. It only softened or gained weight over a period of time.

[BowEd]

Pat...Well everyones' experiences hold true for themselves I guess.I know I've shot and kept braced for 6 hours every day a heavy sinewed bow in hot humid[70% +] and even drizzle for 3 to 4 days with no ill effects on poundage.That time allotment usually gets me by any outing I'm on.Hunting here too day after day with many heavy dewey mornings for weeks in the fall.
Humidity has it's way of creeping in over time on any homogenous material.I'm not denying that at all.It will..Even more so not protected properly or stored properly.Even on self bows.I can only speak from my experiences over here.What other people do in the use or care of their bows is not in my control.I've got a friend who keeps his sinewed bow out in his garage.It stays the same in poundage.
With the way that smoke will water proof protect brain tan as white brain tan is only dressed leather I'd call it and the smoke actually water proofs it. There's no doubt in my mind it could do the same for a sinewed bows' back.It would have to adhere to the surface though and not go through the material like brain tan because it would not be forced through the leather smoking.That along with a little coon or bear grease I'm sure helps a lot.With it being hung above a fire at night I'm sure kept humidity out of a natives sinewed bow.I've got some hide glue from JW that's been mixed with tannin water.Never tried it yet though.
Is there tannin in smoke?I feel tannin preserves material like leather etc.but not sure it waterproofs it.
Anyway my process of water proofing is this for a sinewed bow.A covering[birch bark or snake skin].Put on with TT 3 sized to both surfaces.After that's dry and trimmed up I put a bead of super glue all along the edges to prevent fraying.I then put at least 3 thin layers of lacquer over that.Works for me.
The discussion of different natural glues like hide or bladder glue is something to keep in mind too if a person is serious about this.Bladder glue is from what I've read with no experience here to back it is said to be more tolerant of humidity also.
In the end I think it's like chasing speed on these bows.It's done in little bits here and there.Same with water proofing sinewed bows.Layers or barriers slows humidities creep.Taking care of the bow means a lot too.