If wood could talk

[Pappy]

Jim Davis, very true in my shop Well said Steve, all so true and Arvin that for sure never hurts. 
 Pappy

[upstatenybowyer]

  We often hear the phrase, " I let the wood tell me what kind of bow it wants to be". I would imagine someone new might be wondering how exactly it is the wood is talking to you.
First thing I always ask a bow is how much moisture it has. It never answers me so I have to go through some steps to make sure the moisture is about right.

 2nd thing I ask is how elastic are you? How wide do you need to be to make a bow? Again it never answers me so I have to take steps to assure I am wide enough.

 3rd thing I usually like to ask is " Am I working you too hard? Where does it hurt?" By this time the bow is bending and starting to talk, but we need to listen closely as she starts off whispering and if we go too far she will be screaming at us.

This is an awesome way to think of bowmaking Steve. Let me think about it...

[Sticks]

Don't do nothin to me until you think it out real well.

[Hawkdancer]

Arvin, no problem in talking to yourself, as long as you don't answer! 
I think the wood, whether a bow, a carving, or any other end product has a "feel" let's you know what your limits may be.  We screw up the results by trying to bpush the limits too far. 
It also helps to leave a nip of the poteen for the leprechauns - some of them are bow makers!   !
Hawkdancer

[ohma2]

All my bows over 35# are talking to me ,
Well, no theyr laughing and saying  you know you cant shoot me anymore.

[sleek]

Well put Steve that is the way we have to listen to the wood! I try to always invite God into my builds. Those seem to turn out better bows. Just saying. Yes I sometimes talk to myself also. 
Arvin

I love it. I often contemplare God, and existence while working on a bow. Rarely is my mind on task, just going through the motions to open my mind to other things.

[Hawkdancer]

Sleek,
And God said, Boy, you Just screwed up a perfectly good stave I gave you!  Pay attention to the wood! !  Also watch out for lightning bolts!! . See you at MoJam, I hope!
 Hawkdancer

[GlisGlis]

live wood tells me: "cut me I'll be an awesome bow", "cut me I'll be a true arrow",  "cut me I'll be a great carved spoon" and so on
At home every bit of wood keep speaking and whispering: "tiller time", "get the saw", "I need sandpaper...", "sharpen the knife"
I also have some rocks that are usually quite big mouth
Then there are bows and arrows asking aloud: "shooting time", "time to go out", " i need a small fix! just one.."
Weird thing they always mute when my wife comes home 

[George Tsoukalas]

Figuratively, the wood does talk to me.
Just as an example...
Let's say I have a 60" hickory stave.
I'll try to make a bend in the handle bow rather than a bow with an 8" handle section.
Essentially, I design the bow around the stave rather than force the design onto the stave.
Jawge

[PaulN/KS]

I've had a few that spoke to me. Either loudly,or softly, they have said "Tic"... 
Which, in stave language, means "OOPS"... 

[Pat B]

George, I agree with you 100%. By designing the bow for the wood you have leads to a more successful attempt. Making the wood fit the bow design you want doesn't always work and doesn't make you a better bowyer. A well tillered bow that comes in under weight is still a well tillered bow and our ultimate goal is to build well tillered bows. A beautiful bow that is poorly tillered is a pretty bent stick. 

[RandyN]

Steve,,Great question. I talk to my staves, future bows all the time. For me, the trick is to listen to their response.

[DuBois]

I do talk to them. "You know you want to be a bow don't you? You want to launch some arrows. You're gonna love it."           
And then there's "You *&#$5@B!!!"
 

[Badger]

   I just thought of something. Some people say they can bounce the end of a stave on concrete and tell if it is dry or not by the ring. I can't do that but I don't doubt there may be something to it. If someone had one of those electric tuners around maybe they could monitor the tone of the wood as it dries out and see how much it changes.

[George Tsoukalas]

The shavings will tell you a story too to tell if dry or wet. Jawge