so many problems with this bow.... help

[Fox]

So Ive been trying to make a hickory static recurve and Ive already tried and falled once so this is my second attempt and its not going particularly great... dimensions are 65" ttt, 2" wide, 8" handle, and 5" static tips. I'm going for 50# @ 27".......  so the issues are its its already taken 1" of set and its at about 15". It is dry its not loosing weight and its stored in a room with 45% humidity and i have heat treated once so far.. the other issue is one limb is only 3/16th" thick and the other is 5/16" thick the thicker one is the one that's taken most of the set... I haven't recurved it yet and the one limb is so thin already im worried there wont be a limb left by the time I recurve it and get it down to 50 at 27... heres pictures

Drawn pic at 15". The left limb is the one thats thinner in this pic...
 ( im using a gizmo also)

IMG_0121 by Livvydog, on Flickr

The right limb in this pic is the thinner one. and apears to be stiffer?
IMG_0123 by Livvydog, on Flickr


unstring. right limb thinner limb..
 

 IMG_0122 by Livvydog, on Flickr

Thinner limb IMG_0124 by Livvydog, on Flickr


Thicker limb..

IMG_0125 by Livvydog, on Flickr

[Ricardovanleeuwen]

Did you Heat treat the limbs for the same amount of time? I made a misstake to Heat one limb faster then the other one, they had the same colour but the one that heated longer was way stronger

[Fox]

Im pretty sure i heat treated them the same i used a timer..

[Badger]

  I would say the bow is still wet, hickory can take a long time to dry out.

[gutpile]

appears still wet.. hickory is hard to dry in South ..must be inside AC for months.. everytime you work it it goes back inside... very hydroscopic wood... needs to be below 12%... gut

[gutpile]

I'd go ahead and bend recurves and let sit in closet for 6 months... then you can start tillering..gut

[Fox]

Still wet even though the weight goes up and down with RH?

[DC]

Still wet even though the weight goes up and down with RH?

I may have been a bit out of line when I said that. It works for me up here with my woods but you have very humid and hickory. It's quite possible that you are seeing the up and down but the general direction could still be going down. Sorry if I misled you. Drying wood depends a lot on the location and it takes a while to learn the local ropes. I seem to have noticed that lately there are a lot of guys trying to speed up the drying process. I really think that there is no substitute for time. The main thing to remember is that if your local RH doesn't go below, say 60%, your wood ain't never going to dry enough unless you take some additional action. And it's still going to take time.

[Fox]

Okay, DC no worries... ill take guts advice and stick it in my closet for several months.... should i get a moister meter? Or how will i be able to tell once its dry enough?  I have a closet that i keep at 45% and that's where ive been keeping it...
Thanks
-Fox

[DC]

Somewhere in the TBB it says that you should dry it until it stops losing weight. Then continue drying it for another third of what it's already dried. Like if it took 6 months to stop losing weight you still should dry it for another two months. I have to admit I don't follow that to the letter. I cut most of the wood I have in the first year I took this up so it's mostly 5-6 years old.

[Fox]

Ohhh i tottaly forgot about them saying that! Thanks DC
-Fox

[PatM]

I'm squinting pretty hard but I still can't see the recurves.

[Fox]

I'm squinting pretty hard but I still can't see the recurves.

  ... I haven't recurved it yet.. i don't like doing it till im at brace because of the flippy da floppy they like to do...

[bassman]

Bought a kiln dried Hickory board to make some bows with once from the Amish in my neck of the woods. I ask him to check with a meter ,and it read 18% moisture. If you have every thing lined up ,and straight put your bow in a vice measuring the same distance with each limb, and hang a gallon jug  filled with water from the tips. Give each limb  a half hour or so heat treat. The back should even fill very warm. You will end up with some good reflex even now. String it back wards to hold that reflex, and put it some were really dry,and store a couple of months. Then tiller it.

[Fox]

Okay thanks bassman, will do..... is the limb thickness a problem? They seem supar thin..