New guy with some questions

[Weylin]

Greetings everyone, my name's Weylin. I've been slowly working on my first bow which is a hickory flat bow. Im in the tillering stage and Im starting to get cautious about my progress. I started under expert guidance but now Im on my own. My digital camera is broken right now but will soon be replaced, so no pictures for now. That being the case I will just stick to a few general questions. The first concern that I have is moisture. I just moved out to Portland, Oregon about six months ago and it has been sitting around in the wet Portland winter all this time. I havent been working on it until now, but as I begin to tiller the bow and exercise it I am worried about the bow being too moist and creating string follow. Is this something that I should be concerned with and if so how can I know the moisture level and what can I do about it? I'll just start with that issue for now and see where the conversation goes. Thanks in advance for the advice.

[Ryano]

Welcome to pa Weylin. I'd keep the bow in a heat box to get it dry for a couple weeks before you continue tillering it. Hickory likes to suck up moisture which will make the bow take a lot of set. You can make a heat box from a sheet of ply wood, a couple hinges and three light bulbs/sockets. Hope this helps. Ryano

[aaron]

I'm out in western washington , and I just store my bows in the driest place possible during tillering. If you work in a climate controlled building, leave it at work for a while.. Even in a heated home it may be all right. if it's thin enough that you are tillering it, it should dry pretty quickl.another way is to use those crystals that absorb moisture- silica i think. put the stave in a bag with the crystals. Testing the stave for MC is hard, but monitoring the airs humidity is easier- you can get a temp/ humidity meter that is battery operated. Humidity around 50% and temp around 70 will produce acceptable stave MC. (40% yields 8%, while 60% yeilds 12%).
my advice on first bows is DON'T WORRY, and don't get your heart set on a 50 lb elk slayer, string follow is not the end of the world. Where did you move from? A good local bow wood is Vine Maple- excellent for beginners, common along hwy 26 between portland and seaside. Also, there are a few getherings to choose from- like the glass-buttes knap-in. I think theres a central oregon bowyers garthering tthis month.welcome to the tribe.
aaron

[TRACY]

Hotbox to store it in between working on it. Hickory is definitely moisture seeking, but makes a great bow.

[Weylin]

Thanks for the advice and the welcome. Though the hotbox sounds like a good idea, Im living in an apartment and I have very limited tools right now so I might need to find a simpler solution for now. Maybe I'll look into the silica crystal idea. If it has been relatively hot and dry recently do you think that will make a positive impact? the stave was well seasoned to begin with and the weather is becoming warmer and drier. It was inside all winter in a heated house maybe the impact of the wet winter is less significant than I think. Has anyone had a similar experience?

@aaron, I came from Wisconsin, I started working on my bow at the Traditional Ways Gathering up on Lake Superior. I would definitely like to visit some local gatherings out here when I have the time and money.

[Pat B]

If you have central air and heat, store your bows near an air register. Very dry air comes out and will help keep your bows dry.

[aaron]

when a bow is as thin as one inch, it will gain and loose moisture pretty quick. so,  a few days ay a hotter temp and drier humidity will make a fair difference. ikeep in mind that living in portland you will have to settle for a little higher moisture content than, say, a guy in nevada. ... remember, it's the first of many bows you'll make..