Hickory and string follow

[chuckp]

I don't really know, I'm in N.E. Pa.

[gmc]

Ok. This is the average for a town like Scranton in NE, PA.

Average Morning Relative Humidity  83% 
Average Afternoon Relative Humidity  54% 
Average RH 68%

This will yield an equilibrium moisture content of 12.5% in your bows if exposed to the same RH environment as your outside surroundings over time. The amount of time to reach equilibrium is a guest based on how well the wood is sealed to start with. Your current environment, if hunting close by to where you live, sealing the bow properly to prevent the transfer of moisture should leave you protected. If stored in reasonable conditions, say at 50% RH around 70 degrees (AC- air conditioning) should leave you around 9.2% which is fine. Hope this helps and stop the worry and build more bows.

I take my hickory staves down to 6.5% before I work on them, then store inside in a dry environment (I live in KY). Its not a bad idea to buy humidity ga. at a place like Walmart (a few dollars) just to see where you're at. You can predict the moisture content of any wood by knowing the temp. and rh of a given environment. This is not only for Hickory, any wooden bow. All bows need to be well kept and the moisture content of wood is a key variable.

Hope this helps.

[chuckp]

Sure does help gmc thanks. It does open up a few questions though
What do you consider protected? about 6 coats of tru oil, spar marine varnish?
Would bamboo backing and tempering be helpful to prevent string set in a semi-humid climate like mine?
Should I consider a hot box, I don't have ac.?

[sailordad]

well the more coats of finish the more it will slow the hygroscopic action of hickory
but it also work the opposite way too
it will also slow the release of moisture once it gains it

personally when i make a hick bow(i live in mn )i get them as dry as possible before and durring working them into a bow
i store my staves in the garage rafters year round.i bring what i want to work on in the house.
i have a room in the basement that i keep a dehumidifier in,and its set to 40%.
the stave stays there for a month,then i get it roughed out,and it sits for a couple of weeks, and floor tillered and it sits again,and then i make a bow out of it.
by time i put the finish on they are dry,not sure on the moisture content.
i usually put about 12-15 coats of tung oil on them
it gives a furniture type finish,very durable and the more coats you put on it the more it protects from moisture
it even states that on the can 
draw back is,its a furniture type finish so its got some gloss.
but that can be taken down with a real light brushing of xxxx steel wool on the last couple of coats
my last few hick bows have taken les than 1.5" of set
dont know if its the process i use,or if my tillering is getting better 

[gmc]

Chuck:
What I consider "sealing" is a waterproof type finish, so to speak. You will never completely seal a bow no matter what you use but some finishes will slow the moisture transfer rate more effectively than others. Now there are many out there to choose from, but with Hickory I use the less popular, Shellac. I only use it on Hickory because Hickory doesn't stain well and I want to keep with a natural finish holding the wood as close as possible to its natural color without staining it to something its not. I've never been one to change the color of wood on my bows (a finish should compliment wood). Shellac is good a insulator used widely in the electrical field for wiring but no doubt any poly finish (what you've already mentioned is better, spar and such), I use the amber color shellac on my hickory bows. True-oil I can't comment on because I've never used it but I can tell you that its one of the most popular on this forum. True Oil for Hickory, I don't know.

Back to the humidity problem at hand. There are always options, I can offer up a few short-term solutions and then longer term at the end. Short term, if you can't pull moisture from the air you will need to raise the temperature in the bows environment. It would take 140/ 150 degrees to lower moisture content in your hickory bows to 10% at your current rh level. It would take somewhere around 10 days to achieve this, just my estimate. With a lower rh, some air circulation that a hot box provides you could do it faster. The attic is always an option and the trunk of a car but above the 140/150 is not recommended. Buy a humidity gage and find the driest place you have to store your bows.

Longterm, if you can't control the environment use a wood that performs well at that humidity level, Osage and Locust come to mind.

I now nothing about bambo other than its makes a great arrow and will no doubt handle moisture better than Hickory.

Hope this helps.