If wood could talk

[Sidewinder]

 This is a cool topic. I wished I had something profound to say but believe it or not I'm at a loss for words.

In response to the sound of the wood when you bounce it on concrete: I don't bounce it but I do tap on it on the bare back with my thumb nail or with a coin. I can definitely tell if it has a sharp resonance or is dull.

[bassman]

Keeping it in the parameter of different woods. If you build a bass guitar with an Alder  body you get a smooth round sound. If you build the same kind of bass with  an Ash  body you get a more percussive, brilliant sound.A luthier is picky about the wood he chooses to make instruments acoustic or electronic just like bow makers are picky about their choice of woods.They also prefer  dry, and well seasoned woods like most of us do.They even use hide glue on acoustic instruments so that when they make a repair they can separate the wood with heat with out doing damage to the instrument.Yep, I have made a half dozen bass guitars in my life time.Still have them ,and still play them.

[Badger]

  When I talk about wood talking to me I am primarily talking about set, weight loss and hysteresis. I would like to say that no set tillering if done right will produce a bow that has taken no set or shown any weight loss due to crushed wood cells. The truth is that is very rare. Where the communication comes in is trying to distinguish between un avoidable set and set due to error or lack of skill on out part. Either through design or execution. It is very difficult to tell the difference but the wood will talk to us here. If your bow has lost 3" of induced reflex maybe only 1" of that is really set and the other 2" might just be that your reflex didn't hold. You can easily tell the difference by measuring the speed of the bow or an easier way is to unbrace the bow and see how much reflex returns. I have found a bow that stays the same after unbracing will almost always outshoot a bow with a similar profile that wants to return to it's original unbraced self. So what the bow is telling me is that I shouldn't try to ask too much from it. 

[Selfbowman]

I agree Steve . Man some guys can understand what you said but can't explain it like you often do. First sign of set will try to tell you. That's all I got Mr. Bowyer. That's an even set thru out the limb not just one area. Listening soon enough is the reward. But also not all Osage is the same.  Early to late rings ratio can often tell the tale. Dense or not. The drop on the concrete tells me it's dense more than dry or maybe both. I will try my next green stave and monitor.

[Ryan Jacob]

Update:
Apparently the wood I have really likes to say “tic” and “kaboom”

[George Tsoukalas]

Oh, ok. Regarding design... I've noted that, or was told some years ago by my mentor that wood that does not respond to belly wood removal after repeated tries and is getting too thin, is too wide.

Then, I began to narrow the stave until it responds by exercising it and checking tiller.

Ultimately, if too thin it will take set, hinge or beak. Jawge