Tillering --Humidity --Hot box

[Mad Max]

I make sure that ash is very dry before bending it much. 10% is a bit high for ash in my experience. Ash is also massively strong in tension and not great in compression.
The rules to follow for a low set ash bow are 1) Start with dry wood. 8%     2)Trap (narrow) the back a lot!    3) Heat treat the belly.
These things might tip some woods over the edge tension-wise but not ash. Ash is great bow wood!

2) Trap (narrow) the back a lot??? more info. please
I put it on the reflex caul and I toasted it Monday, this morning it had reflex, and now i have it inside the house.

[twisted hickory]

Food for thought,
I tillered out a real nice snake skin hickory bow this winter to 55.25 lbs at my draw. I was planning on using the bow to hunt with this fall. It is now 48lbs and kinda sluggish since the humidity is double what it was this winter in my house. I am trying to dry out hickory to 10% then tiller it. That way I won't lose so much poundage. Unless of course you want to keep your hickory bow in a hot box all the time.
I have found that black locust is not so affected by humidity.
Hope this helps,
Greg

[Mad Max]

Humidity makes wood more prone to taking on the shape that you form it to. Certain woods are more prone to it than others, such as hickory. If you live in a high humidity environment then some woods will feel sluggish, and may be more prone to string follow. There is really nothing you can do about it aside from choosing humidity resistant woods and sealing them up well.

I would not tiller for at least 2 days after the hot box. I typically wait 3 days. If the wood is too dry then it becomes brittle and prone to fracture.

what woods are Humidity Resistant ??  Osage

[twisted hickory]

Humidity makes wood more prone to taking on the shape that you form it to. Certain woods are more prone to it than others, such as hickory. If you live in a high humidity environment then some woods will feel sluggish, and may be more prone to string follow. There is really nothing you can do about it aside from choosing humidity resistant woods and sealing them up well.

I would not tiller for at least 2 days after the hot box. I typically wait 3 days. If the wood is too dry then it becomes brittle and prone to fracture.

what woods are Humidity Resistant ??  Osage

That is what I have heard. I know Black locust is somewhat humitity resistant as well. I have a few bows that I have made of them.

[Beavis]

I live in a very humid area, south florida, was wondering how much a good finish can help. I've used true-oil but a spray poly seems like it would keep the moisture out better.

[Joec123able]

Humidity makes wood more prone to taking on the shape that you form it to. Certain woods are more prone to it than others, such as hickory. If you live in a high humidity environment then some woods will feel sluggish, and may be more prone to string follow. There is really nothing you can do about it aside from choosing humidity resistant woods and sealing them up well.

I would not tiller for at least 2 days after the hot box. I typically wait 3 days. If the wood is too dry then it becomes brittle and prone to fracture.

what woods are Humidity Resistant ??  Osage

Apparently black walnut is resistant to absorbing moisture also and I would think Osage is to

[Mad Max]

Thanks guys

[BowEd]

I've always used the weigh it at 50% humidity till it quits losing weight 1/3 the time I've been weighing it.That's a roughed out bow in the house.It can take weeks without a hot box.I keep a dehumidifier running during the summer with a humidity and thermometer [analog one] meter on the rack with my bows hanging horizontally on the wall and keep the humidity meter at 45 to 55 percent humidity.I'll also have a fan blowing on the roughed out bows too.Central air in the house will do it too.My sealed hickory bows remain spunky during the summer with no extra follow.Spar varnish for finish most times.Today I put three roughed out bows in my pickup parked in the sun.Thermometer inside says 115 degrees F.That'll cut quite a few days off for me doing it in the house.

[Mad Max]

It's been 11 days I have had my (un tillered)  ash bow inside the house , it has lost 28 grams or 1oz. of moisture .
just keep waiting

[H Rhodes]

I am not too scientific with my process on white wood bows.  I rough a bow out till it is floor tillered, leave the tips a little wide, and then throw it under my bed for a month.  I live in a hot humid environment, but the central air keeps it at 70 deg. indoors.  I store all my bows inside and I have a couple of hickory bows that are real screamers - year round.  When the scale says a floor tillered bow is through losing weight for a week, I go to work on it. 
  I did learn that a bow finished out of wood that is still too green will gain a lot of draw weight, even after heat treating it, once it finishes drying.  I had an elm bow that I rushed into existence before the wood was completely dry, go from being a fifty pound draw to a seventy pound draw over the course of a couple of months of hanging on the rack in an air conditioned house.  That was an eye opener!  Another lesson I learned is to keep cutting bow wood, so that you have a steady supply of dry staves to work on, since there will always be a "next bow".  It's bad.  It really is.   

[Mad Max]

Thanks Howard
I have 3 i'am working on right now, and all are going to come into the house before i tiller.
I have a good scale, and i am going to keep a log on them.