Moisture in a bow

[Muskyman]

Just wondering how you guys are getting moisture content in your bow staves. I have a moisture meter. Not sure of its accuracy. I have checked it against different pieces of wood. 2x4s and newly cut wood and wood I know was cut and sealed for over a year. Have also seen where people say to weight your staves (not sure how I would do that) meaning I don’t have a scale to do it with.
My Osage stave I’ve been working on typically reads around 8-10 percent with the meter I have.
At this point I’m wondering if I should not worry and just go for it. It’s basically to where I just put a long string on it and probably pulled it 4 inches or so. Just to see what the limbs look like. I have been keeping it inside for the last few weeks except when working on it.
My other question would be if the moisture content is higher then my meter is telling me and I continue with the build will it ruin the bow or what the consequences might be.

Thanks Mike

[George Tsoukalas]

8-10% MC is good for osage. What I do is keep using the meter right down to its first stringing. If I get a reading above  10% I stop and let it dry some more.
The meter I have just reads surface readings but the way I use it, as described above, gets around that. Jawge

[Pat B]

You can also tell if the moisture content is too high if you start getting more set as you tiller. If you notice even a slight bit of set give the stave time to dry more or put it in a dryer environment for a while. Be aware that as the humidity changes so does the M/C of your stave.

[Muskyman]

The meter I have has the two probs on it. I’m going to assume that it shouldn’t damage the belly of my stave or should I prob it somewhere else. Never really thought about it talking set if it has to much MC Pat, thanks for that, I’ll be looking for that during the tillering process. I’ve been keeping this stave in my family room and I have a wood burning stove in the room so it’s pretty dry in there.

[Pat B]

If it's at 8% to 10% now I wouldn't let it get too much drier. Hickory can go as low as 5% or 6% but most other bow woods can't take being that dry.

[bassman211]

Those probes only sink into the belly wood about a 1/16 of an inch give, or take. That doesn't tell the whole story when the limb is 1/4 inch  thick, or so in the area that you are checking the moisture content in. If you see it starting to take set put it on reflex form ,and heat treat the belly it is another option.

[superdav95]

Correct bassman.  I’ve noticed this also. The meter is a good rough idea of where the wood is at FYI Mike my shop is quite dry right now and is not heated at the moment.  We are quite cold and dry relative humidity here right now.  Here’s a few pics of stave readings I took with my meter.  The reading that is at 15.5% is your stave you traded with me.  The second pic is an Osage stave that has been drying a couple years at least.  The others are all hickory ranging from 5-6% mc.  I do have some other hickory staves that are are around the 10% + range but they were cut earlier this year and need more drying.  The end grain is where I used the probes.  The sides of the stave often won’t give any reading.  Hope this helps. 

[Muskyman]

Dave, I’m getting close to the same reading on the staves I have stored in my shed. This piece is the split that I had tossed into my fire wood pile then decided to look at it again. The one with the tiny rings. It was only a inch, inch and a half at its thickest part. It was testing 8 to 10 before I started working on it.. Haven’t tested it in a few weeks but have been keeping it inside my house. I’m thinking about clamping it to my reflex form and heating it. Might rewatch the Mark St Louis video on it before I do, if I do. I shouldn’t worry to much about it but I would like for it to turn out to be a good bow. I did get some rawhide in the mail the other day. So I’ve got a backing for it. Might make a different reflex form, the one I have has about 3 1/2 to 4 inches reflex.. I might make one that’s got about 2-21/2 in it

[superdav95]

Mike I think you’d be fine with the form you have as you will loose about half of that after tiller generally.  Your preference though.  Still should turn out a good bow. 

[Muskyman]

Probably true enough Dave. I brought my moisture meter into the house and checked my stave/bow. I got one or two readings on the belly of the limbs at around 6-6.5 and on the handle it was 8-10. My meter is a general, same as yours. Probably will clamp it down and heat it then let it sit on the form for a day. Then start tillering it and see what happens. Thought about fire hardening it but, not like I would a hickory bow. Although I’ve got a couple of those I can toss over the charcoal too.

Going to need some arrows for these bows also. I’ve got a spline test kit of arrows.. They are PO cedar
I have been looking at the Doug fur arrows..Probably will get a fletching jig this winter too, and other miscellaneous things I need. I used to make arrows a long time ago. They were aluminum but shouldn’t be much different. I’ve been thinking if it turns out pretty good I might airbrush some kind of design on the rawhide backing. I’ve got some really nice airbrushes I use for painting fishing lures. Might have to spray leather dye through them but that’s okay. Just have to play with it.

[Aksel]

Since the stave dries from outside to inside, and the moisture meter measure the woods surface, wouldn´t it make good sense to dry the stave longer (if possible) -say 4 inches - and when you think wood is dry, cut that excess 4 inches off to get a reading from the core of the stave?

[Muskyman]

Aksel, it’s been floor tillered and has nocks and a long string on it. To long of a story to go into for now but, I’m letting it dry out a bit more because it was cut not to long ago

[Pat B]

Woods dries at an approximate rate of 1" of thickness per year so a 2" thick stave that has been in the dry for a year should be at R/H equilibrium(1" from the top and bottom to the middle) From there you can reduce the M/C artificially in a heat box, in a dry house and even through heat treating. As you reduce the stave it will dry quicker. Be sure to keep the back sealed until you are ready for finish work. I've had staves that were 10 years or more in the dry check on the back as I exposed another back ring.
 Shorten up your long string until it is right at the bow's length or slightly longer and once you get to first brace and can see how the strings tracks you can used the braced to check the tiller.

[Muskyman]

Thanks Pat I’ll shorten the string and go from there. That makes since now I think about it. I’ve got a lot to learn about making bows but looking forward to it truthfully.

[Pat B]

Keep asking questions and posting pics and I'll help you the best I can.