hickory weight loss

[don s]

hey all, i have read where hickory can and will lose and gain weight depending on the weather, ie.humidity. how much can a bow lose in high humidity? and will the bow return to it's previous weight, later, when the humidity decreases? thanks. don

[bigcountry]

I noticed a osage I have this year, went up 5lbs in the winter, and now back to 55lbs.  

I always wondered if I should seal it better.  Espeically hickory.

[Pat B]

Don, I've seen hickory change by 10# over a years time due to humidity. As the humidity lowers so will the wood.
  Mark, I know of no finish that will prevent wood from taking on moisture and I don't want one that will. Wood need to breath or it will dry rot. A good finish does slow down the hygroscopic rate but none will stop it completely.

[don s]

the bbh that i made about 2 months ago weighed in at 49#@28". i shot it for a while and rechecked it and it remained consistant. we have been having a lot of rain in the last month. the last few days have been really humid. i was shooting it today and thought i was imagining things. i put it on the tillering system and weighed it. it was 8#s under? is this possible? i checked all over the bow to see if it had delammed or had a crack or something going on. nothing. it has to be the humidity. so, will the bow return to it's original poundage? btw, the bow is stored unstrung, horizontal on a bow rack indoors, no air conditioning. don

[Pat B]

Don, if you don't stress it it should come back fine. If you have a hot box, store it in there. If or when you turn on the A/C near a register is a good place. I don't have A/C in my house so I use a hot box or don't shoot bows that are adversly effected by R/H.

[don s]

pat, i don't have a hot box or a/c. i think it may be best to leave this bow alone for now and shoot one of my other bows. this is the most rain we have had in a long time. add in the heat and it's like a sauna lately. i don't know how you guys that live in the south can stand the humidity. thanks for the info pat. don