Ash self bow

[Lee Lobbestael]

I am currently making a ash self bow out of a piece of would that was kiln dried. If for some reason the wood was over dried below %7 or so, in time will the wood regain its moisture? and if so how long will that take?

[Pat B]

Kiln drying doesn't matter except right after it comes out of the kiln. The M/C of the wood is effected by the relative humidity of where it has been stored. Where you live, in Michigan, the R/H is usually low at this time of year so the M/C of the wood will be low. Without testing with a meter you won't know how much.
    Even a wood bow that has been completed and sealed will change cording to the R/H of the air around it.     Pat

[ranger 3]

Hey Pat can you put reflex in Osage after it's tilleredG

[Pat B]

Ranger, yes you can but it depends on the amount of set(and damage) it has developed. When a bow takes set the cells on the belly are damaged by excessive and/or uneven compression forces and the wood fibers on the back are stretched. If the cell damage isn't too excessive, some reflex will take hold. Also, depending on the amount of set, even adding reflex doesn't necessarily mean the bow's tips will be forward of the handle when unbraced.
   All wood bows take set to some extent. That is natural when natural materials are used. To what extent depends on the particular piece of wood used and how well it was tillered.
   Reflex can be added by clamping the bow to a form(belly up) and heated like when straightening or bending tips. Once cool the stave will hold a portion of this reflex...but if the belly cells are already collapsed the reflex will not remain when the stress is added(bracing and/or pulling).
   Heat treating(or tempering) also helps by increasing the compression strength of the wood.
  Adding reflex is not an automatic fix. There are many variables. By adding reflex to a damaged bow can cause more set because you are stressing the wood more. Your best option would be to add reflex at floor tiller stage, before the stave is stressed at all, and with careful tillering you can achieve a finished, shot in bow with a bit of reflex or a flat profile.

[ranger 3]

Thanks Pat i think I will do it on my next bow.

[Pat B]

Taking your time as you tiller, not stressing the bow more than it can handle at the time, exercising the bend as you remove wood and patience will get you closer to a bow with little set.

[Lee Lobbestael]

Thanks Pat I think it has been out of the kiln for several months and i don't plan on finishing it fo a few months anyway because its been so cold and i work in an uninsulated garage

[Pat B]

Lee, I build picture frames for my wife's artwork and if I don't let a board acclimatize to local conditions for at least a week before I begin to saw it into frame components they all twist and warp. If I wait a week or so, the wood acclimatizes to the local M/C and the wood is more stable with no warping. Pat

[Roy Steele]

Sence ash is a white wood they will soak up moistuer quick when not finished.But it in a small warm room with a humitifer.After a day check it with a meter.Check it a couple places. IF not high enough leave it another day.Don't stand it up in the corner. Hang it up by a string.All though I've never none it.I know of someone that did hickory bow simi finished to tilling by rapping it up in ace banges and hanging it up in a hot shower and checking with a meter. But I don't know the time limit on it.But he did make a bow from it.
                          ROY