hickory in high humidity

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey, all.  I'm going to be traveling to Nebraska and Michigan next month, and I'll be bringing one or two of my hickory flatbows to sample the local 3d ranges.  I'm a little worried about the bows turning into wet noodles with all the humidity.  Any tips to prevent this? 

I waterproof my bows with a lard/beeswax/pine pitch mixture, and I'll keep them in air conditioned spaces as much as possible...but we're tent camping for much of the trip, so that won't be an option.

[Aaron1726]

I'm definately not an expert here, and working with hickory for the first time I am understanding your fears about the winpiness of it in high humidity.  That said, if you are tent camping, do you keep a fire going, or at least coals through the night?  If so, maybe a rack near the fire might be the best bet, something in the smoke but not necessarily the heat.  I've read that native Americans would do this, thought I've never tried it myself.  Hope you have a great trip, though!   Sounds like a good time.

[superdav95]

Yes I’ve heard this too about the native Americans keeping their bows dry.  I’ve noticed with my heat treated hickory bows that are sealed well still lose a little speed in high humidity.  Not nearly as bad as non heat treated bows but still some.   There is only so much that can be done to combat moisture.  I think that the heat treatment does make the bow less susceptible to moisture but still has an affect.  The other thing I’m gonna try this year is a 2 part epoxy coating on my hickory bows to see the difference.  Even if it’s marginal improvement over other sealants and waterproofing methods it would be worth it. 

[WhistlingBadger]

I'm definately not an expert here, and working with hickory for the first time I am understanding your fears about the winpiness of it in high humidity.  That said, if you are tent camping, do you keep a fire going, or at least coals through the night?  If so, maybe a rack near the fire might be the best bet, something in the smoke but not necessarily the heat.  I've read that native Americans would do this, thought I've never tried it myself.  Hope you have a great trip, though!   Sounds like a good time.

We're staying at KOA campgrounds and such, so keeping a fire going through the night won't be an option, either.  I guess I'll just seal it the best I can and hope for the best...

[Pat B]

It takes a few days for moisture to overtake a hickory bow. I think heat treating helps but even that will only be temporary. I've hunted in rain with a hickory bow here in the southeast with little or no bad affects. Maybe wipe down with your grease/bees wax/pitch before and after use and keep it is as dry an area as possible.
 One of the main bow woods of the Eastern Woodland culture was hickory and the eastern woodlands were quite humid in the summers. Somehow hickory worked quite well for them.

[bassman211]

I would bring 1 good Osage bow for back up just in case.

[willie]

plastic tube for a case with silica gel desiccant packs

[superdav95]

plastic tube for a case with silica gel desiccant packs

Interesting idea.  I may have to try this. 

[Pat B]

When I went to Colorado, Kenneth(Little John) and I stored the bows we weren't using in a 4" PVC tube with a screw top and uncooked rice in it as a desiccant. It worked quite well.

[superdav95]

When I went to Colorado, Kenneth(Little John) and I stored the bows we weren't using in a 4" PVC tube with a screw top and uncooked rice in it as a desiccant. It worked quite well.

Another great idea.  It works for cell phones!

[WhistlingBadger]

I would bring 1 good Osage bow for back up just in case.

If only I had one!  Osage is even harder to get than hickory around here.

The desiccant pack idea is interesting.  Might look into that.   Thanks, guys!

[bradsmith2010]

i read Jay Massey would keep bows in tube as suggested,,
Im sure you could trade for osage stave in the future,,
maybe a candle in a small heat box,,???

[WhistlingBadger]

So, are all white woods affected thus by moisture, or is hickory unique?  I'm thinking of making a chokecherry bow eventually, and I'm also interested in trying birch and ash.  (that's about it for local bow woods)

[superdav95]

So, are all white woods affected thus by moisture, or is hickory unique?  I'm thinking of making a chokecherry bow eventually, and I'm also interested in trying birch and ash.  (that's about it for local bow woods)

WB,  I would think so.  It’s been my experience anyway with the white woods I’ve used.  This being said I have not made a bow from chokecherry yet.  I think I have some black cherry on my property and cut a sapling of it to dry for a hollow limb bow down the road when I get brave.  Not sure how close black cherry is to yours but I would treat it like a white wood build.  Hickory does seem to take on moisture a bit more then others I think.  I’ve made a number of heat treated and non heat treated hickory bows and it’s all the difference.  A deep heat treatment on hickory will not just be a good bow but a great bow.  As far as moisture absorption it’s minimal after heat treating properly.  I feel that heat gun can get fairly good results if done right and the set up is good and consistent but can be more shallow of a treatment.  The deep heat treatment from a bed of coals of radiant heat is the ticket.  Moisture is still going to happen but to much less degree this way.  I don’t worry about it after I seal them up as they don’t lose much weight and still shoot good.  I would suspect most white woods are gonna have similar heat treatment results to varying degrees.  I hear guys do make wonderful bow out though. I would probably make it fairly long say around 66-69” and go 1 3/4” at widest for half the limb length then narrow to tips.  If it was me I would do a heat treat too but would not do as deep a treatment like I would hickory.  I have a buddy that has some ash for me the was just felled.  I’m excited about it actually as it looks like great stuff.  I hear ash is great bow wood.  I’m looking forward to getting my hands on some.  . 
Keep us posted.  Cheers

[Pat B]

I believe that hickory is one of the most hygroscopic woods meaning it readily takes on moisture but slowly releases it.