Main Discussion Area > English Warbow
a wet spring.
briarbrow:
--- Quote from: J. D. Duff on May 12, 2007, 01:04:44 pm ---If a stave has high moisture content it will follow the string considerably. The MRBs don't show much set and sometimes none or backset. The bowyers supposedly air-dried their staves for 7 years so they had an understanding of the affect of moisture content. It is most likely that bows were kept in human environments where they would stay suitably warm and dry. A day marching in the rain won't hurt a greased-up bow at all and a night by the fire will have it as dry as ever. Most primitive cultures seem to be savvy about moisture content, so I don't think there is any reason to believe that the MRBs had to be significantly overbuilt to allow them to be soaking wet. Also, historical accounts tell us that the archers were very in-tuned to the affects of moisture (i.e. removing and protecting their strings at Crecy when it rained).
J. D. Duff
--- End quote ---
Hiya JD.
my first question was how attentive are you to MC. you don't see in effects? or how many damp days before you feel it softening?
I don't have the answer only a feeling a different kind of fighting needed a different kind of tool. cheers:)
>>> it's funny the site spellcheck doesn't recognize the word "bowyer"
duffontap:
--- Quote from: kviljo on May 12, 2007, 11:32:22 pm ---JD, weren't most of the MR-bows unused? - so no wonder they didn't have stringfollow ;)
Very interesting discussion by the way :)
--- End quote ---
Well Kviljo,
As a bowyer yourself, you know that a bow takes 80-100% of its string follow while being tillered to full draw. Even if they hadn't been 'broken in' they had been finished completely.
J. D. Duff
duffontap:
--- Quote from: briarbrow on May 12, 2007, 11:53:42 pm ---
--- Quote from: J. D. Duff on May 12, 2007, 01:04:44 pm ---If a stave has high moisture content it will follow the string considerably. The MRBs don't show much set and sometimes none or backset. The bowyers supposedly air-dried their staves for 7 years so they had an understanding of the affect of moisture content. It is most likely that bows were kept in human environments where they would stay suitably warm and dry. A day marching in the rain won't hurt a greased-up bow at all and a night by the fire will have it as dry as ever. Most primitive cultures seem to be savvy about moisture content, so I don't think there is any reason to believe that the MRBs had to be significantly overbuilt to allow them to be soaking wet. Also, historical accounts tell us that the archers were very in-tuned to the affects of moisture (i.e. removing and protecting their strings at Crecy when it rained).
J. D. Duff
--- End quote ---
Hiya JD.
my first question was how attentive are you to MC. you don't see in effects? or how many damp days before you feel it softening?
I don't have the answer only a feeling a different kind of fighting needed a different kind of tool. cheers:)
>>> it's funny the site spellcheck doesn't recognize the word "bowyer"
--- End quote ---
Good question.
I'm very attentive to MC. I don't use a moisture meter, but I keep a close eye on how the stave is behaving as I bend it. If the moisture content isn't right I can tell by the way the stave responds to stress.
As far as how many days it takes before it starts softening--once a stave is dried completely (down to ten percent or less), MC will rise and fall slowly. Normal days in the rain followed by nights indoors are not abusive to selfbows. A week of walking around in pouring rain would leave a bow pretty soggy IF it wasn't cared for at all. I believe that bows would be cared for by the archers much the way any soldier cares for his equipment. Longbows were objects of value and they weren't left leaning against trees overnight in the rain.
Bottom line, from a bowyer's perspective, you don't season a yew stave for 7 years just to let it get soaking wet again. They didn't need epoxy to keep things dry either. It was easy, daily application of wax or grease.
J. D. Duff
Kviljo:
--- Quote from: J. D. Duff on May 13, 2007, 03:19:24 am ---
--- Quote from: kviljo on May 12, 2007, 11:32:22 pm ---JD, weren't most of the MR-bows unused? - so no wonder they didn't have stringfollow ;)
Very interesting discussion by the way :)
--- End quote ---
Well Kviljo,
As a bowyer yourself, you know that a bow takes 80-100% of its string follow while being tillered to full draw. Even if they hadn't been 'broken in' they had been finished completely.
J. D. Duff
--- End quote ---
That really depends on how far you tiller it. With so many bows beeing made, I don't find it likely that they carefully tillered it every inch to 32" as we do with our precious pieces of yew. My bet is that they had so much experience with making these, that they relyed on an even taper giving the bow a good tiller, more than we do.
However, I do agree that they must have had a good insight in how moisture affected bows. Yew twists and warps like mad, so using well seasoned blanks must have been obvious to them.
duffontap:
I can just hear it now: 'here you go archers. Take your unfinished, untested bow and line up behind the pikeman. Nevermind the reputation Yew has for exploding during the tillering process, or the fact that Yew needs to be slowly exercised to full draw. Our bowyers are the best in the world and they only need to tiller a bow to 10" before it goes to war. Don't forget your safety glasses.' ;D ;D ;D
You have a point, great bowyers can thickness-taper a bow and have it close enough to string. I just doubt that they were sending finished bows into war that had not been tillered to full draw.
J. D. Duff
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