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Moisture in a bow

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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.

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