Speeding up curing in a hot-box?

I'll wait for the experts to chime in! After a few weeks i've left my bows hanging above my wood stove where the r.h. is the lowest available to me - around 30% when everywhere else is 50 - 60%.
When using my hotbox to cure epoxies in laminated bows i've seen the rh fall very low. I would guess that this would be the problem. It of course is possible to keep the rh from falling too low by well sealing the bow and leaving water in there.
I'm leaning towards thinking there must be a problem with it because of the long drying times that the old bowyers used when they could easily have made a hotbox. I suppose like most things somebody will have tried it!

I was actually asking myself the same thing. In my Understanding each increase in the reaction temperature of about 10 K speeds up the reaction double or even four times. Of course one has to care for sufficient humidity of lets say 50 % (?). But the whole process should be a lot faster :). I also think that the whole process is not about drying (as implied by many others here using the word curing/seasoning). Drying happens quite quickly. I several times put on sinnew, weighing the bow afterwards in equal time steps. As a result it can be seen that even after application of a thick layer of sinew the bow stops loosing weight after approximatly 2 weeks. But still the sinew layer works and changes its shape, even after 3 month of seasoning. I think it is all about the glue/sinew forming bonds and getting more dens. By giving it more temperature like 40-50 ?C maybe the whole process will be done in 2 months. It may be difficult however to control the humidity and heat over a long time so that no molds are taking over the sinew layer. I was thinking to do this on my attic where the temperature never raises over 50 ?C on hot summerdays while both temp. an humidity are alternating, preventing the bow from getting to dry or humid.
One reason the old bowyers did not do it is probably cause they were not in a hurry. They prob. built the bows in a assembly line and were not waiting for a certain bow to be ready in time :)

Regards Kevin

The Korean bowyer I met dries his bow then puts it in his bow closet which does not rise above 25 C but has a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity to very little. It takes 30 days to cure and spends its life there between being shot, if the customer shoots at his range. He also balances each bow before the customer arrives to shoot.

Well, I am sure the korean bowyer knows what he is doing, due to experience and tradition. But, isn't the very dry sinew backing ?somewhat "brittle" or at least easier to tear appart!? Also, as I said, I think the drying is not so much of a problem but the still "working" of the sinew layer that requieres temperature!?
Besides that, there is some difference in the thickness of sinew layers on korean bows described in Adams Book (ca. 2 mm) and to what I saw on a crosssection of a korean bow from Thomas Douvernay (ca. 6 mm). As described by Adam, drying and seasoning should depend on the sinew thickness. So I am wondering what thickness is somehow more typical for a korean bow and what is the thickness in the case you described?

Regards Kevin

Very good responses on this complicated subject. Whatever you do, make sure the bow is re-hydrated to above 40-50% RH for tillering, unless you want to take the chance. Some bows of lighter weight under 60lb and especially the ones with the bending sals straight, can be be bent for the first time at lower RH, but a bow with the materials more stressed can break. It is the glue that gets too brittle.

BTW the household quality dehumidifier would not likely drop humidity below 30% (I tried). The Korean bows are normally below 60lb anyway.

Adam

this is a tool for dry clothing, it hot air for 75c
http://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?id=137 ... 1_23657828

i think make a big bag enough for dry 4-8 bows, and the buy stuff can cheap a few