I remember reading about people used to cut trees acording to the astrological signs, if they cut ther fence post under the wrong sign the center would rot out, if the signs were correct it would last for years.
Seems ther was something about the indians harvesting wood for bows accoring to the signs also.
Just wunder'n if ya'll collected your wood according to the signs or not ?
I have cut bow wood by the signs and do other things as well by them and it works. What it does for the bow wood is that the wood will dry better without checking. My Grandmother told me that they split wood shingles by the signs and that they would lay down on the roof better and not curl up as they dried.
But it will work on the bow staves if you cut them when the sighs are down low like in the thighs or knees and during the winter months.
ummmm....oooooook....
I harvest it when it's right for me, but cool weather is better especially when the sap is down.
I cut in the late winter. Because the saps down,no heat to deal with and its between deer and turkey seasons. But when EVER YOU HAVE HELP is something to think about.
we try to cut our wood by the sign, it does make a difference imo.
y'all are going to have to explain this to me. Never heard about cutting wood according to the astrological signs.
Yes, the Indians did! Al Herrin, author of Cherokee Bows and Arrows, use to put out a newsletter with the dates to cut.
And yes, like Mike says, alot of folks follow this with alot of activities. Such as killing, butchering of animals. Castrating, pigs, cows,etc.
Planting garden vegetables and such.
Check out the Farmer's Almanac.
I'd like to learn this myself, debate'n on try'n my first garden this year, but my wifes uncle can help me with the garden, he plants by the signs and always has more veggies than he has room to store.
One fine day I'm gonna break down and build my own bow but hate to put all the effort into it and it turn out junk, so I figured it mite be a good idea to ask someone.
Strange...any explanation on how the heck this helps? Sounds borderline crazy to me.
when doing things by signs I believe it is the moon phases they are talking about.
I've heard of some people that plan a surgery around the signs, seems they bleed less and heal faster.
One thing I know it works for is take'n away baby bottles and foolers, first tiem we tried to take my daughters she gave us a fit and we gave them back just for some peace and quiet, my wifes uncle told us when to take them accordine to teh signs and she asked for it 2 times and never mad a fuss then.
Get yourself a farmers almanac, very informative info. the old timers swore by doing things by the sign, give it a try you will be surprised.
No, I do not. Jawge
I have never thought about it but it seems to correspond with the colder weather months it seems. Al Herrin also talked about the upper limb of the bow should be the part of the bow that was upper most in the tree. I have thought about that.
The only sign I adhere to is on the ground when hunting. Parts of the year the sap flows and others it doesn't. I think that is all you really need to know.
My personal take on "signs" is that observations were made over periods of time. On the occasions when the outcome was favorable, perhaps certain natural conditions were also observed. People may have started associating these "signs" with their successes in various endeavors. I feel there is a connection, if only coincidnetal. I've known too many folks that swore by the "signs" to think there is nothing to this.
Just my thoughts.
Stan :saywhat:
Stan, I think you have the right of this.
If a farmer is planting by the signs and those signs happed to coincide with the best time of year to plant seed, there you go.
But when it comes to scheduling surgery by the signs, I'm not buying it.
Likewise using the uppermost part of a stave for the uppermost limb of the bow, I'm not taking that one either, even if it did come from a well respected bowyer.
This reminds me of a story I heard one time...
The newly married husband was watching his wife prepare a roast for the oven. When she cut a piece of meat off the end of the roast before putting it into the roasting pan he asked her why she'd done that.
"That's what my mother always did for roasts," she replied.
That got his curiosity up so he phoned his mother in law and asked her why she did that on roasts.
"That's what my mother always did for roasts," she replied.
Now he was really curious about the whole thing so he phoned the rest home where the old lady now lived and asked her the question.
"My pan was too damn small," she barked.
Sometimes there's a good reason for doing something, and sometimes there isn't.
Having said that, if it works for you, then do it and no harm nor foul.
Guy
That's a great illustration Guy.
Hey Guy, I can give you a several good reasons why the upper most part of the tree should be the upper limb, can you give me a good reason why it shouldn't? Just curious.........Art
Nope, no reason why it shouldn't.
I just can't think of a reason why it should. Especially if you can't tell by looking at the stave or board what was top or bottom.
Although I'm probably sounding like a jerk in all this I do have an open mind and stand ready to bake up a crow pie if it's necessary.
Guy
For the most part, it's very easy to tell in which direction a board, stave or billets orients in a tree Guy. Often times even arrow shafts too. Trees grow tapered and so do their growth rings. Just looks for the differences in growth ring thickness.
The trunk end of the tree is cleaner, straighter and stronger than it's top. That's very important when we're trying to maintain long term tiller health in our all wood bows.
And arrow shafts benefit from proper oriention but that's for another discussion.......Art
Art, I understand your explanation but I have to say that with the exception of bamboo arrow shafts, this is the first I've ever heard of this theory. I don't believe it's noted in The Bent Stick, any of the TBB books, and while I've spent an awful lot of time around very good bowyers, including Tim Baker, I've never heard this mentioned.
With all due respect, I'm not taking the pie shell out of the freezer just yet.
Guy
Guy, Art, let's not loose sight of the ? asked!
Good points from both, as for signs, solnar tables come to mind! I don't plant tomatos in December, nor do the whitetails, rut in June!
Nature has a calendar, as do man.
Top, bottom, what about splicing billets? Gary Davis told me, it doesn't matter. Yeah, he's an Osage, bow building, Idiot! :biglaugh:
"Sign Sign everywhere a sign
Blocking out the scenery breaking my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign."
Five Man Electrical Band
That's my story and I'm sticking to it. :) Jawge
Me and my folks plant gardens by the signs. We always seem to have nice gardens. I couldn't really say if they would have been just as nice if we didn't plant by the signs because we always do.
It's not about pies or anything like that Guy.
It's about about putting out useful information that'll help others build better bows.
Yeah, I asked Baker if he built his bows as they "stand in the tree". He answered no. But if you'll notice, he reccomends building symmetrical bows that can be flipped around to find which limb should be upper or lower. He says you'll find one limb performs better one way or the other. Guess what Guy, if Baker had built his bows as I decribed, then you would most certainly have gotten the word straight from him. Tim's a most careful man no doubt, but he missed this!
But since I know which end will afford me the strongest limb, I know from the very beginning which limb to use for the lower. Allows me to build asymmetrical bows also if I wish.
Frank, I've seen some of Gary's glue-ups. Yeah, I can see that he doesn't understand wood's UNEVEN working properties either............Art
I've personally seen Tim Baker and Gary Davis work on bowstaves.
I don't know if they follow any signs, but they know their wood, and they know how to build a good bow.