3rd bow underway - more building questions ?

[15yearold.archer]

hello , im well on my way to my thirdbow ive roughed out the width its another board bow ( red oak ) and its a 1x2 was going to use maple but no nice boards at the store , i am also going to back it with red oak veneer anyways  heres the dimensions/plans for the current one, 70' t/t - 68' n/n glued on handle 6 inches long, 1 1/2 inch fades for a total riser area of 9 inches ive kept it full width untill 15 inches from the tips then a straight taper to 1/2 inch tips, as for thinckness i think im just going to do 5/8s to 3/8s from the ends of the fades to the tips - my plan is to also reflex the last six inches on both sides of the bow - i am just going to put it over a boiling pot cover it with tin foil and let'er steam , once its been steamed i am going to place the bow on my bench/table and place a 3 inch high block of wood lay the bow over it at the start of my bending point and simply clamp it on both sides and let it set , will a red oak board hold if i try and reflex the tips? and also is my thickness good for what i am doing

[JW_Halverson]

Good choice.  Better to go with steam at first, when you get comfortable with working/bending the wood, then consider dry heat.  The advantage of steam is that you can't really overheat it and damage the wood.  There may be a problem with checking as the moisture comes back out, but you can deal with that later if it happens.

Hey guys, typical 15 yr old, right?  More ambition and energy than what's good for them?  That may be the case, but I'd hunt with him any day (be nice to have that energy and ambition to help drag deer outa the woods).

15, don't let me get under your skin, I'm rooting for you.  This bow will probably be your deerslayer this fall!

[Del the cat]

Key thing with steaming is to get it clamped up as fast as possible before it cools.
I'd think tin foil is a bad thing to cover with because it's a conductor and won't hold the heat in. Polystyrene foam or scrap wood or anything which doesn't conduct would be better. I've used off cuts of insulation board before (polyeurathane foam with an aluminium face)
Good luck,
Del