The day of the jack - I mean reflex

[SiongSA]

So guys today i've been busy reflexing as you've probably guessed by now, well i had mixed results. Good news is that one of the ends has reacted nicely to the bending and i'm very pleased with the look and feel. The bad news is the other end just WON't hold reflex, it just bouces straight back to its natural shape after a few pulls? i used actually the same method as on the other tip, whats going? also because of the steam bending the bow is surely very wet? and cause its ash it must hav sucked up the water.

Regards,
Sion

[sailordad]

are you letting the wood stabilze again before stressing it?

[artcher1]

As your bow stands in the tree, which end is not holding? I've found the trunk end of the tree (lower limb)  to be harder to bend but hold quite well compared to the upper limb.........Art

[SiongSA]

are you letting the wood stabilze again before stressing it?

no because it work with the other end while not stabilizing it, art i can't remember which is the top side...

[M-P]

As I understand it wood usually loses moisture content during steam treatment.  Yeah, that's counter intuitive, but that's what the 'experts' say.  The surface of the wood gets wet, but the interior loses moisture.  Still, as sailordad mentions it is a very good idea to wait a few days before stressing the wood.
The problem is that one end of your bow is weaker than the other.   This may be something inherent in the wood, but it may be that you simply left a little more wood on one end than the other.   Ron

[Gordon]

Another reason could be the tips are too thin to hold the bend when pulled.