what did i do wrong?

[anasazi]

Last night i tried straightening a choke cherry shaft and a cane shaft over a candle. The choke cherry didnt seem to straighten probably not hot enough so i added more heat to another area used a little pressure and it just snapped tried to replicate that to see what i did wrong and nothing. The river cane was kinda the same i am sure it is to thin of a wall was i adding to much heat not enough the cane also semed to buckle instead of just bend. Other than the fact that i was doing it in the dark ( wife was trying to get the baby to sleep)  what was i doing wrong? I have used a fire many times but this was my first time using a candle.

[Stringman]

I have had that same problem before. I've also had it go perectly right. I think from my own observation, I try to heat slowly and evenly over an area a couple inches wide then apply blunt pressure to the area, but gently. Some materials handle it better than others so its kinda trial and error. I always keep in mind that the cane doesnt have to be perfectly straight to fly good. Sometimes I just work to get it "good enough" then see how it shoots. If I fixate on a particular spot I will occasionally break it.

Scott

[crooketarrow]

  Lots of times it's just a disprofection in the shoot. I break shafts (SHOOTS) all the time. If I start with a dozzen there's always a couple that won't make it. Better to break them early than put a lot of work into them. I look at it like this it was'nt a shaft in there to begain with. It they don't break by the time your finished shooting it sure won't break it.

[Pat B]

Like crooketarrow said, natural shafting breaks all the time. If while straightening I hear a "tick" I go ahead and break that shaft and put it in the kindling pile.
  You can tell when a shaft is hot enough because it becomes maliable where you've heated it. If it resists bending, heat it more. Also, straightening natural shafting(hardwood shoots and cane) is not something you do in one sitting. It is a process that may have to be done over and over again. And you should not try to straighten every crook in one session. Start with the worst bends first, heat and straighten a few of them and set the shaft aside to cool completely before the next session. I will work on straightening a few arrows at a time. After working on the worst bends I move on the the next shaft and so on until all the shafts have had their first straightening. I then set them aside on a flat surface until tomorrow. If you try to straighten too much on one shaft you will fine you bend the still warm repairs back to where they were. With any primitive technology, whether it be building bows, arrows, knapped heads or whatever, patience is your best tool!