heat treating sealant questions

[bubbles]

Do you apply the resin to the area that is currently being heat treated? Or the area that has just been heat treated and is still warm? OR...The area you are about heat treat?

[Pat B]

After I have totally tempered the belly on one limb I go back over it and heat it well then add the pitch/turp mixture them work on the other limb. You have to be very careful because the mixture is volatile and the heating of the other limb may cause the fumes to combust. 

[ohiocountryboy]

Whats s good ratio of pine pich or spruce gum  to turpintine?

[ohiocountryboy]

Ive got turp and some pine pitch im wanting to heat treat a bow tonight, how much pine pitch should i put in how much turp?

[PatM]

Make sure you do your homework on the volatility of these products. I wouldn't mess with it indoors or near any pilot lights.
 Melt the pitch first, remove it from the heat source and add very small amounts of turpentine to thin it. Syrup consistency is good.
 The heating of the wood is going to keep the mix thin as well.

[Pat B]

PatM method sounds good and his safety warning needs to be heeded.  I never measure these things. I put hard, brittle pitch in a jar and cover it with turpentine and wait until it dissolves. I do the same with pitch and alcohol to make pitch varnish(although not a true vanish) that I seal sinew wraps and shafts on primitive arrows(although it is not truly primitive).

[Pappy]

What's not primitive about pitch and alcohol Pat. Never tried the varnish thing on a heat treated bow,but I really do do the heat treating like Marc explanes
either,maybe should try and do it the right way. I just heat them till the wood changes color by hand and move on.
 Pappy

[Marc St Louis]

I used to dissolve the resin in turpentine but don't anymore.  Spruce resin has a lot of bark particles in it and dissolving it is sometimes useful to be able to strain the foreign matter out.   The Pine resins I have collected before are much more clean so can be used as is.   I do prefer to use Spruce resin that is fresh for heat-treating as it is soft and melts easily, it already has the right amount of turpentine in it.

I apply the resin as soon as I have finished heat-treating a spot and just before I move the heat-gun down the limb.  I have had some people ask me if I have ever had combustion doing it this way and I never had but it sure smokes.  I don't think applying a varnish or anything else makes the wood stronger but it may help with moisture.

[Pat B]

Pappy I don't think primitive man used alcohol for finishes but I could be wrong. I guess it could be called modern primitive because it is homemade. 

[Marc St Louis]

Pappy I don't think primitive man used alcohol for finishes but I could be wrong. I guess it could be called modern primitive because it is homemade. 

Primitive man didn't use turpentine either.

[zenart]

Pappy I don't think primitive man used alcohol for finishes but I could be wrong. I guess it could be called modern primitive because it is homemade. 

Primitive man didn't use turpentine either.

Could have.. sort of. Marc, your Spruce Resin is a Balsam. Turpentine is a distillate of Balsam. It's distilled from Pine Balsam (resin). In other words, turps are a refined liquid form of resin. Primitive man likely did not use petroleum based liquids to distill the resin to a finer grade but they could have easily used the more 'liquid like' natural organic forms as not all pine/spruce resins are equal. In nature, some are thick and some are thinner.  .Ron

[Marc St Louis]

Debatable Ron. 

Turpentine can actually be a distillation from several different species, the Balsam Fir being one of them.  White Spruce is not on the list   Wood alcohol has about as long a history of use, perhaps even longer, than turpentine.

[ohiocountryboy]

I ran a test run on a small  50" hickory straight stave bow i was floor tillering.

[ohiocountryboy]

as soon as i pull it off the caul ill get more pics.

[ohiocountryboy]