Bending vine maple...

[BigWapiti]

Does vine maple not like to take a bend?  I have a well seasoned stave that needs an inch on each limb in opposite directions - I've tried heat and got maybe a quarter inch.  I put the handle in a vice, used a length of stick to brace the limb near where I wanted a bit of bend.  weighted the end with first 25# of weight (also tried 50#!) and slowly heated a 4-6" section.  Used some bacon grease on the belly for about 6" either side of where I wanted the bend.   It took a looong time before it started to move.  My plan was to incrementally bend it into shape along the limb.   I kept the weight on overnight.  Still, that got me near nowhere.

I am now trying steam - just to see how it will take.  Its barely moved again but with 50# now on the limbs, its where I want it to be -- I guess I'll see if it takes with an hour of steam on it.  I'm guessing it won't.

With having so much weight, all the heating, and now the steam... my concern is for the integrity of the bow wood once I really start tillering. I never heated it past an even light brown (if even that).

Oh yeah, its floor tillered - so I don't think there's too much wood to prevent a bend.  I need the alignment because I just can't keep it on the tree, it wants to flip when I start to pull - so need t get that string centered more.

Ideas?   Gordon??   Joe??

-m

[330bull]

Yo!

I have always had great luck bending Vine Maple; you can steam the crapola outta Vine Maple.

John Strunk just gave me some advice on a stave I showed him and he recommended getting the bend out within the handle, and not on the limb.  I have done it both ways and found decent results on both.

I steam over a boiling pot with tinfoil for a whopping 8 minutes and then I overbend by a decent amount and let it sit for 30 minutes.  That's what I would do.  Heck I have also used the stairwell in my garage to bend VM limbs before.  Steam it, place in between steps, and torque away and hold for 5-10 minutes.  I can assure you the force was +100 pounds and I have never had anything go bad with that crude setup either.

Don't be afraid to give it a try.  Call me if you like but I bet Gordon will chime in soon enough.  I'm sure JD has a ton of experience too.

BTW - You are using only Tension Staves right? 

[brian melton]

              Steam or heat gun no problem. It takes bends well...

[BigWapiti]

Oh yeah, they're tension alright.  I had to start using bracing on them or I think I'd have ended up with a deep U.  I mark them when in the field.  ((that first bow of mine, was less of a tension piece as it grew straight up - it sure was easier to work though - but has me more concerned.).

Ok, then, back to getting the bend.  I'll go look and see how the steam worked.  Maybe I should be putting more weight on it when trying to bend.  Someone once told me that it would be almost like clay... I've certainly not found anything like that.   I'll go give it another shot.  Thanks Joe.

Thanks too Brian - just hearing that it can work gives me new faith in trying. 

[BryanB]

Be careful when bending steamed VM with weights.  Make sure you have a stop in place.  I steamed and bend one one time with weights, and all at once in folded over like warm taffy.  The bow eventually failed at that point.  Good Luck.
Bryan

[Gordon]

I use steam when I need a lot of bend and dry heat when I need just a little. Sounds like you're trying to take some twist out of each limb? I usually put a coat of vege oil on the limb and use a heat gun for that. Does the bow have a lot of reflex? Some vine maple staves have a lot of tension when they are split and that may be what is messing with you. If that is the case, wait to bend until most of the reflex has been tillered out.

[BigWapiti]

Thanks Gordon,
No, not trying to take a twist out, really just trying to align the string to center shoot the handle.  I tackled another knotty stave and of course, its where the knots are that I would really like it to bend.  I moved my steam to the non-knotted area and got some bend out of it- just not as easy as I would have expected.

The bow did have a lot of reflex (a LOT) - But I didn't try to bend until tillering most of it out - I did this because I thought I'd have added in a twist due to leverage on the curve of the reflex.

But my reason for bending was to get the string to align down the handle.

I have one stave that would need about 3" of bend on one limb to align correctly - have you noticed any comprising of the wood structure if you bend a VM stave too much?  3" is a long way.  I could even it out by splitting the difference on both limbs, but the bottom limb area is straight with the handle already.  Just curious.

It sounds like Joe just steams and then bends using torque for a short amount of time.  Is that pretty much common among you VM guys?  I'm thinking maybe I'm not using enough weight - 25#.  Maybe I should use 50#, or more. ?? 

And as BryanB states, I do use a stop - block of wood so the hanging weights hit it when I've reached my goal.  Just having a tough time getting the bend to hit the goal.

Love the input - thank you!

[Gordon]

Joe,

I use a handle press when I need to align vine maple limbs that far. First I work down the handle so it is about 1 1/4" in width. I then steam the handle area for about 45 minutes and then bend the handle using a pipe clamp. You can safely move the tips a long ways using this method.


[attachment deleted by admin]