"don't piss the wife off" steaming method

[k-hat]

So the last time I steamed an osage bow in the kitchen, the wifey (who wonderfully tolerates, even encourages my bowmaking adventures) was NOT very happy with me.  So I've tinkered with some other methods (being space and material poor), including steaming in the kitchen when she isn't home  , but until this weekend haven't had a satisfactory result.  This is probably not original, as I'm sure I heard somebody doing something similar at some point, but I figured I'd share with the other happily-married-space-and-resource-poor suckers out there who want to at least keep the "happily married" part.

Very simple setup....heat gun, a wet towel, and foil.

The "oven"




Kinda hard to tell in the above pic, but for recurving in this instance, I wrapped the wet towel around the area I want to heat, then wrap that tightly in foil, closing up the ends (leaving some extra foil at the ends to wrap the "oven" foil around to keep from scorching the back).

I knew it was working when I saw steam coming out the ends.  I heated these tips for about 45 minutes, about 1/2 time on high, then on low the rest of the time (oh, I also like this because I can set it and leave it, go about other business, and it's pretty much outta the way).  Working time is nice too because I can turn off the gun get my caul  and clamps ready, then just slide off the hot dog from off the wood and clamp her up. 

It's simple, effective, and I like when they come together.  Bent my very old, super-seasoned fencepost bow tips without any problems of checking and splintering I've had before.

[burchett.donald]

LOL, ingenious...I messed my wife's oven mittens up...Turned them orange for her a while back...Backed a bow with snake skins one night also  ...She was asleep...
                                                                                                                            Don

[osage outlaw]

Nice job.  You should look into getting a wall paper steamer.  It is by far the easiest and most simple way of steaming a bow that I have tried. 

[Hawkdancer]

Looks like a neat idea - however, there is a fine line between living dangerous and living dumb - you is right on the line  !  If it works and the other half doesn't find out, Cool!  Otherwise, have lots of flowers, her favorite wine, and a dinner date very handy!  I haven't tried any of the great treating on bows, just straightening arrows and darts, though, and I do it in the garage! Lol!
Hawkdancer

[Mesophilic]

Did the towel dry out at all?  I'd be afraid it would loose too much moisture and burn up with my luck.

The trick is to wear her down gradually.  If possible find ways to make her help, so she will just be happy when you are minding your own business.  And never admit you did anything wrong, as long as you didnt break anything of hers.

I've found that all the women in my life would rarher look the other way than ask questions or get involved.  Whether I'm using her hair dryer to blow air on a charcoal forge or working dead animal parts in the living room.  Does she think she's wrong when she gets her 112th pair or shoes?  Or makes you late to an event because she had to change clothes 5 times?  Of course not, it's you're fault.  You have to have the same thought process. 

Be strong, start small and you'll get there.

[k-hat]

Oh the wife is very tolerant of my hobby, not nearly as mean as I make her sound.  She would never actually ban me from the kitchen lol

Point is mainly a simple and effective way to steam sections of a bow.  Osage I can't afford a wallpaper steamer, I can barely afford this $15 heat gun I bought 6 years ago    I know lotsa guys tend to be space and resource poor, so I hoped to offer a solution. 

On another note, I do still temper in the kitchen   We have a glass top range and that baby makes quick and even work of tempering a bow limb! 

[Knoll]

Could not pass this up.
s://www.ebay.com/itm/Professional-Garment-Clothes-Fabric-Steamer-Portable-Iron-Steam-Wrinkle-Remove-/192446763725
*** add "http" at front of link address.

[k-hat]

That's a good deal there Knoll!

cheese i forgot to answer your question.... i had the towel just bout dripping wet before I wrapped the limb and foiled it.  The idea is there's plenty of moisture in there to keep the surface below flash point.  But you'd smell it too if you checked on it now and then and it'd waste your towel but not your bow.  I did fail to soak the towel in enough water on the last attempt, but it just browned the outside layer of the towel a little bit.  The towel I'm using is about 10"X10", folded in half and wrapped around the limb, so there's several layers between limb and surface, and I heat it on the belly side just in case.

With stovetop methods I've had trouble isolating the heat/steam where I want it for small corrections, but this worked beautifully for taking a dogleg out of a limb of a wood (Ironwood is my best guess, but I'm not sure) that has fought me tooth and nail with any sort of heat correction.

As I mentioned before, i have a few bows made from very old osage fenceposts that have checked and cracked and splintered with traditional steaming (stovetop with foil tent) and boiling, but this worked great on them.  Maybe it just allows me to be quicker from heat to caul, but whatever it is I'ma roll with it.

[simson]

Now that's a high tech equipment! Engenieuring in the last stadium 

[Mo_coon-catcher]

That’s the same method I use. I get good results with it. For me the towel seems to stay wet until you pull it off, then it’ll throw a big cloud of steam and be dry.

Kyle