The kiss of death, I guess

[Muskyman]

To late Pat 😁. I figured what the heck. I’ll post some pictures in a bit. Basically I took it out to the shop and started working on it with a scraper and a sander and in a few minutes it was gone. I put oil on it to try and highlight it and it’s gone.. haven’t had it on the tree yet to see what the tiller is doing but that’s coming. I’m going to try and flip the tips and hopefully gain a little draw weight and try and match the other limb up with the one with the issue and see what happens.

[Muskyman]

Okay, time for show and tell.   I’ll post pictures
I started scraping and sanding slowly and could see it going away. I didn’t take a lot off before it seemed to be gone. Once it was gone gone to the naked eye I put some oil on it and couldn’t see any sign of it. Put it on my tree with a long string and pulled it to about brace height.

[Muskyman]

Here it is with one limb flipped
I’ll give it a few hours and then do the other limb

[Muskyman]

Limb number 2

[superdav95]

Good save.  Looks like it was pretty shallow.  I think you can still get something in your weight with this one. 

[Hamish]

The steam before using dry heat is real. Once wood has been brought down to really low MC by artificial means its propensity to be bent by steam is greatly reduced. Thats why chairmakers, and other craftsmen that need tight radius, steam bent curves always use air dried wood, as kiln dried wood is nowhere near as elastic. Every book on steam bending or wood usage I have read says the same message.

Whether this is due to having lower MC, or if its due to permanent structural change, I don't know.
If its just due to MC, then rehydrating the wood by soaking for a couple of days might be an option.

[Hamish]

Nice result Musky

[Muskyman]

Thanks guys, I have no idea what the draw weight will be but I’ve got it bent on both limbs and didn’t see anything that jumps out at me. I’m going to have to straighten the tips some to get them lined up good but it came through the day better than it started..
It has approximately 4&1/2 inches of reflex now and measuring from tip to tip in a straight line is 66 inches. Left it out in my shop for the night to let it rehydrate. Might try and put tip overlays on tomorrow. Should I let it rest for another day to rehydrate or will I be ok to bend it tomorrow?
Here’s a pic or 2 of it now..

[Hamish]

I'm very conservative, and wouldn't rush going to string it, or shoot it. Wait a week and come back to it, give it time to properly rehydrate it. Hey it will probably be alright, but why risk it being too low in MC, and possibly snapping, osage aint the same as hickory.

[willie]

Whether this is due to having lower MC, or if its due to permanent structural change, I don't know.

if you think of the cellulose cells as reinforcement and the lignins as the supporting matrix,
I think once the lignins are baked, they dont easily want to soften again


muskyman, at least wet the back with wet rags overnight
do you have a gram scale you can weigh the bow before and after?

[Muskyman]

I’ll wait a few days at least no need to panic now. I’m already working on a backup. It was a belly split from the bow I’ve been working on. It’s a little narrow. Only 1.33 inches wide after taking it down to bow shape. It’s at floor tiller right now.

[superdav95]

Whether this is due to having lower MC, or if its due to permanent structural change, I don't know.

if you think of the cellulose cells as reinforcement and the lignins as the supporting matrix,
I think once the lignins are baked, they dont easily want to soften again


muskyman, at least wet the back with wet rags overnight
do you have a gram scale you can weigh the bow before and after?

Ya Willie is bang on here.  I’ve noticed this too.  The lignins and pectins in the wood actually harden with heat.  This is particularly true of heat treatment on white woods when a deep heat is applied to permanently change the cellular structure of the wood.  I’ve tested this out myself to see if tips could be heated in after with steam which all failed.  Even on the ones where less heat treatment extended out towards the tips.  Belly cracks always appeared.  I would suggest the similar problems arising with non white woods with heat corrections especially dry heat.  This being said I’ve seen some success with more then one steam only corrections fyi.  This is because you do t heat past a point of no return.   Dry heat can often go past the point of “no return”. If that makes sense. 

[Muskyman]

As I said before, not sure where I read about the not steam heating after dry heating but I do recall reading it. I believe it was on this site. I don’t recall getting any bad info from here.

And yes Willie I do have a scale. Haven’t weighed this bow for a while. Mainly because I’ve been constantly working on it. I think I’ll weigh it today and see if it gains any weight from rehydration over the next few days. I heat with wood in the area I keep my bows so I’ve been keeping it outside in my shop.

I did try and line the tips up today but am going to let it sit for a while now..

[Muskyman]

Went from 684 grams to 686 grams overnight. I’ll weigh it again tomorrow..