Bending wood

[bigcountry]

Ok, so I bent wood for the first time last night.  I took my osage bow that had some prop twist in it, and steamed 15" of it and pulled a tip ~1.5" to line up  with other tip and handle and put some reflex in the tip, maybe 1.5" or less because of about 1.5" of string follow I had.   So the string follow I had is now negated.

Everything looks good, but in the steaming process, the wood on the belly seemed to raise its grain alot.  I will have to resand it. Is this normal? Second, how long should I wait to retiller it?  I still have to reflex the tip on the other limb tonight and only will reflex, no pulling the tips to one side.

Thanks,
Mark

[radius]

yes, it's normal for steam/water to raise the grain of wood.  In fact, when doing final sand, i always wipe the bow with a damp cloth between grits, to raise the grain and get the finest possible finish i can

as for when to tiller it:  WAIT!!!!  WAIT a month.  Do something else.  Go camping.  Take a vacation.  Build 3 more bows.  But don't start stressing that limb until it's damn good and dry.

[bigcountry]

hmm, summer time in MD, average humidity around 60-75%, it could take a while.  Unless I put it in a heat box.

[radius]

yeah,and get a fan blowing past it, too, to lift away the moist air...works beautifully

[Ryano]

Being osage I wouldnt wait a month. Maybe a week tops. Osage doesn't hold moisture like white woods do. Yes a heat box would help speed up the process.

[bigcountry]

Well, I still need to add antler to the tips, and add snake skin backs,  So I have alot of stuff I can do for the next few weeks before bending again.  I know I should wait to add the snake skin until its tillered but I figured it won't hurt.

Thanks,
Mark

[Hillbilly]

Unless it breaks or something and you just ruined your skins. I never put the "purties" on until I'm sure I have a solid shooter.

[Pat B]

Once you add the skins you have also added more moisture. I had an osage bow that went from 55# at my draw to less than 45# after skinning it(TB glue). After about 2 weeks, it was back up to 55#.      Pat

[bigcountry]

So actually it would be best to tiller after the skins are put on?  Is my way of thinking right?

[radius]

only if you are 100% confident that you can tiller the thing without ruining it.  I agree with who ever said the frills are for when the bow is done.

[Pat B]

I don't add any decorations to a bow until I have shot it quite a few times. I don't even make a handle or thin the tips until I shoot an arrow or two out of it. I want to be sure everything is working properly, that the string lines up through the handle and that I have good early draw weight. Before then it is just a "potential" bow and not worthy of it's "Sunday go to meetins"...yet!       Pat

[bigcountry]

only if you are 100% confident that you can tiller the thing without ruining it.  I agree with who ever said the frills are for when the bow is done.

Well, the bow was done, but then I figured I wanted to experiment with bending and straightening.  So now I have done both limbs, I figured its going to have to be tillered again.  And shot again. 


Thanks for the advise, no reason wasting some good skins if i break it.