Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: BowSlayer on September 28, 2013, 07:39:23 am
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hey everyone. i have a board of oak. the limbs taper from 1 1/4" @ the fades to 3/4" @ the tips. they are 10mm thick. i wan't to bend in some working curves into the end of the bow. have any off you done this on a board before? would you say dry heat or steaming is better? any advice and tips would be much appreciated. thanks :laugh:
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Dry heat and be ready for a crack, leave material to remove on the thickness. Id wipe a dab of veggy oil on it, helps slow down moisture loss and keeps it from scorching the wood. It will sand right off.
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And I've been using this method lately with good sucess.wet down a cotton rag,heat gun it (don't over do it) ,flip the foil for a peek that there's good steaming action,then clamp it down,let it cool,remove foil and cloth and heat the tip so they are hot .I wouldn't try such a extreme cuvre like this with oak with this method.this is elm and it bends like butter!
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how thick is that limb? looks like a good methord. ill need to make a form though. could i do this over a pan full of water on the stove covered with tin foil? i ask because.. i don't have a heat gun :-\ thanks
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The limb is bout 13.5mm(9/16").you could do it with steam,but you would have to get it clamped up very quickly!!!!! How were you planning on flipping the tips?torch,stove top?
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im going to make a form like the one you have there. but use steam to heat the wood. if i do it this way do i still need to add oil?
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Oil 4 dry heat I would think.
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cool thanks. has anyone else tried bending board bows before?
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Yes,i and many more have.
I strongly suggest you set it all up beforehand and do a "dry" genrep so you have it all ready.
Makes it all easier that way.
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will do, thanks
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Good catch jezze ,this was actually a piece of spaghetti !lol!
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Bushboy, can I ask why you steam-heat with the towel, then allow it to cool, and then heat it directly with dry heat again?
I've seen both methods used, but not together like that.
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Cam ,I heat treated only the recurve to lock it in.if it were a working part of the limb I'd be more concerned.
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i have a question, before i do any reflexing of the tips do i need to tiller with a longstring first?
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here is my first atempt at bending the board. steamed it for an hour. i do have one question how long do i keep it on the form? thanks.
(http://i1316.photobucket.com/albums/t614/bowslayerjez/20131002_123116_zps39f4b65b.jpg) (http://s1316.photobucket.com/user/bowslayerjez/media/20131002_123116_zps39f4b65b.jpg.html)
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Once its back to ambient temps I remove it. More often than not I just leave it overnight for convenience sake.
Looks pretty thick that you did well not to pop a splinter, i usually do on thinner stuff than that,
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i went ahead and removed it after 3 hours and one the next one. they both have 2" of reflexed tips and the second one did pop up a small splinter on the belly but that will most likely come out with a rasp. it looks like it's going to be a nice bow.
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Recurves are not hard to bend in,but getting the straight and lined up can be more of a challenge!
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Recurves are not hard to bend in,but getting the straight and lined up can be more of a challenge!
Yup. I do mine real wide initially just because of this. The base of my recurves are still pretty wide in the end, depending on the density of bow wood. I use steam for everything, but it is true you need to bend it instantly after your remove it from the steam. The forms I made have a slot in it I shove the end of the tip and just bend, so I don't have to clamp anything down first, which makes working quickly possible. Whatever you do, don't force the bend, it will lift splinters that way. Wait until the wood is pliable. Nice job, hopefully it will turn out a great bow!
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I was actually quite surprised that they lined up first time. And that they had the same amount of recurve. I say this because on the second one it looked like it was bending more but after removing it and measuring it is the same. If this bow works I might make another.
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I was actually quite surprised that they lined up first time. And that they had the same amount of recurve. I say this because on the second one it looked like it was bending more but after removing it and measuring it is the same. If this bow works I might make another.
You never know for sure until it is at full brace, and you can draw it/shoot it. It is best to wait till then to reduce the width, IMO.
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I haven't left the tip that wide its only 3/4" wide. And 10mm thick.