Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: joachimM on April 23, 2015, 09:54:43 am

Title: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: joachimM on April 23, 2015, 09:54:43 am
Here's an original approach to steaming wood directly in place (or adjusting larger pieces).
http://www.core77.com/posts/35838/A-Better-Way-to-Steam-Wood-for-Bending-Use-a-Plastic-Bag
For bow making this approach seems especially useful if you have a caul.

Joachim
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: johnfolchetti on April 23, 2015, 10:27:29 am
Pretty slick.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: arachnid on April 23, 2015, 11:07:44 am
That is way cool. 8)
I got to give it a try..... I don`t have good sucsess with bending boards, I think this method might work.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: paulsemp on April 23, 2015, 11:26:20 am
that's awesome, I'm going to have to give that a go. thank you for posting that link
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: paco664 on April 23, 2015, 11:43:20 am
and because the bag is so thin you don't have to remove the wood... thereby giving more working time...

smart... really smart...
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Tree_Ninja on April 23, 2015, 05:05:57 pm
Smart. I had read somewhere that the first nations would use bull kelp to steam their yew bows. This method seems less smelly.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Drewster on April 23, 2015, 09:16:48 pm
That looks like it's worth a try.  I may "park" my steam pipe setup and give that a go.  I really like the time is could save transferring the wood to the caul......sweet.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: ajooter on April 23, 2015, 09:27:37 pm
Very cool may have to give that a go!
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: JW_Halverson on April 23, 2015, 10:45:33 pm
Yankee ingenuity.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: bubby on April 23, 2015, 11:19:25 pm
where could you get a roll of that plastic bag
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Drewster on April 23, 2015, 11:31:11 pm
where could you get a roll of that plastic bag

Buddy, per a response at the end of the video page, Uline.com sells the roll material.......the 6 mil is recommended.  Dang, it come in a 1000' roll.  Several of us could share a roll :-)
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: DC on April 24, 2015, 12:12:40 am
If you go to a shop that sells fiberglass sometimes they package it in poly tubes like that. I got about twenty feet for the asking. It was bigger, about 12" wide but it may work.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: tallpine on April 24, 2015, 11:50:09 pm
Thanks for sharing that Joachim, that's really brilliant. The second video would be exactly how you would bend a stave over a caul. I have some super heavy duty,large contractor trash backs that would work if I can figure a way to narrow them up into a sealed tube, Duct tape maybe? I like this idea, I'm going to do some experimenting with this.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Tree_Ninja on April 25, 2015, 12:00:43 am
An expensive option are the  vacuum sealing bags for food savr.It is  already a long tube . I'm too cheap to do that, but they'd be durable.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: wapiti1997 on April 25, 2015, 07:16:19 am
It's not as thick, but diaper genie bags might work?
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Dvshunter on April 25, 2015, 04:49:08 pm
Brilliant.  Thanks for sharing
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: bubby on April 25, 2015, 09:31:38 pm
Just got on the big auction site and got 40 of 6" 4mil for $8 gonna give it a try
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Badger on April 25, 2015, 10:50:19 pm
  I wish I would have seen this years ago, great method. Someone needs to show this to Gary Anderson.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Knoll on April 26, 2015, 12:10:30 am
Just got on the big auction site and got 40 of 6" 4mil for $8 gonna give it a try
atta man!
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: J05H on April 26, 2015, 06:09:44 am
Let us know how it goes Bubby. Sounds like a great Idea to me. I'll be checking the big auction site myself.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Chief RID on April 26, 2015, 08:13:59 am
In the words of J. Buffet " It was so simple, like the jitterbug, it plum evaded me."
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Badger on April 26, 2015, 10:24:22 am
  I look back at some of my elaborate yet feeble attempts to accomplish the same thing this guy has done with a plastic bag and it is a bit embarrassing. I built a heat box large enough to hold a stave and a cawl with clamps on it. I can open it up adjust the clamps and then close it back up for some more heat. It works but not nearly as well and is a pain to mess with.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: DC on April 26, 2015, 11:02:17 am
We were stuffing targets with scrap plastic at the range yesterday and I found 10' of 6" 6Mil tube mixed in with the scrap. Bonus!!
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: ajooter on April 26, 2015, 11:12:57 am
They sell poly sheeting at lowes and home depot.  I would assume you can trim to length and then melt the seams together with a heat gun.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: paco664 on April 26, 2015, 03:12:02 pm
They sell poly sheeting at lowes and home depot.  I would assume you can trim to length and then melt the seams together with a heat gun.
duct tape the seam. .. will work just fine and makes it reusable. ..
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: JW_Halverson on April 26, 2015, 03:29:21 pm
Heat might loosen the glue on the duct tape.  One could roll the seam over several times and staple along the way, too. 
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Badger on April 26, 2015, 05:51:31 pm
  I was thinking of just rolling it and clipping the roll with something like spring clamps, no need to be air or water tight.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: bubby on April 26, 2015, 05:57:42 pm
Why mess around jury riggin something that is only $8
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: paco664 on April 26, 2015, 07:08:07 pm
Why mess around jury riggin something that is only $8
cause i got $7.34 in my checking account? >:D >:D >:D
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: bubby on April 30, 2015, 07:16:02 pm
well I got the tubing today i'll let you know how it works and paco if your that broke i'll send you enough to steam a bow, brother ain't got $8 can use all the help he can get :laugh:
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Badger on April 30, 2015, 07:31:25 pm
  I have a bunch of that clear plastic they use for greenhouses. I wnder how that would work and what glue I could use to seal it up. It is pretty thck at .039. I have a hickory bow I need to steam will let you all know how it works.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: bubby on April 30, 2015, 07:39:20 pm
Maybe you could just use pvc glue badger
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: le0n on April 30, 2015, 08:03:14 pm
^^ or line up the edges and run it through the sewing machine.
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: Aaron H on April 30, 2015, 08:45:11 pm
Brilliant, thanks for sharing this Joachim
Title: Re: Steaming wood with plastic bags?!
Post by: paco664 on April 30, 2015, 09:03:34 pm
well I got the tubing today i'll let you know how it works and paco if your that broke i'll send you enough to steam a bow, brother ain't got $8 can use all the help he can get :laugh:
;D.. you made me actually lol...