O.K. I need help !...bending wood

[Coo-wah-chobee]

                              Manny.......the metal band dosent work so much as a heat conductor but more to keep the integrity of the belly wood so it dosen't crack er split. Ifn its not galvanized wrap it each time ya use it with waxpaper so u dont get rust stains on the wood ............bob

[George Tsoukalas]

No one says you have to do the bend all at once. Sometimes I need 2 or 3 tries at it. Jawge

[NOMADIC PIRATE]

Good thinking George


Well it didn't work I still pulled a splinter.

But the second limb with the metal band worked great ,   so I went back to the first and did a bit more bending a bit further down the limb, they look good now

[George Tsoukalas]

Manny, did you floor tiller before bending? It's easier to dry heat bend thinner wood. Jawge

[tom sawyer]

One other thing you can do is to kerf the tip, that way you are bending two slats half as thin.  Once it is bent, you glue them back together, possibly inserting a thin wedge of wood to stiffen the tip.

The metal band is to hold down splinters on the belly side.  It provides support for the wood and helps get a smooth bend as opposed to the wood "kinking" at one spot.  People usually make a wooden jig, so the back rides along a piece of wood and the belly has the metal strap holding it together.

[NOMADIC PIRATE]

Are you crazy Lenny ?? with my wood working skills, kerfing is way out of the question

Yeah that's what I did, I made a form for mild recurve/flip of the tips, and used a metal band, it worked GREAT !!!


George, this is ectually a piked bow,...looks like the metal band is the answer ...at least so far