Should I toast board bow belly?

[UserNameTaken]

So,  I'm finishing up a red oak board bow, and it's starting to take some set. I'm wondering if toasting the belly will help keep it from following the string even more?

[tattoo dave]

Don't know, never toasted any of my bows. I would love to see you try and let us know the results.

Tattoo Dave

[Gordon]

If your bow is beginning to take set then you need to reduce weight.

[danlaw]

I just tried out my buddy's red oak board bow. He toasted it and it shot fantastic. So I  tried heat treating a little plum self bow and it worked amazingly well. It went from a mediocre 46# @ 28" to tight and snappy 54# @ 27" (I did reduce one limb by about 3/4 inch, so it's not all heat). It has very little set now and it's a couple weeks old.

[mikekeswick]

It's most likely that the woods properties are somewhat to 'blame'. Oak is way better in tension than compression. Trap the back by 30% if your grain is good enough. This should be enough to equal out the forces your bow is feeling. Heat treating will also help but it's sloving the problem another way.

[UserNameTaken]

It's a bit late to trap it; there won't be much left if I do that. I'll drop the weight a bit & toast the belly to see what happens.