Recurve Question

[Pat B]

TBIII. Be sure the glue surfaces and well matched and mated.

[Oldvol]

Thank you. Will do.

[Oldvol]

Bent the first limb of my bow yesterday. Boiled it 20 min. in a pot covered with aluminum foil. Bow went on the caul easily, but had a hairline crack across entire width at top of the bend. Let it cool for 6 hours. Then started heat treating the belly with both ends of the limb still clamped to the caul. BIG mistake. As the limb heated up the crack became more pronounced.

Bent the 2nd limb today and all is well so far. Have not heat treated it yet. Hope to repair the 1st limb with glue and then back both with a thin strip of cherry. Anyone have advise on repairing the crack?

[bownarra]

There is no need to apply more heat after steam bending. I've bent some pretty sharp recurves by boiling them. They will not pull out or change shape once cooled. I'm not sure why this technique is beng used now.
You can of course heat treat the belly after the tips have cooled but you will need a form to clamp the curves to to prevent them 'uncurling' as you apply the heat. This is a different thing though.

[Stixnstones]

If your tips are 1/2, steam for a half hour, 5/8 tips steam for 45 min. I typically steam at least a half hour if not more just to prevent any mishaps. I also leave it in the caul over night and dont do any bending for a couple days. Again just how I do my recurves.

[Don W]

There is no need to apply more heat after steam bending. I've bent some pretty sharp recurves by boiling them. They will not pull out or change shape once cooled. I'm not sure why this technique is beng used now.
You can of course heat treat the belly after the tips have cooled but you will need a form to clamp the curves to to prevent them 'uncurling' as you apply the heat. This is a different thing though.

Every one I've tried without setting with heat have pulled out. Maybe it has to do with wood type? I don't know, I just know that's why I started setting them all.

[RyanY]

There is no need to apply more heat after steam bending. I've bent some pretty sharp recurves by boiling them. They will not pull out or change shape once cooled. I'm not sure why this technique is beng used now.
You can of course heat treat the belly after the tips have cooled but you will need a form to clamp the curves to to prevent them 'uncurling' as you apply the heat. This is a different thing though.

Almost all of my recurves would spring back or pull out slightly after heating but I was also using what I think is a less effective method of steaming. Since using a heat gun to set them they’ve worked significantly better with zero spring back and only a bit of heat. I also have a new steaming setup that gets way hotter so I’ll have to see if I can skip the dry heat after.

[airkah]

I'm in the boil only camp, never had an issues with them pulling out, but then again I don't ever do the really sharp 90* hooks. I just boil and set until the wood cools and then wait a day to start working on the bow again.

[Marc St Louis]

If the wood is a couple rings thicker at the recurves than the thinest part of the working limb then it's unlikely they will pull out just from wet-heat bending

[PaSteve]

I pretty much have followed the same guidelines and procedure as stixnstones. The results have been positive.

[scp]

Can someone tell me how much more a recurved tip would be stressed at full draw, compared to a straight tip?

[Will B]

TB3 is what I would recommend. It has always worked well for me on under-lays as well as tip overlays. Make sure you get a tight glue line. Good luck

[Oldvol]

Thanks to all.

[Marc St Louis]

Can someone tell me how much more a recurved tip would be stressed at full draw, compared to a straight tip?

Steaming or boiling wood weakens it a bit plus the limb is stressed more with recurves then there's the angle of the string focusing more stress on the recurve

[scp]

Can someone tell me how much more a recurved tip would be stressed at full draw, compared to a straight tip?

Steaming or boiling wood weakens it a bit plus the limb is stressed more with recurves then there's the angle of the string focusing more stress on the recurve

Thanks. That's the kind of answer I like, instead of a math or physics formula I have no way of following. But I would accept such formula if the provider has enough credentials. I still prefer to have the "ordinary language interpretation" of such a formula. And that should be comprehensible to average people. Thanks in advance.

It is intuitive for the limb to be more stressed by a recurved tip. However it is not that intuitive for me how the recurved tip itself is more stress than the straight tip. Am I having a senile moment?