caul ?

[broketooth]

i have a few caul questions? 1. what did you make your caul out of? 2. depending on materials used, how did you assemble it and with what kind of hardware? 3. can you show me pics of your caul ? i want some ideas. i do have knowledge of how to make eliptical shapes from building eliptical archways in homes , so shape and length in proprtion are not an issue. what i do want is to beable to build a very durable caul to last. something that wont warp or twist over time when i throw heat and pressure to it. i have built a form before following bingams plans for glass recurves. they said to use wood screws, glue and 1/2" ply it serverely twisted on me in the oven, while under pressure. ive since learned to use an lvl for that purpose. but this is different. i'll be using a heat gun that has a highest setting of 11oo degrees. i dont want the lvl to delaminate on me over time. what alternitaves do i have, thanx ruddy

[Pat B]

Ruddy, I just use dimensional lumber. The first one is a 2x4 backed with a 2x6. The second, the recurve caul is a 2x4.
 
 
 

[Walt Francis]

Here is a link to building cauls’, the one I use is near the end of the thread.

  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=125;t=001885  

In the past I used dimensional lumber but it always twisted, I now use LVL and haven't had any problems using my heat gun on the 1200 degree setting.

[broketooth]

well, i built one today. its about 40" long with a nice profile. i had a stave that needed to be straightened. i cant beleive how little time it took to heat an area and clamp it  and move on to the next. wow. i honestly dont know why i was afraid of doing this before. man this is gonna be fun. i cant wait to do some more. thanx mr pat and mr walt

[Pat B]

The anticipation gets us all at first Ruddy.
Osage works extremely well with heat. You will have fun now that you know it don't hurt!  d;^)