hickory static recurve

[evildocrsx]

I have another problem now.  When I glued on the riser piece, it slipped about half an inch.  So the limb that was designated to be the top limb is shorter than the limb that was designated to be the bottom limb by one inch.  The top limb measures 26.5inches and the bottom limb measures 27.5 inches to the riser.  

The reason that it was designated like that was because of the node spacing on the bamboo.  The top limb was supposed to have the wider spaced nodes and the bottom limb was supposed to have the closer spaced nodes.  

Will it be ok if i use the limb with the closer spaced nodes for the top limb as it is the longer limb, or will the bow be fine if i use the shorter limb on top?

[evildocrsx]

Here's the pic.
 

[don s]

it should be fine. make sure the longer limb is the top. thats more important than the distance of the node spacing. don

[Hardwoodman]

I have bent hickory with dry heat only, and it worked fine. I think the trick is to to wait long enough for the wood to reach the temperature at wich it gets soft. If you fasten the tip of the bow so you can bend it by lifting or pressing the bow, you feel it when it the wood is ready, and not much force is needed to make the bend. I prefer a hot plate as a heat source.