What's That Burning Smell?

[ChristopherO]

When someone says to toast the belly wood they don't mean to bake and burn as I did yesterday.  
Worked on an osage stave that needed quite a bit of reflex removed at the fade area.  Thinking this being such as thick spot I better keep the heat on it until it is hot on the backside.  By that time it was deep black on the belly side.  Oh, it bent with pressure from the clamp, just like I was looking for but it also set off the smoke alarm and got my family's attention, to boot.  
You might be surprised how far the char goes into the osage with a heat gun and ten minutes, I know I am.  :eek:    All I can say is, "Don't do this at home."
Filing down all that black wood has created a tillering issue that I think I can eventually work out.  Good thing there is room to prune the outer limbs back or a kid's bow it will become.  Right now I have a very big adult it is supposed to go to.  
Moral of the story:  Don't be so emphatic that the heat needs to be applied so aggresively.
One of these days I'm going to learn patience.  :rolleyes:

[talkingcabbage]

As they say, "Patience is a virtue".  Too bad it isn't everyone's virtue!

[talkingcabbage]

As they say, "Patience is a virtue".  Too bad it isn't everyone's virtue!

[Roy Steele]

Let me say I quit useing heat and steam over 10 years ago.Let me say this theres nothing wrong with heat or steam.Exspecialy when it's still at the cut down stave size before it's a bow.But when it's bow form is when most people turn there bow into fire wood.
   Theres alot of reasons I don't use it anymore.First off it's really a personal reason.It go's like this I made dozzens of bows heating,an steaming each on eas I went.
   My friend I'd met had built bows for 50 years.Would just shake his head at me with each bow.I never saw him 1 time use heat or steam.And he always had a bow going.
   So one day after a nother head shaking he bearly even looked at my bow.So I asked him whats the deal.He said it's a nice looking bow but theres a 1000 bowyers make nice looking bows.
    He #@%&# off so I said get one your bow and lets see how your compares.So after going
through a corner full of bows.He got one that was close mine was 64#s his was 61#s.His beat me by 16 yards flite shooing.His bow was 8 feet a second faster.What really sucked his arrow was 4 grains heavyer than mine.
   I been building bows for 6 or 7 years at the time I thought I had it down.Three of his friends were just haveing ball ribbing me.He just laughed and said when ever you but a heated bow up against a nonheated one theres no comparion.Changes the wood cells to much.He said the bows start out looking,preforming good but after awhile end up prefoming worse as they go.I've found this to be true.He said he'd learned to build his bows with out heat.He said this will make you a real bowyer.
   I hav'nt used heat to build a bow since that evening.

[Roy Steele]

As long as the tpis line up with the handle you can make real nice,durble selfbow that will last you.I have 5 bows over 10 years old and a couple older 2 have no string follow at all none have even close ot 2 inchs.Two of these  have the string a little to the left of center of the handle.So if the string lines up a little to the shelf side this makes yor bow a little more center shot.So if you have to lay your bow out and your limbs come out a little to one side    make it to the shelf side.I've made bows like
this and they worked out and shot fine.
   I like to cut my shelfs as close to center as my stave will let me.

[ranger 3]

Roy, how do you know how far you can cut a shelf?