maple recurve advice

[bowmad]

Got the brother-in-law's name for Christmas this year so he's gettin a bow. I have a piece of 2" maple I was thinking of trying to get a recurve out of, or at least flip the tips. This will be my first attempt at anything of the sort so I need some input. I made a template from a Pearson bow that I own for the recurves. What I'm wondering is how long do I need to steam the wood,and what should I seal it with first? Also, it will be 68" long, so will a pyramid be the best style, or would you go 2" from fades to mid-limb and then to half inch tips?
thanks in advance!

[mikkekeswick]

I'd make it around 60 - 62 inch ntn. No need to seal the wood. Rule of thumb for steaming is 1 hour per inch of thickness. Go for a bit more if you are unsure. Chase the belly side to one ring and use a steel strap on your form clamped far enough up the limb to not interfere with the form once bent. Get them around a 1/2 inch thick before trying to bend them.
Also I now boil my recurves not steam them.

[bowmad]

Cool. I have plenty of steel bands laying around and was planning on using that.
Since It's only a month away from Christmas, is that enough time for the wood to dry out from bending to finish the bow? And at what point in the tillering process do you put in the recurves?