Heat and Osage

[Burnsie]

Is it advisable or OK to heat and bend the same area of an Osage self bow more than once.
I have a nice stave roughed out to floor tiller and I'm planning to recurve it, but one limb has a slight twist in the outer 1/3 that I was thinking I would take out before I put it in the caul for the recurve.  It will require heating roughly the same area for both operations.  Is this an issue?  Can I try taking the twist out and adding the recurve at the same time? 

[Mo_coon-catcher]

Until you decide to scorch the belly it doesn’t harm it at all. I’ve had to heat some bows back and forth a few times to get the hooks to line up properly.

Kyle

[Pat B]

I agree with Kyle.   

[Burnsie]

Until you decide to scorch the belly it doesn’t harm it at all. I’ve had to heat some bows back and forth a few times to get the hooks to line up properly.

Kyle

"Scorch the belly" - can you elaborate on that?  That is a new one to me.   Is it done for structural purposes or just a cosmetic thing?

[Mo_coon-catcher]

That’s when I was ant to harden up the belly to up the poundage. Essentially it’s the same as doing some heat bending with the heat gun but you heat it longer so the wood starts to burn a little and change color. It hardens up the wood a bit making it more resistant to compression, but makes the wood more brittle. As long as it’s only on the belly it’s fine. Just don’t want to scorch the back. I like the give Osage a light scorching after bending to the shape I want. It seems to lock in the bends a bit better.

Kyle

[Pat B]

Again I agree with Kyle. Scorching(tempering) the belly isn't necessary with osage but I do it any way. I usually temper after the limb is clamped to the form and the twists or curves are remover. While the wood is still hot from the correction I go back over the entire limb, from handle to tip, is an area about 6" moving the heat gun back and forth about an inch away from the wood until the wood darkens them move out another 6" doing the same but back over the previously heated wood and do this all the way out the limb. Once both limbs are bent and corrected I let the stave stay clamped to the form for at least two days and more if the R/H is dry.
 As you are heating and tempering check to be sure the heat hasn't gone around the edges to the back. That can weaken the back and cause problems.