Successful failed experiment.

[DesertFox]

I really wanted to try a bow with bent limbs, but I'm poor as all heck so I couldn't make a hot box.

So, I think to myself, "Well, if I want heat and steam, I can get that from the stove, right?"
I then set a pot with water on my electric stove and laid one limb of the bow over the water with just enough heat for a boil. I also covered the limb and stove with a tent of aluminum foil. Thirty minutes later, it worked!

When I set the other limb up, it actually cracked across the belly about 20 minutes in. (I'm going to see if I can tightbond the belly, because the crack doesn't reach the back. Probably wont work   :p  )

However, I did learn it can be done!

(edit: Scratch that repair. It totally just snapped in half)

[walkabout]

well its good youre getting some experience with new techniques. for cracks i use superglue to fill them and saturate about 1/4" around them then i wrap them with either B50 or artificial sinew. even camo wool yarn has worked. its held on every bow i used it on so far. titebond breaks down at 150 degrees or so, and probably isnt the best glue for patches.

[DesertFox]

This crack was way deeper than I originally thought, but I will keep that in mind for future breaks. Thanks!

[walkabout]

no problem, i actually used superglue to patch a crack in my last boe and it came out 10# over what i was hoping to get out of it. another thing, i havent tried it on a heavier weight bow yet but ive glued reflex into just the tips of my sons board bow with a short tapered piece of red oak. used titebondIII and clamped it between two blocks till the reflex looked good. smoothed it all out after a night. gave it about 3/4" inches of reflex.

[Pat B]

How did it get a crack across the belly? Sounds like a fret was there to begin with. Wood doesn't crack across grain just from steam or heat.
  All of my first bendings were with steam made on our gas cook stove, a large pot of water and aluminum foil. Be careful of heat coming up from the bottom of the pot on the outside and scorching the limb hanging over the pot. Wrap alum. foil there to protect.

[scrub-buster]

I just picked up a bow steamer at a yard sale for $2.  OK, actually it is an electric Deep Fryer, but it has a thermostat control that starts at 200 degrees, so I can set it just right and steam the bow in the garage.

[George Tsoukalas]

What kind of wood? Did you crack it bending it too soon and too much? Jawge

[DVSHUNTER]

for what it is worth, I use this steam tube, an old pot, and a five dollar hot plate. All together I have about twenty bucks in it. I based my design on dean torges book's idea. It works very well and allows the entire bow to be heated. I mostly use it as a sort of prebend/accelerated drying tool, but it works for me. Sorry the pic isn't the best but you get the idea.

[DesertFox]

Originally posted by Pat B:
How did it get a crack across the belly? Sounds like a fret was there to begin with. Wood doesn't crack across grain just from steam or heat.

I'm going to be trying this with hickory in the near future, so could you explain what a "Fret" is? How would I look for one?

Thank you

[Rain Man]

Dictionary.com

–noun
10.an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation.
11.erosion; corrosion; gnawing.
12.a worn or eroded place.

[Mudd]

If my memory serves me a fret is caused by the wood being compressed beyond what it can take.

God bless,Mudd

[Kevin Breaux]

As I read I didn't see any mention if the wood was green or seasoned. Keep in mind green wood likes steam and seasoned wood likes dry heat!

Keep build'n em'

[daver1984]

Desert Fox

"I'm going to be trying this with hickory in the near future,..."

In my limited experience with hickory/pecan (5 bows)it seems to take considerable more time to steam/boil (at least 45 to 60 minutes) as compared to 20 to 30 minutes for osage orange (13 bows) for a piece of the same relative dimensions. Also, for recurve end bends, the grain seems to really raise every time on Hickory/Pecan.

All, I use is a old tea kettle and three layers of aluminum foil to go over the top and arround the bows. I do this on the kitchen stove (and yes I have a very understanding wife).

When doing hickory I keep another kettle full of hot water due to the length of time  that I have found for Hickory or Pecan.

Others with more steaming experince may have different methods and results.

Also, I have yet to use dry heat for bow limbs but I use it when working/straightening dogwood and rivercane shafts which I coat with crisco to cut down on scorching. Steam works well also on straightening shafts.

Dave

[UnderControl16]

Hey walkabout,
what do you mean you glued on reflex?I'd like to give it a try if i could figure it out.

[DesertFox]

Daver, very good points. I did manage to get a nice recurve out of hickory just recently and I steamed the tips for about 40 minutes. I manage to make a rig that lets me make the bend in less than 10 seconds, which probably helped.

The grain did lift a little bit, but it was easily sanded off, nothing serious.

Walkabout's glued in idea involves a piece of thin backing wood glued on to the area you want to bend. Think of it like a laminated bow but only at the tips. Simple and very effective.