best way to heat wood

[Justin Falon]

what is the best way to heat wood for bending?  heat gun, steam, etc.?

Going to make a short sinew backed osage flatbow and would like to put some deflex in the limbs first.

jf

[PEARL DRUMS]

Green wood would like steam best, dry wood would like dry heat best..........most of the time.

[Art B]

Do you mean reflex JF?

Any deflexing from the handle area on out won't allow the sinew to do it's job very well. Sinew works best when you can really stress the stuff IMO.

You can steam your wood first and then set with heat to make the bend more permanent. Just make sure the wood is good and dry before applying heat.......Art

[Justin Falon]

I think so. I want to reflex it!!

[eflanders]

It depends on the thickness and the moisture content in the wood.  As Pearl said, heat for dry, steam for wet wood.  Certain woods though respond better with steam than with heat depending on the thickness and the amount of bend you trying to make.  For most bow woods, if the wood is dry, I would try dry heat (heat gun) first.  Let the wood cool down for some time on a form or caul before stressing it.  If not, more heat might be needed. It is not unusual for you to need to bend a little more than what your final bend is intended to be at.  Steam will allow you to form nearly any thickness and radius desired with nearly any species but it is a bit more complicated to do.

[Justin Falon]

ok.  I may try the heat gun first.

[Randy]

Warrior, I am new to bow building, working on my 3rd now, but I have used dry heat on all of them. I use a heat gun and it seems to work fine. Just take your time and keep the gun moving. Good luck.  Randy

[John Scifres]

I don't mess with steaming at all anymore.  It's much easier for me to work dry wood with a heatgun and caul.  If your wood is wet, get it to near bow dimensions and less than 5/8" thick all the way across the entire working limb, sheelac the ends and back and and then let it rest 1 month in coolish conditions. Then force dry it in the warmest, dryest room in your house for 1-2 months.  Then use a heatgun to get your reflex.

Have fun, take pics, show us your progress.

[Justin Falon]

Will do!!!

[PEARL DRUMS]

John will that method work on white woods as well?

[Pat B]

You can get your bow to floor tiller stage, draw it into reflex then add the sinew.

[John Scifres]

PD, as far as using a heatgun, not in my experience.  White woods aren't nearly as friendly to me with a heat gun.  Now if you are toasting the bellies, you can often get some decent movement with a heatgun on whitewoods.  

As far as force drying, whitewoods dry even faster than osage.  I've gone from stump to shooting in 13 days with elm and hickory.