Green self bow.

[baby_bowyer]

Okay, so it's looking like I have an unstrung brace height of 2.25 inches.  Is that fairly normal for starting out with a green sapling?

I have linked YouTube videos from my previous posts, the latest having to do with cambium removal.

Just wondering about, I think it was Jawge's link where he fully mounted a bow to a form and heated it (toasted, really).

Would steaming and securing it to a form do the same thing?

[baby_bowyer]

Oh, BTW, it's pretty dry now.

[Pat B]

If it is unstrung it is not braced so you can't have a brace height. Green wood will take set. That kind of set is usually detrimental to a bow. Try letting your sapling dry for a while before stressing it.

[baby_bowyer]

Understood.  Okay, so the set is about 2.25 inches.

[baby_bowyer]

This is a sapling that has been carve, rasped an sanded to shape already.  I'm looking for possible solutions.  Are you saying to let it dry further before trying to reduce the set?  I would figure it would be better to set it up on a form before it got completely dry.

I'm not the expert here, though.

[George Tsoukalas]

baby, I don't own a form but 2.25" is acceptable. It could still be a bit wet. When did you cut it? Jawge

[Steve B.]

If the "set" is the natural shape of the wood then its not "set.  Was it once straight but afer you pulled the string a few times it is now curved?  Is this the same bow on your youtube vid?
I have a tube that is about 6ft. long and 3 or 4 inches wide.  I bought a hairdryer from the second hand store.  When I'm working a "green" stave, over time, I put the stave in the tube and put the hairdryer into one end and put the dryer on low setting.  I'll leave it there drying for hours.  If a beginning bow is following the string I put it in the dryer for awhile then look at it.  If it straightens out I know it doesn't have a permanent set.  

When you are working a stave or bow that is not fully dry you are removing the driest wood from the outside and exposing more damp wood each time you scrape.  Which is good because now the stave or bow will dry faster.  Putting it in the dryer speeds up the process.

[LittleBen]

I use a 6+ foot pine box with a lightbulb in it to dry them out. Its nice cause you can leave it running without burning your house down (use at your own risk). Usually get the bow roughed out and then stick it in there for like 2 days at a time until its dry enough to start tillering ... Good luck.

[baby_bowyer]

Yes, this is the bow from the video.  I had roughed it
Out then left it under the bed for 2 weeks, which was probably not enough time, but I had figured since I shaped it to past the heartwood I would be past the worst of the dampness, given that this was a sapling.

That handle gave me fits due to the moisture causiing it to split and lose most of the carving body I wanted.

It was pretty much straight before I tried floor tillering.  Of course, now that I think about it, when I was floor tillering, it may have been too soon, as it had that distinctive damp "oak" smell.

Looks like I may have a toy on my hands!  Good lesson!

Thanks for all your inputs.  Looks like before I do anything else, I need to set up a dryer and invest in a moisture meter (or postal scale)

[George Tsoukalas]

Let it dry some more. How much depends on where you live. If you have  moisture meter check the readings. Jawge

[baby_bowyer]

I think I got this right.  Here is a link to a pic that shows some twist.  If its just the tip, how can I fix that?

  Photobucket page  

If you look closely, you can see that the grain actually is twisted roughly 30-45 degrees.

[Steve B.]

I haven't done a lot of "fixing" but I just took out some propeller twist in a vine maple stave by heating and steaming the area and hand twisting in the other direction (using clamps).  To my surprise some twist came out and seems to have stayed out.
I would try it with oak or hickory but not sure if its wise.  I have bows with that much twist and I just shoot them that way with no noticeable.  One osage bow has it and its bad enough that I'm always worried the string will slip off.  But it never has.....?

[baby_bowyer]

Alright.

Well, since this (& prolly the next few) is more for learning, I'm gonna try and untwist it.

Concepts learned:
Drying
Tillering stages
Following grain
Limb shaping (hatchet, rasp, sure form, scraping)
Knots
Wood types

I think I'm
Learning a lot and will enjoy learning a lot more.

Gonna build a form to experiment removing set, then twist, at which point I'll pretty it up and take some pics and call it done.