Heat and Ipe (pic added)

[NTD]

I have a pre tapered slat of ipe that developed some substantial twist while in storage.  I decided to try to correct it with some heat.  I clamped it to another board and gave it some light heating.  Almost immediatly the wood started sweating a black tar like substance.  It's pretty incredible.  Has anyone else seen something like this?

[M-P]

No, but I don't think I've ever heated ipe with a heat gun.   Ron

[Marc St Louis]

Yes.  You don't want to heat Ipe too much, it doesn't like it

[NTD]

Marc,

I remember you saying something about that but the twist in this board was so much that I wasn't willing to make a bow with it as is.  I kept the gun moving pretty quickly, bout 10 seconds in a spot at a time.  Do you think that'll give me problems?

[mullet]

  Yep' what Marc said. It will split and splinter. I have a nice piece that I want to try and bend, like a stave. I had a long pipe made that I can immerse the one whole limb in. I'm going to try and heat and/or boil if I have to, in vegetable oil.

[Pat B]

I don't know this for a fact but I've heard that heat doesn't work with tropical woods(dry or wet) but some sort of a chemical treatment does. If it were me, I'd scrap that piece and find another.   Before you know it we'll have to wear hazmat suits to build bows. 

[NTD]

I know it was a hail mary but figured I'd give it a try......

[ken75]

glad for this post i have considered heating it . Nate that tar might be what makes it water and bug resistant

[Timo]

Nate, the ipe I built last year didn't have the same result. I built in some re curves and used a good bit of heat on them, Nothing showed up like that!

But....on my recent persimmon bow I had a bunch of those dots show up. I figured it was sap that rose to the top? Looked like fly crap.

[NTD]

glad for this post i have considered heating it . Nate that tar might be what makes it water and bug resistant

That's likely Ken, my wife also said it's probably what makes people sick too...

[Stiks-N-Strings]

I heated a piece of jatoba once and it proved fatal. Made it like rubber almost, craziest thing I ever seen. From everything I've been told or experienced heat is a no-no on tropical wood.

[Marc St Louis]

There are some tropicals that bend with dry heat.  Pernambuco (used for making violin bows) does and so does Satinwood.  Bubinga, Brazilian Rosewood and Ipe don't and a few others also

[NTD]

Nate, the ipe I built last year didn't have the same result. I built in some re curves and used a good bit of heat on them, Nothing showed up like that!

But....on my recent persimmon bow I had a bunch of those dots show up. I figured it was sap that rose to the top? Looked like fly crap.

That's interesting Tim.  I have a few scrap pieces from other ipe bows and such, I'm going to heat em up and see what happens. 

I don't think I hurt this piece of ipe.  The slat is now quite straight and I don't see any cracks, splinters, or checking.  I didn't let it get very hot, 10 seconds at a time, definitely wasn't "heat treating" it

[Bevan R.]

I would let it set for a week or 2 before you do anything else to it. Just to let it rest and rehydrate.

Bevan R

[Ryano]

Ive actualy heated ipe quite a bit with no ill effects. It will heat bend ok as in like a slight gentle curve like reflexing a bow limb more sharp bends don't seem to work as well as other woods. Never had the black tar...