bending wood(and having some fun)

[sadiejane]

ok, so my bowbuilding buds and i have been experimenting with means to heat and bend osage bows we are working on.
(other than using the heat gun which we have done many times with varying results)
unfortunately for them i am the only one in the group who gets online and reads all the info i can find before proceeding.
so they have to take my word for it...
this first attempt at making a tool for boiling a bow was actually taking from jim hamms book
bows and arrows of the native americans
(still one of my favs-simple, straight forward and to the point-easy for anyone to understand no matter how new at this)
brian bought a length of 4" steel tubing and welded a plate on one end to seal
nice way to get some work done and spend the evening round the fire with friends

and it worked quite well tho once in awhile it would belch a bunch of water.
but we kept a pot of water on the fire so we could add hot so it didnt have to reheat
how many old hippies does it take to clamp down a stick of wood...


so after that evening brian decided he could improve on the design

he cut a slot the entire length and welded another end to it
get a good fire going, lay the bow in, sit back and have a few beers with friends

once again those old hippy pals of mine love a good wrestle match with an inanimate object


ok this worked really well too and we never even had to add any water

btw both bows that were boiled came out just as wanted.
tho somehow i have no pix....

[sadiejane]

of course, being the woman i am, and reading everything i can find here and elsewheres about boiling and steaming bows, i had to try steaming.
all my buds were busy yesterday or outta town so it was just me and the fire.
went to the hardware store and spent $14 on stove pipe pieces and 3 band clamps.
used an old garbage can lid i found in a pile of rubble in the alley.
tin snipes and a few minutes later the bowbender 420+ was born.
(cant really see it but my old camp pot is under there full of boiling water)

for some reason i didnt take a pic of the bow before sticking it in the pipe.
but you can see from this pic how much it bent sideways

i was able to get this one clamped down all by my lonesome...

the recurve in this piece of wood is natural not induced-all i wanted to do was take that sideways bend out
(and a bit of twist outta the near end with the second clamp)

wil leave it there for a few days and see what happens...

[toomanyknots]

Very cool. Thanx for the pics, keep er comin if you want to! I have unclamped steam bent wood after 30 minutes and had it hold fine. I wouldn't work it for a day or two, but overnight should be the max you have to leave it in a form. The thing is to have a constant stream of hot steam going over the wood. The move searing hot steam you can get, the better.

[sadiejane]

thanks toomanyknots-
as fer the steam, it was a blowing like a steam engine most of the time.
the wood got hot so i couldnt handle without gloves.

the first one in the boiling pix those guys removed later that nite and it sprung back some
brian boiled it again at home the next nite and left overnite with a bit better results.
the second try with modified trough boiling a different bow we left it clamped to the bench overnite,
and it seemed to hold the bend better but still needed some tweeking-done with a heat gun.
i have read numerous posts here regarding leaving from a short time as you suggest to leaving for days...
i'm in no hurry so i think i will leave it til tomorrow at least.
the far tip will need a bit of tweeking tho and i may just boil the tip.
or use the heat gun
will decide after it comes off the bench.
thanks again!

[toomanyknots]

Oh yeah, I always leave mine over night just incase still though, unless I think I heard a break or bent too much. Your set ups way better than mine. Thanks for posting! I may have to take a couple notes from you, I have been wanting to make a bow with a setback handle but haven't had the best steaming setup to make a bend like that on a stave.

[sadiejane]

thanks again toomanyknots-
none of this is new to many of the folks on here.
nevertheless no matter how much you read,
or watch youtube vids or whatever your source may be,
if you haven't been there while someone is doing this(or even when you have), it is always an experiment/experience.
these are just the way(s) our little ragtag group came up with.
its all about learning, tweeking things for the job at hand and having a good time all around.
hopefully, in the end, we also have some bows that shoot well and maybe even look purdy...

[Bevan R.]

I appreciate the pics. I like the looks of that 3rd setup!

[Pat B]

Looks like you guys are having fun, Sadie. That is the important part. Getting stuff done and learning other stuff is iceing on the cake.
  Steamed or boiled wood should remained clamped for a while. With dry heat you can release after it cools.

[osage outlaw]

Sadie, I enjoy seeing the pictures of your bow building group.  It looks like a great time with good friends.  For a minute, I thought PatB was in a couple of those pictures    You are lucky to have so many bowyers close by.  Did you seal the bows with anything before boiling/steaming them?  When ever I make heat gun corrections, I always leave them clamped over night. 

[sadiejane]

yeah sure feel really blessed to have bow making buds right here.
they are dear friends and we really enjoy our time together working on bows.

pat b.-" Steamed or boiled wood should remained clamped for a while"
so if it was steamed saturday early afternoon and leave it till tomorrow(mon) am is that plenty long?

osage outlaw-well, i read in a search pat and/or another mention using shellac. i had none but i let it get warm then pulled it out and rubbed it down good with bear grease. then left it till hot. when i did pull it out it seemed the heat had driven the bear grease into the wood. it doesnt appear dried out now. tho i was thinking about greasing it up again when i take it outta the clamps-use a hair dryer to make it penetrate the wood??? good idea or leave it alone. i wasnt gonna work on it again for another few days. its floor tillered and  ready to cut nocks and string for final tillering.

btw thats my buddy brian-yup he does resemble pat doesnt he? reckon its the beard

thanks fellas

[JW_Halverson]

none of this is new to many of the folks on here.

Yeah, but how many repititions does it take to get it to sink in, THAT'S the question!   

As for the question of how many old hippies does it take to bend a piece of wood, does anyone take attendance at the Tennessee Classic?

[sadiejane]

jw-wheres the "like" button!   

[Pat B]

Sadie, a couple of days at least in the form and a week before stressing the bend. You can do other work on the bow just stop before you start stressing it. By steaming or boiling you add moisture to the wood so you have to let it dehydrate again. Shellac is a great vapor barrier while steaming or boiling. It is not effected by the heat or moisture. I sometimes shellac the back of a bow before adding skins or rawhide. I learned this after adding snake skins to an osage bow. I waited until the glue was dry, trimmed and finished the skins and the bow and went out and shot it. It felt like a wet noodle and had no cast to it at all. When I built the bow it was 55#@26" and after this it opulled 40#@26". I set it aside for a few weeks and it was back up to weight and shot like a champ. The next one I did I sprayed shellac on the back, glued down the skins and in two days this bow shot the same as before. The shellac had prevented the moisture from the glue(TBIII) from entering the wood. I also use a thin coat of TBIII as a vapor barrier before adding skins or rawhide with TBIII.
  Clint, I thought I was there too but didn't remember being there. Even the PBR used to be my favorite beer. The beard, short hair, sweat shirt(or T shirt), blue jeans, ball cap. I had to look twice. Brian is a good looking guy! 

[osage outlaw]

I did a double take on that first picture Pat.  I've got a good start on a mountain man beard.  The wife doesn't like it though.  I'll try, but I doubt it will last until the Classic.

[Pat B]

Clint, my wife has never seen me without mine and we are hitting 34 years on May 3. 
  I'm afraid she'd leave if she saw what was under it!