Tempering Limbs - how to???

[Easternarcher]

Just wondering about the methods used to temper limbs to improve weight and performance....also wonder can I remove set and give a little reflex witht his method????will the reflex stay in, or pull out during shooting???

I'm working with my Hickory backed Jatoba longbow at the moment....she draws about 50 lbs right now, but after final sanding I'll lose 3-4 lbs right...I'd like to keep it up around 50-53 lbs if possible.


Thanks.

[Justin Snyder]

I put mine on a reflexing form and use a heat gun to heat it until it begins to change colors.  If you search the old topics you can find pictures of Marc St Louis's system.  I copied it.  Also, you can buy the back issuefrom Spring 2005.  It has a complete article by Marc. It also has a great article on Arrows from Stone by George.  Two of my favorite articles and my favorite issue ever.  Justin

[Easternarcher]

Thanks Justin...I was wondering if a heat gun would do the trick...
Just gotta keep it moving right?

I'll check out your suggestions as well.
Thanks.

[Dustybaer]

wouldn't the heat affect the lamination?

[Pappy]

I would thinkit would.Not sure how much heat the glue would stand.Don't think I would try it
but maybe Marc will chime in he probably has tried it.
   Pappy

[Easternarcher]

Well, I'm using Urac if that makes a difference as far as heat goes...

The other option to raising the draw weight would be to pike the limbs back an inch or so....Good option?

[Marc St Louis]

Tempering here would be a waste of time plus the amount of heat needed would damage the glue. Tropical hardwoods don't seem to be improved with dry heat

[Easternarcher]

Tempering here would be a waste of time plus the amount of heat needed would damage the glue. Tropical hardwoods don't seem to be improved with dry heat

Thanks Marc...that's the kind of red flag I was hoping to hear/or not....
So tempering this bow is out...how a bout piking the limbs to gain a few pounds? Really what I should do is just wait til I get it final sanded THEN see if I want to gain a few more pounds.  MAybe 47-48 lbs will be enough and I can always build another with higher poundage.... actually already planing on it.

[basil_brush]

It might look a bit ugly but you could always attach a cable down the back of the bow, like many of the tribal people do. Good thing about cabled bows is that you can, within limits, adjust the bow weight by changing the tension of the back cable. You make it in primitive manner by just making big thick bundle of fibres or rawhide etc. Think of it as being like a super thick bowstring, but placed on the back. You may need to add some raised bumps to the back of the bow to keep the cable in the center and stop it rolling off to the sides if it tends to.

[Lost Arra]

I'm still tearing the house apart looking for that back issue of PA. (I have found stuff I didn't know I owned)

Would someone tell me if hickory is a good candidate for belly tempering?

This is a single piece of dry wood with some reflex flipped into the last 8" that seems to be holding after shooting a 100+ arrows.

Thanks

[Lost Arra]

never mind

I found some old threads that answered my question.

[a finnish native]

just for fun I'll tell ya. Hickory is perfect for dry heat. First of all, it's a white wood. The bow will fail usually on the belly side, due to the fact that it's compression strenght is not as good as stretching ability on the back side of the bow. it also preforms better with a low MC. all of these issues speak for dry heat