Bending Pao Amarello ??

[bobnewboy]

Hi All,

Has anyone any experience of bending Pao Amarello to leave it with a permanent setting?  I have bought a piece, and hope to make a backed bow with it.  It is classed by some as an 'exotic' hardwood, with a SG of 0.80,and in its rough cut form at least doesn't seem very oily (but that could change when I wipe it down before gluing).

I'm wondering if it will take a reasonable bend with dry heat, or whether steam is the only way...?

[tom sawyer]

If you're going to glue a backing on it, you don't need to bend it first.  Just taper the thickness some and glue it in the shape you want, maybe slightly exaggerated since it will spring back a little.  Glueing the tension into the joint will make for a faster bow too.

[DarkSoul]

Yup, what Tom said.

Most heavy, tropical woods don't take steam or heat bending. Since you are laminating, it's easiest and best to just glue in the profile with the laminations. You could even rip the pao amarello in two thinner slats, so it's easier to bend and holds its shape better.
Another possibility is doing kerf bending, which is great for recurves (but not for setback handles or a reflex/deflex design).

[Marc St Louis]

I have used dry heat on Satinwood before and it seems to respond to it so it may very well steam bend.

[bobnewboy]

Hi Guys,

Many thanks for the pointers.  I have been looking into the wood some more, and evidently it isn't reported as an oily wood which is good to know.  It is widely used as a satinwood replacement, and so as Marc says I may be able to dry bend it, which is my preference.  When I get a little time I will try a test piece, and hopefully have as much success as I did with Osage.

I am trying P. Am. as a local solution for the lack of supply and the expense of trying to get Osage here in the UK.  It appears that no-one imports Osage into the UK, and as a result it is very expensive, and the pieces that you do get cannot be checked over before purchase.  P.Am. has a similar SG, with finer grain, and seems to have been well regarded for longbow (ELB) bellies, so I thought I'd give it a go.  I now have a nice looking plank of it approx 74 x 10 x 1.5 inches, so that should be enough to keep me going for some time.  I also picked up a piece of castello box and a piece of hickory at the same time, so now I have no excuse (except a lack of free time) to make some new bows........

[DarkSoul]

What do you need to heat it for? What shape do you want to get by the heat? Since you'll be gluing up a backing as well, you can get many mild curves just without heat or steam. After applying heat or steam, you'll have to make sure the surface is flat before you can glue on the backing. I stick to my opinion that you just don't need to heat bend a core before laminating, with most designs.

[bobnewboy]

I'd quite like to make a version of an Egyptian angular bow, in P. Am. with either a hickory or bamboo backing.  Backed, but not multilaminated.  While I agree that the mild reflex which I'd like to induce in the working limbs to offset set would be best glued in (and which I have done several times before), the more severe (120-135 degrees) and short set forward bend at the thick handle section is just not possible to achieve with glue lines alone.  I would also like to avoid any joint in the handle, which seems pointless if I have a good piece of material for the belly.  I have successfully done more or less exactly that same bend with Osage and a bamboo backing, so I'd like to do the same with P. Am.