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Author Topic: Bending red oak?  (Read 4722 times)

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Offline Stickhead

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Bending red oak?
« on: March 03, 2013, 01:56:15 pm »
I'm working on my first red oak bow (from a board).  I'd like to flip the tips a bit. Does red oak respond well to dry heat bending?  Steam?

Thanks for any advice.

-Tom
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Offline AH

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #1 on: March 03, 2013, 02:29:49 pm »
I've done it with red oak by boiling, but I'm not an expert. I'm not a huge fan of recurving :embarassed:
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Offline DarkSoul

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2013, 02:32:57 pm »
(Red) oak is supposed to be very easy to steam bend. But I'd discourage you to heat/steam bend your first bow. It's hard enough to get a decent tiller and keep the bow in one piece! Adding another factor of complexity with recurving is for later on when you have more experience with straight bows.
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Offline Stickhead

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2013, 02:36:14 pm »
Thanks, DS. To clarify, I've got quite a few bows under my belt, some with recurved tips.  I just haven't worked with red oak before, so I'm unsure about bending it.
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Offline Pat B

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #4 on: March 03, 2013, 02:37:59 pm »
I've never recurved a board stave so I'm no help there.
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Offline vinemaplebows

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #5 on: March 03, 2013, 02:41:58 pm »
On boards I always wrap the ends in a wet clothe for 24 hrs before applying any heat.
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Offline bubby

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #6 on: March 03, 2013, 03:03:47 pm »
steam it 45 min to an hr, bub
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Offline koan

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #7 on: March 03, 2013, 03:14:48 pm »
Ive tried dry heat on oak boards....it wasnt worth my time, lol. Belly likes toastin, but couldnt get any real curve goin..... Brian
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Offline PatM

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #8 on: March 03, 2013, 03:25:11 pm »
Soaking wood to make it "green" again and then steaming or boiling seems to work best. I'll give a stave a couple of days with the end submerged, steam and recurve and then soak the other end while the first is drying.
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Offline autologus

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #9 on: March 03, 2013, 03:38:09 pm »
Quote from: bubby on March 03, 2013, 03:03:47 pm
steam it 45 min to an hr, bub

This has worked for me.

Grady
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Offline BOWMAN53

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #10 on: March 03, 2013, 04:12:36 pm »
Soak the tips for atlease 8hours and boil for atlease 45mins. Steam doesnt work too well in my experience.
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Offline bubby

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #11 on: March 03, 2013, 04:44:19 pm »
I never had to soak any wood for 8 hrs to flip the tips or do a static, just reduce the tips to about 1/2" thick and steam 1 hr, easy peasy
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failure is an option, everyone fails, it's how you handle it that matters.
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Offline Stickhead

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #12 on: March 03, 2013, 04:48:00 pm »
Thanks, all.  Guess I won't bother trying dry heat. Think I'll try Bubby's technique.
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Offline Matt Heppe

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #13 on: March 03, 2013, 05:06:51 pm »
Boiled mine for 40 minutes and had no problem bending it.
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Offline PatM

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Re: Bending red oak?
« Reply #14 on: March 03, 2013, 11:49:45 pm »
The soaking is merely to increase the chances of perfect bending. You will notice that your success rate when bending wood goes up dramatically when doing all the extra steps that ensure the process works. Since it takes no effort to just stick the end of the stave in a bucket for a few days, you might as well do it.
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