Steam Bending

[bow101]

I have the sister stave of the Hawthorn roughed out today.  So far so good, Mmmmm we'll see there a couple pin knots in one limb, not sure if it will hold.  Any way what is the best way to straighten the bow with a side-ways bend, its just the one limb about 6"  Its very hard to clamp because of the shape ..?

[TacticalFate]

Stick it in a fork in a tree and bend it that way    Find something that can take the pressure of you bending it without moving, I use a roofing ladder laying on its side for tip bending, just stick the tip between the rungs and bend 'em. Maybe a heavy piece of furniture or something, be creative.

[Carson (CMB)]

If you need a limb to move 6" at the tip to get the string to line up, then I would suggest getting a good portion of that correction made in the handle area after you have it roughed out. 

[JW_Halverson]

Carson has a good point.  You will need to move the wood less in the handle to get a dramatic change at the tip!  Leverage baby!

[bow101]

If you need a limb to move 6" at the tip to get the string to line up, then I would suggest getting a good portion of that correction made in the handle area after you have it roughed out.

I forgot to mention the bend starts from the handle, lousy photo.

[bubby]

you can make a cut in the handle area, I can post some pics of how I do it tomorrow I'm at work now, bub

[NeolithicMan]

Im still really new to handle augmentation, but I have found it to be easier to steam and clamp a handle (especially if its non working) into the desired shape and not worry about wood cell degredation and or having the change revert back to its out of line position.

Whew! had a few big words I wanted to use today

[dwardo]

If it's tough to clamp horizontally then I clamp it flat on the limb and use a spreader clamp to push from the floor up.
Makes little sense reading that back, will try find a picture!

[Del the cat]

Here's a blog entry shows one way to bend the impossible...
http://bowyersdiary.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/straightening-stick-bow.html
Ain't pretty but it is prob' the safest, most controllable way.
Del

[PEARL DRUMS]

If you need a limb to move 6" at the tip to get the string to line up, then I would suggest getting a good portion of that correction made in the handle area after you have it roughed out. 

No question about it, that would be my angle as well. Steam the center 12" and bend it around, Id also over bend it by 15-20%.

[bow101]

Thanks for the tips guys. I tried steaming 'er today did not pan out. I got some reflex out of it, thats all.  I may cut it and attach the limbs to a riser see how that works. 
   Del; your way looks really good, its something to think about......Is that the only bow you've done that to.?

[Joec123able]

Thanks for the tips guys. I tried steaming 'er today did not pan out. I got some reflex out of it, thats all.  I may cut it and attach the limbs to a riser see how that works. 
   Del; your way looks really good, its something to think about......Is that the only bow you've done that to.?

How long did ya steam it ? Steam is usually magical for me

[Del the cat]

I've done tons of steaming but only ever done that handle bend trick on that one.
Thats the great thing about keeping the rubbish staves, you can experiment with them and not worry about ruining a good bit of wood.
Where possible I try to jig it up so I can steam it and then apply the bend while it's still in the steam. I use a 5L plasic container/bottle with a hole in each end to slip over the bow to keep the heat in the right place. The steam goes into the cap of the bottle, it needs a drain hole to let the condensed steam run out the bottom and the whole thing is wrapped in  insulation to keep the heat in.
I tend to save dry bending for when I'm combining it with heat treating... two birds with one stone!
Del

[bow101]

Thanks for the tips guys. I tried steaming 'er today did not pan out. I got some reflex out of it, thats all.  I may cut it and attach the limbs to a riser see how that works. 
   Del; your way looks really good, its something to think about......Is that the only bow you've done that to.?

How long did ya steam it ? Steam is usually magical for me

Probably not long enough, 40 min.   Gonna slice 'er in 2.......not a good stave piece, It's all about experimenting for me at this stage of the game.  ..