Red elm ? Please!

[bowsandroses]

I have a piece of well seasoned red elm I am working on for my daughter in-law if it makes a good bow. I have to make a correction, string is about 1.5" from center and I would like to flip the tips a little. My question is should I do it all with dry heat or steam, if dry heat should I coat the area of correction with Crisco. In advance thank you.    Hugh

[Pat B]

I've only made one red elm bow and it was a 60' static recurve pulling 55#@26". I used dry heat and olive oil(Crisco will do the same) for all straightening and bending the recurves. You can view my build along in the Archives thread.

[bowsandroses]

Thanks Pat B that helps a lot I will go look it up.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Dry heat all the way is my opinion.

[dwardo]

I only now use steam for sharp statics. Heatgun for everything else 

[Blaflair2]

Gently bends and straightening is my heat guns work. Static bends I say steam all day.

[SLIMBOB]

Agree.  And I will add that I have stopped using oil of any kind for my bends.  Just go a bit slower without it and you wont have to worry with the clean up.  Probably still a good idea to use it if you haven't bent a lot of wood as it does keep it from scorching and I think...it gets the heat to penetrate deeper into the wood.  The clean ups just a hassle.

[bowsandroses]

Thanks guys! I will go with oil I have only bent the wood when I had to, so not much experience. I have had good results and probably just as many bad results with dry heat and steam but never used oil before. But this piece of wood seems like a very good piece and I've never worked with elm before, realy don't want it's death to be my incompetence.