Smoked ash HLD (No. 52)

[bushboy]

A ture masters work! Hld is. The bomb!

[dingas]

I have thought about this a fair bit. Problem is I have to actually finish a bow first ;0). An oil finish after the fuming will really bring out the colour. I went to school for furniture building and one thing we discussed was that some companies will soak wood in ammonia to bend it. We didnt actually do it though, as they weren't set up for it and could be dangerous, but the instructer told us that you could soak a 1" x 1" by say 6' long stick, tie it like a pretzel, it would not lift a splinter, but once dried, it would stay that way. He may have been exaggerating... point is the look is beautiful. Woods with higher tannin cintent will go darker. Oak, cherry, walnut... I didnt think ash would get that dark but that bow is beautiful!

[dingas]

Found this:

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Anhydrous+ammonia+helps+bend+wood.-a020133971



"Chemical Methods 

Chemicals such as urea, urea-adehyde and ammonia have been used to soften the matrix that holds wood fibers together. In tests conducted at the Forest Products Laboratory, urea-treated wood did not bend as easily and developed more stress failures than steamed wood. 

Back in 1964, scientists at the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse discovered that ammonia would soften the matrix bonds in wood, with both anhydrous ammonia and compressed gaseous ammonia used in varying degrees of success. The scientists found that ammonia breaks down the hydrogen bonds within cell walls and within the lignin matrix. This allows molecular movement when subjected to tensile or compressive forces. Once the ammonia evaporates from the wood, new bonds are made creating a permanent set; in simple terms, this can be considered similar to the process of adding a permanent wave to hair. "

[Forest_Farmer]

Simpson ,  I'm not sure what to comment on first.  The fuming of the wood, the geometry If he bow, or the photograph.   All are great and the knowledge shared on this sight is unreal.
Great looking bow!
The interaction of the people around the world makes primitive archer a great publication and a great source of knowledge!!!

[duke3192]

This is real interesting, I worked in the anhydrous ammonia refrigeration field for many years, anhydrous, means without water or concentrated ammonia, add water and you get bleach. Be real careful working with anhydrous ammonia as it displaces oxygen and can cause burns on your skin. They are actually freezer burns, like on meat left frozen too long. If you want the aged look get bleach and wipe it on. It works immediately and repeated applications don't do much.
Johnny

[mikekeswick]

My mate does a lot of wood turning and one night I was round at his workshop....'here' he says 'smell this'....so I took a grand old big sniff .....the next few seconds felt like my brain was melting....then I came around again  After he had finished laughing he said he had only meant for me to have a small smell not a full lungfull! 
Lesson - DON'T SMELL a big bottle of ammonia