Another heat treating inquiry

[BowEd]

Making a bow from ironwood or hop horn beam?A self bow.The bow needs some reflex induced.Either my heat gun is getting puny on me or ironwood turns color slower than hickory or black locust.Is that a pretty much common thing with ironwood?It took a while and I did move the gun about a half inch closer while treating.About 3.5 inches away.I did get the ironwood treated and it held good after release from clamps.It's a wide thin bow so I'd like to do mostly side tillering with it to keep my heat treatment is the plan.It's been to brace and balanced and seems to be around a 55 to 60 pound bow.In the past I've never been able to take much more than 10 to 12 pounds off a bow from just side tillering.I figure the bow to gain 6 to 8 pounds in draw weight from heat treating.This ironwood seems like dogwood in a lot of ways.Very elastic but still pretty dense.

[Pat B]

Ed, you can always temper again if necessary.

[JonW]

Ed the HHB I have heat treated has not changed color as easily and quickly as other woods. It does like it though.

[alcot]

My one ironwood bow had excellent results from heat gun treating.
didn't change color much but it went from 40ish pounds with a few inches of set to 50 # and straight as an arrow.  Very solid bow.

[BowEd]

I've read too that ironwood likes heat treatment.About like hickory in liking it.I'm not a fan of reheating but know it's done all the time.To me heating does not help in the elastic catagory of bow making but is a common tool in bow making.Maybe old hedge can handle it but these whitewoods can get vulnerable to it I think.If the white wood is sound I'm sure the risk is minimal.