Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Bows => Topic started by: lesken2011 on March 04, 2013, 10:15:20 am
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I decided to try out one of the crepe myrtle staves I cut last spring for this year's trade bow. I do have several options for backups, if it doesn't work out. I have run into a couple of hurdles I need help with, though, and hope to get some help from you experts. I think I did a reasonable job at shaping the stave into a bow down to the floor tiller stage. I have a knot I am worried about and I am having an issue with string tracking. Here are some pics.
(http://www.traditionalbowman.com/hwdphotos/uploads/62/2/cbiegrh3abcm4h.jpg)
(http://www.traditionalbowman.com/hwdphotos/uploads/62/2/wqwtmjqpyopeep.jpg)
(http://www.traditionalbowman.com/hwdphotos/uploads/62/2/5dio3jspungkaj.jpg)
(http://www.traditionalbowman.com/hwdphotos/uploads/62/2/sbf3fyh7ekuixj.jpg)
(http://www.traditionalbowman.com/hwdphotos/uploads/62/2/mqn6rob0k5jv83.jpg)
(http://www.traditionalbowman.com/hwdphotos/uploads/62/2/4vfam0yj8mczw4.jpg)
I have saturated the knot with super glue a couple of times. It seems solid but is on the edge of a bending part of the limb. The crook in the end of the stave causes the string to track off the handle. I steamed it for about an hour and tried to bend it straight, but no luck. My only other option is trying to bend it at the handle. The handle is somewhat deflexed and I hoped to flip the tips. Can I get some recommendations from you guys on how to proceed?
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Lateral bends are pain Bulldog, they will fight you tooth and nail. Hate 'em with any other wood than osage as it stays put 99% of the time. Thats the same deal Ive been fighting with my yew bow. I still didnt win that battle, we called it a truce and I call it a bow now.
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Thanks, Chris. What about that knot? Do you think it will be a problem?
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I doubt that know will matter if you used good glue. I trust good super glue more than good wood!
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Your steam set up there might not be adequate enough and looks in question to me...outdoors this time of year,and on a side burner of a grill might not be cranking enough heat n steam,and I see a lot of gap showing with the tin foil also....I'm not a big steamer(only for bending static recurves mostly),and use dry heat to make lateral corrections...I bet if you used dry heat and a form to pull it over and tempered it into reflex over the form it would correct just fine...just realize you have to go past a lil further than how far you need to move...especially with whitewoods because they'll spring back more than osage will.
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Do you think I should work the dry heat in the handle area or the limb itself? I have a pretty even floor tiller, so far with the limb crooked, but I am a little concerned about flipping the tips on a crooked limb, given my limited experience with such matters.
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Kenny. I would try and make your string tracking correction in the handle....your trying to correct a natural crook in the wood...which usually doesn't fair so well..either its stubborn or will break trying to correct spots like that....as long as there's no knots or characterish grain in the handle do it there....you won't have to move the handle as far as you would the limb there to correct it..proper use of steam or dry heat should work....I can do a mock set up on how to correct at the handle and explain it later today if your not sure how to do it.
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I think I can figure it out. If I run into a problem, I'll let you know. Thanks for the help.
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For lateral bends, I place the inside edge desired bending area in a padded vice, hang some weight (I use a 5 gallon bucket full of salt, cause hey, its heavy), on the outside portion, oil up the limb and slowly dry heat until the bow comes around. Key is slooowly. Let the bow cool with the weight on. I've convinced some stubborn lateral twist to go away with this method.
Gabe
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I have never tried heat bending with steam or dry heat till yesterday. I thought I had read that most people are successful with steam on white woods vs dry heat. I think I will try to use dry heat this time and make the bend in the handle. Will I need to let it re-hydrate?
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Good Thread,
Working a couple of CM bows myself...
I've had mixed results dialing in the Heat/Duration to get desired corrections so far...
I'm looking forward to your progress.
-gus
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Can I resurrect this thread? Kenny and Gus (or anyone else), were you successful at heat bending crepe myrtle? I worked on a crepe myrtle stave last night and tried valiantly (and vainly) to bend it with dry heat. If I'd heated osage as much as I heated that little fiesty piece of wood it would have been a noodle. The worst thing about it is the wood is so crowned I can't use my normal method of putting the wood in a vice and hanging a bucket of rocks on it to apply the bending force. I'm gonna try again tomorrow and I think I'll make plug to follow the crown of the back and allow me to chuck it in a vice. I'm still not convinced I can bend it.
Thanks,
George
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Believe it or not, George, I wound up making another bow for my recipient, last year. I think I gave that stave to someone at Twin Oaks, last year, but may still have it in the shop, somewhere. I had decided to make some back to belly kerf cuts and glue in some thin slats while bending it straight, but never got around to it. I never had any luck with dry heat or steam on it. Let us know how yours turns out.
By the way, I picked up a large crepe myrtle stave yesterday along the road from some pruning that should make a couple of bows when it dries out. So I guess I will get to try again. This log is bigger and has a good, straight 3 foot section I think I will be able to get a couple of straight billets from.
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Hey Sir,
Have been working some CM lately.
High Crowned like yours.
I wound up Wrapping a Corton Diaper around mine to clamp it in my vice without damaging it.
Then used Dry Heat and Tung Oil to heat the handle area.
Used a bucket of rock for weight.
Took several hearts, but it worked...
-gus
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Try localized steaming George. If it doesn't work, nothing will. Marc explained it nicely in pics a few magazines ago. Basically wrap a damp cotton rag over the area, then wrap tin foil around it with room to breath and the ends sealed. Heat it up with your heat gun. When it starts steaming its working. Bend it to where it needs to be and let her cool.
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OK great, so there's hope. I'll give that a try PD.
George
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I like the Localized Steaming method PD...
I tried this method first on the CM Bows I'm working on to vary little effect...
The CM I've been playing with have liked the Heat Gun better...
Ain't saying I got CM figured out yet, just what I've tried so far with what I've got.
It kinda reminds me of Pacific Dogwood in its desire to not stay bent...
Please let us know what winds up working for you Sir.
-gus
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Pearly is right them lateral bends are a pain. BUT! I have an osage bow that I won't shoot anymore because no matter what it always goes back.....oh well.
Now to stay in topic. I've had good results steaming then setting the bend with dry heat :)
Hope you get her tamed:)
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Now to stay in topic. I've had good results steaming then setting the bend with dry heat :)
Now that you mention it, I did steam my CM first and got it to stay with dry heat.
Didn't dawn on me till now that it could be a combination of the two...
Bryce do you apply the Dry Heat right after steaming or some time after?
Is there a risk of the wood checking with the application of dry heat after steaming?
Sorry, don't mean to Claim Jump the Thread..
I have a good bit of Crepe Myrtle seasoned and I'm trying to get to know the wood's qualities... :)
Thank Ya Fells...
-gus
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well ive never really worked any myrtle, but i have eaten alot of crepes!
i usually do my steaming after work or something so i can leave it over night, then ill hit it with the heat gun before work and its ready to go when i get home. steamed wood dries back out relatively quick.
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Thought I should update. I tried that approach PD and did get a little bend introduced into the handle. But, it still wasn't enough. I don't think I was able to get enough heat on the foil to make effective steam. Today I tried to bend the tip some as it has a nasty bend about 7" from the tip. I boiled it this time and clamped it to the counter after boiling it an hour. Just about had it the way I wanted and the clamp gave way spectacularly. The bow seemed to have cooled a lot so i boiled it another 45 min. This time the wood seemed pretty malleable and I was able to put quite a bit of bend on it. Unfortunately, with Mary coming home from work I had to take it off the counter after a couple hours or so and only about half of the bend stayed in. I had also introduced some reflex and almost all of that stayed in. Interesting. If I'm still home sick tomorrow (have a bad cold) I'll try steaming the handle above the same pan and bend it some more. It is just about center shot now so I'm getting close. Interestingly, all the bark came off the end I had boiled up to about 6" above where I bent it. Should get a bunch more off when I bend the handle. Maybe there's a bow in this thing yet.
George
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There's a lot down from my house that is being cleared for a new build and it full of cm. How long does it take to dry. And it seams soft to me does it get pretty solid after drying? And what is the best design?
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The Crepe Myrtle I have used is surprisingly heavy and dense. I am no expert on it, though. When I started this bow I pm'd Ken75 on this site who has made a number of bows with this wood. You might search through his posts and or check with him.
I looked through my staves and found this one in the stack still at the same stage. I think I will try the boiling thing George has had some success with and see if I can resurrect it.
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I was pretty surprised at how light the creme myrtle stave was, but the wood felt really solid and worked well with the draw knife. I think I learned something about bending crepe myrtle today. I've been trying to bend it like osage where I just hang a weight on the limb and let it do the work. Doing that with the CM wasn't working so this time when I tried the handle bend I hung the heavy weights on the limbs and then, with my hands, forced the limbs further. It took a fair bit more force and then I felt the wood give. Sure enough, when I took the weights off the limbs a few hours later the wood had taken the bend and the tips were nicely in line now. I have one more heating going on now to put a little reflex in one tip to match the natural reflex in the other limb. I don't plan to use weights at all and just force the bend in until I like the way it looks. We'll see how it works.
Well, it didn't work very well. Reheating the spot I bent sideways before (to add some reflex) took the sideways bend out. So, I bent it back in and added as much reflex as I could and called it good. I think I'll stop now.
(http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7428/12823871534_0c65af19f7_z.jpg)
George
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That's looking petty good George...
:)
-gus
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thanks for that tip, i got some cm thatll need some correction.