Primitive Archer

Main Discussion Area => Arrows => Topic started by: gfugal on May 22, 2020, 08:34:04 am

Title: Steam bending laminated arrows.
Post by: gfugal on May 22, 2020, 08:34:04 am

I made some laminated arrow shafts, but despite gluing them between two straight boards, some of them still have a slight bend to them. I glued them up with titebond three. If I steamed them (to prevent the heat from getting above 215 F), would I be safe? I have some straight ones, and I guess I don't have anything g to lose by trying it on the bent ones as they aren't functional as is. I just was curious if anyone has done it successfully before.

Title: Re: Steam bending laminated arrows.
Post by: DC on May 22, 2020, 09:30:51 am

I would use dry heat. You don't really need a lot of heat to get a little bend. Just get it a little on the hot side of warm.

Title: Re: Steam bending laminated arrows.
Post by: Pat B on May 22, 2020, 11:54:14 am

You could try burnishing the outside of the bends with a smooth screwdriver shank and see if that works first. All Titebond glues release at 150 deg(F) so there is a chance applying any heat source could damage the glue lines.

Title: Re: Steam bending laminated arrows.
Post by: gfugal on May 27, 2020, 08:27:31 am

You guys were right, localized dry heat (heat gun) on the trouble spots was better than steaming the whole shaft. That created more problems as it dried out than it fixed. So far they have held up, but I still need more testing. I'm still trying to get the spine right with bare shaft testing. Once it is done I'll post some photos.