Heat gun help

[BowEd]

I've had a wagner for at least 5 years.Still doing ok.

[Weylin]

My Wagner is going strong after 7 years. Figure I got my money's worth a while back.

[Dances with squirrels]

I'm still on my first one, a Black & Decker, almost 20 years old. I've been thinking about getting a different one, more powerful maybe, but it sounds like I better just hang on to this one.

[Marc St Louis]

I didn't even use a heat-gun for the first year or so of heat-treating when I was doing all those experiments.  I used a hotplate and suspended the reflexed bow several inches above it, worked quite well and gave a very uniform browning.  I still have that hotplate

P.S. I know that there were some people that tried different methods of heat-treating shortly after I wrote that first article.  I remember one guy tried his BBQ but it didn't work very well and Murray Gaskins told me once that he and a few others tried a propane torch, that didn't work either.

[BowEd]

I do tend to be careful handling my heat gun though.I try not to drop it on a hard surface much anytime while using it or not using it.Might be nonsense but I don't think that's good for them.That element in there can be fragile I suspect.

[Eric Garza]

Regarding Marc's comment, I do all of my heat treating over a burner on my electric stove. I turn it up to high, and suspect the bow clamped to a form about 5 inches above the element. Gives a nice even brown.

Maybe one of these years I'll pony up for a heat gun...