a question for the journeyman bowyers(and others of knowledge)

[sailordad]

i am about to try my first attempt at recurving tips on an osage bow.

 i have cut out a form and am about to procede and was wondering a couple of things.
now i have heard that one should use crisco or the like on the wood when heating with a heat gun and bending.
do you heat the wood and then rub it in or do you rub it in first and then heat the wood?
how much grease should one use?
does the bow need to "dry out" after greasing it and if so,for how long?   

thanks all

                                                                   tim

[1/2primitive]

Now I may not be a 'bowyer of knowledge', but I would put a little on the surface, then put more on during the heating.
   Sean

[radius]

sean's right...the purpose of the oil is to prevent moisture from leaving the wood, so coat all sides and edges, even out to a few inches past the area you'll be bending...also, the oil distributes heat evenly, more so than simply moving the heat gun back and forth over the limb...

have fun, bro...don't break it!

[sailordad]

thanks guys for the input,as soon as LOST is over its down in the man cave


1/2 primitive: anyone with constructive input is in my opinion,knowledgable

[TRACY]

I would pm RYANO. He has the recurve thing down pat, no offense to anyone else. He might be able to tell you what works for him.

Tracy

[Justin Snyder]

Ryan usually uses steam I believe.  He is a the Tennessee Classic and probably wont be around for a few days. Justin

[Badger]

Just as said above the oil dist heat better, discourages scorching of the wood and helps to keep the moisture in. I have always felt dry heat bends tend to hold better than steamed heat bends but I still use steam on extreme bends with osage. Main thing with osage is make sure you have a solid growth ring on the belly potion you are bending, get it very hot and don't force the wood most osage bends very easily with heat. If the bend is very tight you might consider using steam, Steve

[sailordad]

o.k.

so Ive gotten the tips bent on this bow now,no pics yet.that'll have to wait until completely finished,that way it'll be a surprise
wow, that was neat and a learning experience. love that smel of hot crisco and hedge,almost took a bite it smelt soo good lol.

so now i have a couple of inquiries about recurved tips.

first does this really make a bow faster( i thought it was prety quick before )?

second does it increase draw weight ( it feels a little heavier now on the draw )?

o.k. thanks everyone

                                                                       tim

[radius]

it increases the poundage, because you have shortened the working portion of the limb

[Eric Garza]

Hi Tim,

Yeah, recurving the tips should both increase poundage and make the bow shoot a given arrow faster.  This comes about, from my understanding, in two ways.  First, recurving effectively shortens the working portion of the limbs.  Working recurves (i.e. tips still bend a little) shortens the limbs less than static recurves (tips don't bend), but both effectively shorten the working portions of the limbs.

Second, recurving decreases the angle between the limb tips and the string (aka the string angle).  Lower string angles force the working portions of the limbs to work harder (i.e. endure more tension) than a similar section of working limb with a higher string angle.  Putting the limbs under more tension forces them to store more energy, and therefore give more energy to the arrow on release. 

I'm pretty sure you could have accomplished the same feats just by building a shorter bow, as I'm not convinced that the benefits of a lower string angle are as great when you make the overall bow shorter and shorter.  Others might share their opinions on this.

What's the length of you bow? 

-Eric

[sailordad]

the bow is what some might consider tiny,it is intended to be a kids bow.or just a great learning experience for me if it breaks lol.
its 57 inches tip to tip and 5/8 inch wide.it now is pulling 24 lbs @ 21 inches ansd seems really fast for a little bow,might take it down to the local bow shop next week and get it shot thru a chrono just to see how fast it really is.