Crepe Myrtle - plan A

[gstoneberg]

OK great, so there's hope.  I'll give that a try PD.

George

[Gus]

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

[Bryce]

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:)

[Gus]

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

[Bryce]

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.

[gstoneberg]

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

[TimothyR]

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?

[lesken2011]

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.

[gstoneberg]

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.



George

[Gus]

That's looking petty good George...



-gus

[BOWMAN53]

thanks for that tip, i got some cm thatll need some correction.