? About steam bending board bow...

[tronman]

Has anyone steam bent a recurve on a board. I have tried twice and failed. I steam/boiled the boards well over an hour. The boards were about 3/4 inch. Is this to thick and should I  reduce the thickness before trying again. Thankfully the boards were not to expensive and will be used in the smoker later this spring and summer. Thanks in advance for any input.

Eric

[BOWMAN53]

Soak the tips for 24 hours first. Then boil not steam for two hours just to be safe.

[tronman]

Thank you Bowman for the advice I will give that a try. I have steamed static recurve tips on a couple osage staves but not a board. Thought the borads would be comparable to staves but my experiences this weekend having me thinking otherwise.

Thanks again,
Eric

[bobbykelley]

i have done a few board bows. and I steamed them for 1.5 hours. one was done as a 1" x 2" x 72" red oak not reduced and the others were narrowed down some. i have problems with staves to me their not as easy. but I have a lot to learn.

[Joec123able]

Yea it's because boards are very dry you need to add moisture to steam it

[kevinsmith5]

How long do you have to let them sit after you do this before you can stress them?

[tronman]

I left each limb in the from overnight and did not touch or stress them for about a week. That's just me though. Others may have differing opinions.

Eric

[bubby]

I never soak them, get them down to 1/2" and steam 45 min to 1 hr easy peasy

[BOWMAN53]

I never soak them, get them down to 1/2" and steam 45 min to 1 hr easy peasy

 

[dwardo]

Always wondered about boiling rather than steaming. Surely just by its nature steam is much hotter than boiling water?
Never tried boiling but other here seem to and are fine with it.

[Hamish]

I don't have any experience putting  recurves into boards, I have some with reflexing.
Woodworking literature seems to say that you won't usually get good results from kiln dried wood. Air dried wood better chance of success, best with wood that hasn't fully seasoned.
I'd definitely try pre soaking the wood if it has been already kiln dried.
Also the species of wood plays a large part too. Tropical woods are notoriously bad for steaming in general.

The tighter the radius of the bend, the more likely you will need compression straps to stop the belly wood from lifting.

[tronman]

They were hickory and maple boards. I think I left them to thick and the they needed more time in the steam bath. I had a compression strap on one of them but it was of no use, the board still cracked. If I try it again I will reduce thickness and soak prior to steaming.

Eric

[JackCrafty]

I have found this chart very useful in the past.   

---http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?c=&cat=1,45866,45867&p=45869

[tronman]

Thanks for the chart. It appears kiln dried maple does not like to bend in tight radiuses. Maybe I will stick with bending hickory board and keep the maple board a flat bow,we'll see. I work primarily with staves but occasionally find a good board at the mega hardware stores that I can't resist.