« previous next »
Pages: [1] 2 3

Author Topic: Heat treating  (Read 6435 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

Don Case

  • Guest
Heat treating
« on: October 17, 2013, 01:44:50 pm »
I've noticed that people are heat treating at various stages during building. If you heat the bow in the early stages isn't there a chance that you will scrape off a lot of the treated wood? At the least it seems that you would be leaving the treated part uneven. I don't even have a seasoned stave yet so this is a very hypothetical question.
Thanks
Don
Logged

Offline Badger

  • Member
  • Posts: 8,119
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2013, 02:00:44 pm »
  I usually bring a bow to floor tiller which is about 15# over target weight and then put the bow in a cawl to adjust limbs and heat treat. Sometimes I have to reheat when almost finished but not usually. I also never toast a limb when I heat treat anymore. I simply run my heat gun from one end of the limb to the other at a steady pace until the limb just starts to darken but not in a toasty darken it seems to chemicaly darken. I spend about 15 min on each limb with the heat gun I am guessing.
Logged

Offline BOWMAN53

  • Member
  • Posts: 2,238
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #2 on: October 17, 2013, 02:02:25 pm »
i usually heat treat after tillering(youll probably need to tiller a little bit after) and before shooting in but thats just me, like you said everyone does it at different stages.
Logged

Offline Pat B

  • Administrator
  • Member
  • Posts: 37,544
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2013, 02:39:37 pm »
It depends on the wood I use. For whitewoods I do like Badger does and heat treat at floor tiller then later just before finishin. Woods like osage I'll heat treat when I'm making corrections with heat but usually not later in the process.
Logged
Make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes!    Pat Brennan  Brevard, NC

Offline huisme

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,036
  • I'm Marc, but not that Marc.
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2013, 02:55:24 pm »
I heat treat every wood at the roughed out blank, low brace, full brace, and finished product.
Logged
50#@26"
Black locust. Black locust everywhere.
Mollegabets all day long.
Might as well make them short, save some wood to keep warm.

Offline PEARL DRUMS

  • Member
  • Posts: 14,079
  • }}}--CK-->
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2013, 03:14:28 pm »
That clears it up Don! Its proof that there really is no wrong way. All of these guys do it quite differently and they feel it works for them, so jump in feet first.

I heat temper once at floor tiller and never again. Not to say I haven't treated a bow twice in the past, just not anymore. The closer I am to brace when I temper it the more lasting the effects, that's my spin.
Logged
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.

Offline Christian Soldier

  • Member
  • Posts: 245
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2013, 03:30:40 pm »
Well I heat treat my bows before I even split the staves so all you guys are wrong!  >:D

Just kidding ;), I've done a couple of the above methods and they seemed to work well. I've only done it in a few bows but I normally do it shortly after floor tillering.

 These guys know what they are doing. Just don't light the wood on fire and you should be alright.   :D
Logged
2nd Timothy 2:3 "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

Offline Dan K

  • Member
  • Posts: 405
  • 58#@28"
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2013, 05:06:57 pm »
Quote from: Christian Soldier on October 17, 2013, 03:30:40 pm
Well I heat treat my bows before I even split the staves so all you guys are wrong!  >:D

I don't recall where I read this but Native Americans would many times harvest toasted trees left over from forest fires for bows. I believe it was ash they preferred but took what the found.

I recently ht a little vine maple that took more set than I wanted furring short brace. And it came back during tiller. Maybe scraped off the HT?  I heat treated again during final tiller and removed the set for good.
Logged
Excellence is a state of mind.  Whether you think you can or can't...you're right!

Don Case

  • Guest
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2013, 05:07:11 pm »
Thanks guys
It's nice to know that there is something about bowmaking that I probably can't screw up, but I'll do my best.
Logged

Offline steve b.

  • Member
  • Posts: 999
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2013, 07:24:35 pm »
Don, I just finished a hazelnut that I treated twice.  Once past floor tiller I heat treated it and let it sit a week.  It definately stiffened up  I got it close to done and most of the toasted wood was gone so I did it again.  I didn't notice much difference the second time. 
Not sure if it matters but the second time I forgot to use what I used the first time which was beeswax/oil to coat the wood during treating.  So this will drive me nuts now and I won't be happy until I treat a few bows with wax and no wax to see if it makes a difference.  But I just thought I'd mention my latest experience.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2013, 09:30:38 am by steve b. »
Logged

Offline Pappy

  • Global Moderator
  • Member
  • Posts: 31,918
  • if you have to ask you wouldn't understand ,Tenn.
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2013, 08:50:22 am »
I do about the same as Badger.
   Pappy
Logged
Clarksville,Tennessee
TwinOaks Bowhunters
Life is Good

Offline caveman2533

  • Member
  • Posts: 640
  • Steve Nissly
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #11 on: October 23, 2013, 10:51:19 pm »
What is the importance of heat treating the bow to begin with? I have never heard of this and now it seems like everyone is doing it.
Logged

Offline steve b.

  • Member
  • Posts: 999
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #12 on: October 23, 2013, 10:55:42 pm »
Caveman,
Theoretically it strengthens the belly side of the bow, bringing into a closer strength relation to the back of the bow so that the two are more balanced.......vs. having the belly wood weaker, in general, than the back and having the bow therefore take a cast robbing set.
Logged

Offline wood_bandit99

  • Member
  • Posts: 234
  • Shoot straight my friends!!
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #13 on: October 24, 2013, 12:44:40 am »
Can you heat treat a laminate bow? I may have to do this and I am wondering if this would screw with the glue
Logged
Yew and osage, BEST. WOODS. EVER! Shoot straight my friends!!!

Offline DarkSoul

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,315
    • Orion Bows
Re: Heat treating
« Reply #14 on: October 24, 2013, 08:16:43 am »
Yes, it will screw up the glue, so do not heat treat a laminated bow.
Logged
"Sonuit contento nervus ab arcu."
Ovid, Metamorphoses VI-286
Pages: [1] 2 3
« previous next »