Simple way to create a recurve

[OTDEAN]

Hi all,

I do not have time to make my bows, never mind any forms.  Does anyone have an suggestions on simple ways of putting small recurves on a bow successfully either using dry heat, boiling the wood or steaming?  I was thinking of boiling and trying to bend the ends over my knee, anyone had any success with something like that?

Dean

[chamookman]

Done a few back in the day over My knee using steam. Bob

[mikekeswick]

Dean - look for a tree where a branch is sticking out = natural recurve! ~Cut out the section split in half, reduce it some more to around 1 inch thick. Dry in the microwave, slowly with 10 second bursts. Cut v splices and splice them in.

[Crogacht]

People have been known to bend them in the crook of a tree trunk or something. I can imagine someone heating a stave over a campfire and then finding a large sapling with a double trunk or similar

[blackhawk]

Are you talking about putting recurves into an already existing finished bow? And you have no bow building experience,and don't have time to make them? If so, leave it be...otherwise there's a good chance of just ruining it IMHO

[tattoo dave]

I bend them over my knee every time after steaming. Not full recurves, but should be able to. I usually just flip the tips forward a bit, works great, ya just need to be careful about splinters lifting on the belly side, go slow. 

Tattoo Dave

[PEARL DRUMS]

One takes about 10 minutes to build and the other about 15 minutes. The large form is just a 5 gallon bucket traced, the other is for full statics and is a quart paint can traced. Pretty simple, pretty quick, pretty even.

[PatM]

It's a bit silly to try to take a "shortcut" to something that takes longer than just doing it the typical way.
 As Pearlie says, it takes minutes.
 Mike's method works as well but you'll likely spend hours wandering around looking for the right pieces, shaping them and then drying them and probably have little luck quickly cutting good splices.
 Just nail a curved piece of wood to a larger board with a block to hold the tip of the bow against the curve and be done with it.

[PEARL DRUMS]

The fact time is a constraint tells me you might want to hold off until you find time. Rushing these bows gets you nowhere fast.

[OTDEAN]

Hi

I do have experience with bow building, i just dont have a lot of time so I have learned slowly over three years.  I have a small indian bow I have made and I want to recurve it before I finish it.  Just wondered the simplest method.  Will try to just flip the ends forward a bit over my knee me thinks, might invest some time in a form at a later date. 

cheers guys

Dean

[dwardo]

I know how little time there is for hobbies especially with "modern life" and families but,, making a form now will save you time in the future. You would probably spend more time trying to get the same curve in each end whilst trying to botch a form. Then if you have string alignment issues after the recurving its harder again to remove without a curve.

Forms can be made in 5 minutes with a bandsaw and any old horrible looking bit of timber. If you dont have access to a bandsaw as I didnt early on then ask around and see who has. I used a neighbours for years and paid him in leather work gifts and beer.

[PatM]

It's very simple to round a piece of wood with just a saw and a rasp. Cut the point off a square board and keep cutting corners off until the edge is curved and faceted, smooth the whole thing with the rasp.

[Knoll]

If you dont have access to a bandsaw as I didnt early on then ask around and see who has. I used a neighbours for years and paid him in leather work gifts and beer.

That's the definition of a symbiotic relationship!

[Prarie Bowyer]

There is a trading post on here.  Perhaps if you can articulate the dimensions someone who has a bandsaw (like me) can just send you a form of your design in trade for something?


I'm with you on the time.  For me it is also a nervy thing. 

I've done ALOT of recurved tips by splitting them and then regluing them with a wood filler. I just use the filler as an accent.  This is pretty fast but you still need a form to clamp them into/onto.

I think steaming is probably the best best but dry heat will also work.  I havent used it for big bends.

[OTDEAN]

SOOOOOO after all that, I decided to steam the middle and bent that over my knee.  I now have set back in the handle and some reflex in both limbs.  See how this affects the arrows!  Cheers for all the advice.