How I do recurves

[YewArcher]

I have been asked allot in the past how I do my recurves. I have finnaly remebered to take som pics of my jig. I first boil my tips for 1 hour. This really makes them pliable and soft. I then clamp them to one of my jigs. I have 6 differnt jigs for differt styles of recurves. Static, Slight recurves like the Cayuga indinas used, Tab nocks for West coast etc.......The one shhown here is my jig for small recurve tips as I do on my 5 curves bows.

Note the metal strap to keep belly from splintering.





Note the lenght of the jig to help with alingment of tips:
Espically helpfull when working with snakey or twisted wood.





Sorry that was so long in the wait for all of you who have asked and Pm'd.

Please feel free to ask any questions should you have any.

Steve

[JackCrafty]

Cool! And I see you have at least two double curves in progress.

[YewArcher]

Jack, Its one of my favorite bow styles. I have 2 roughed out there, another on my jig in the shop and 3 more curing in sinew and the Blackfoot Yew  that is laying there awaiting my porcupine quill work that i am doing right now. Thats what that ermine is doing on the lantern. He is going on that bow. I really dig the double curve bows.

Steve

[JackCrafty]

The Blackfoot yew wouldn't happen to have a garter snake skin to cover the sinew, would it?  I'd like to do one of those myself if I could find the right snake.

[YewArcher]

It sure does not. I had to substitute as I could not find any. Other then that it has all the correct materials. I will post it on a thred when I get it done in the enxt few days.

Steve

[GregB]

I noticed you left your limbs full width the entire length. I'm guessing this helps with being able to remove propellor and straightening to align the tips with the handle?

Thanks for posting!

[YewArcher]

Greg,

I leave them full width until after I get the recurves done. It really helps to keep the limb from twisting in the jig  while you are bending it. It also helps to ge the string to track if you have a bit of wiggle room. And it also helps to keep splinters down. You want the belly on one growth ring when you make your bend. And last but not least when the ends are tapered they will tend to splinter more easily.

Hope that helps,

Steve

[Mattco]

After boiling and recurving the tips how long do you let the wood dry? I'll be trying your method soon - Matt

[YewArcher]

I let them dry and cool for 8 hours before taking them off. I wait 24 hours prior to doing any tillering.

Steve

[islandpiper]

yewarcher, have you ever put a little Downey Fabric Softener in the water you boil in?  You night find you could reduce the boil time and get easier bends. Some of the camoe builders and snowshoe makers 'way up North use it and like it.   piper

[brian melton]

Piper,

                 Read that in a woodworking mag, they said the softner really helps. Question is does it have any negetive effects in a bow?

Brian

[islandpiper]

Well, here's my two cents worth.......if you talk to real boatbuilders, they STEAM wood to bend it.   It gets hotter and the LIGNIN doesn't soak out or degrade.  If bowmakers MUST boil the wood, then boil it for the shortest time possible.   

My best advice would be to get some good instructions on steaming and bending boat/canoe ribs and transfer what works to bowmaking.   If you look at your water after you boil for an hour, it is probably a nice, yellow brown.  That is the lignin from the wood and it is the lignin that holds the fibers together.   Personally, I'd rather have it stay in the wood.  But, I'm not up to building bent bows yet......

I do, however, bend lots of wood when making violins, Cellos and mandolins and I spray them with water, and bend fast and HOT with a good compression back strap.  But, the wood is thinner, that's for sure. 

piper

[YewArcher]

lol....

Well, I can only tell you what works from EXPERIENCE in doing the act not in reading about it and talking to others about bending wood for other aplications.

Steve

[YewArcher]

Here is the final bend. You see that it bounces back a tad after cooling.



Notice the steam line on that limb. This is the area that was under the foil tent to get the steam and heat. The bow was twisted in real bad propeller and had a vicious dog leg as well. It would not have made a straight bow let alone a recurve as twisted and gnarly as it was. As you can see, it is now real straight. I fins that boiling a whole limb at once is a great way to get rid of propeller twist. With a jig like this you can recurve and remove it all at once.



Here are 2 bows done on the same jig. One is ash and one in osage:



Its real important to tiller a recurce to at least brace height prior to adding sinew or any other backing. This ensures that the string tracks correctly. Its very hard to make heat corections after a bow is sinewed. I will probably tiller these this weekend and then sinew them later next week. I will post them when complete.

There are lots of differnt ways and techniques to recurve. Just like sinewing everyone has there own way and there own thoughts on right or wrong. This way works for me and its the way I do it. I hope it has helped.

Steve

[GregB]

Steve,

When you're about to put the bow in the jig after boiling, how do you go about ensuring the banding has tension forcing it against the belly surface when you rotate the bow down prior to clamping?

Thanks!