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Adventures with Bamboo

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jamie:
get yourself a 1 lb coffee can or something similar. punch some holes in the lower side of the can to let air in and use charcoal as a heat source. you can hold the boo over it and itll work fine. i prefer to make a lid with holes in it and drill a hole on either side of the can for the arrow to slide through. a couple passes through that furnace will heat that boo right up. its very similar to the furnace used by the korean bow makers.

Tom Leemans:
I just use my heat gun held with a quick clamp so it points up.

Swamp Bow:
While I will occasionally just roll the boo over the flame for a split second to keep the piece hot, but I tend to move it length wise.  I've had problems with just rolling it.  The problem with this stuff is there is no one right way, you just gotta figure out what works for you.  Like you, I bought a 500 culm bale, so I have plenty to screw up and not stress about it.

BTW no one has mentioned this, but I would be concerned about adding moisture, it take a long time to come back out again.  That 35# spined arrow may become an 80#+ monster in a year or two.  I admit I've never done that though.

Jaimie:  Ive thought about that, good to know it works.

Swamp

riarcher:
today's test results -
Decided to splurge, went and fetched a heat gun.
Bending the Boo as recieved didn't improve much. Maybe a little, not enough.
Filed down the noles on a few. First straightend like a breeze. Broke the next 2 stuborn ones!
Tried the ones I soaked,, no difference at all from what I could see.

Okay, out of a random group of 10,, 3-4 bend like limp spegetti with modest heat.
Maybe 2-3 will bend if I really lean on them. I can heat them to the cows come home and it doesn't seem to matter. Others breab at the nole or I quit because I feel them splitting / ripping.

I'm not selecting what looks to be the better ones. Thinking I should get a technique down first(?).
The ones that give me the most trouble have very large(?) noles (as compared to the easily bent ones).

You can probably tell I'm getting frustrated with these and need to give them a break (pun intended) for a spell. I've run out of ideas on what I'm doing wrong.

I'll try and post a pix of what I'm working with.

Ones on the bottom I was sucessful at bending relatively clos. still needs more though.

mullet:
 Looks like some good Tonkin. Are you trying to bend the nodes or in between first? Chris Cade sits down and watches TV and straightens me a dozen during an hour TV show when I'm there. He uses an alcohol lantern like they sell in Three Rivers. I've done the same with a candle. It doesn't take much heat. And I think if you use too much you temper the bend out and make it break easy.

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