bending and straghting osage

[DanaM]

Thanks for the How-To Mike but I have to ask what is the point of shellacing the bow when using dry heat???
I understand why ya shellac the wood when using wet heat but don't see the point with dry heat.

[yazoo]

its just for insurance,,better safe than sorry,,,this is my only source of income I dont take no chances,,from the time I split em out till they leave they are coated with shellac ,,I made over 600 osage blanks last year   I had 4 crack while heating,,thats pretty good odds,,, by the way dana its time to plant those collards,,I dug some out the snow last week

[DanaM]

Thanks Mike but I won't be planting anything for at least 6 to 8 weeks, ground is froze solid for several feet

[mastin03]

... clamp er down and spray with oil , preheat , and lay the heat to it,,and let set over nite,then without taking clamps off heat again and let set another day,,, I like to double heat a severe twist before I un clamp

QUick question, may seem stupid, but im a bit lost....

When you say you pre-heat the entire limb, is this just slowly going over the limb with your heat gun or are you using a heat box?  It seems like it would be a little difficult to have all of the wood for the entire length of the limb hot enough to bend at the same time. 

I guess im asking if you would do a really dumbed down sequence of "pre-heating" and "laying the heat to it"

Im probably making this more complicated than it needs to be, but I appreciate the help.  Thanks again for doing this, great info here.

[yazoo]

the preheating is with a heat gun,,just go over the parts to be bent put some heat just to give the heat time to soak in to the center of wood to make sure it is heated through,,and by laying the heat to it,, it just means to heat it very well,,I use the back of my fingers to test heat as the underside of fingers and hands are not as soft,,it needs to be very hot to the touch,,but not scorching the wood,,,, sorry if my wording confused you,,instead of a spell check on my computer I need a hillbilly check,,because I live here deep in the tn mountians,,  I will add some more this eve,, time to work now,,, thanks mike

[Pat B]

What I do sometimes is to preheat the area to be bent(straightened) wrap it with aluminum foil to hold the heat in and allow it to sink into the wood well. Then remove the foil and continue heating and clamping as needed.
  Mike, this is a great build along. Thanks for posting it. 

[yazoo]

that is a great idea,,I think that a lot of people who have bows crack while bending recurves are due to the wood not being heat competely through,, when I finish this bow I will do a recurve  more tonite,, I am splitting osage today in the rain,,

[Pat B]

When I'm bending recurves I place the form in the vise at a steep angle so the stave sticks up when in the form. Set the stave in the form, clamp the support strap, oil the wood and begin heating. I heat all sides slowly until the weight of the stave begins the bend the heated area. Then I know it is heated completely through and it is very plastic so it bends easily.

[sailordad]

Mike, thank you for this "bend along".i have a osage bow that is floor tillered but the string is tracking of quit a bit.
now i have great new mindset to getting it tracking center

[jeff halfrack]

  THANKS   YAZOO!!!!    you  don't  need to  change  the  way  you  explain!!  I  got  that  loud and clear!!!   I   just  wish  there  was  osage my  way!!!   you  say   600 staves??   man  I  gota  talk to  you  some  time!!   thanks  for  the  bend-along  keep it  comming  Jeff w

[yazoo]

I will do a recurve tomorrow,,very bussy today, getting ready for bow class in florida,, 

[yazoo]

the twisted limb bow is finished,, it has quite a bit of snakey curves , be sure when you straighten one you dont take all the snake out of it,,just line up the tips and handle,,

[yazoo]

[yazoo]

in the photo above we are ready to start recurve,, the bow needs to be near finished tiller or finished,,as the thinner the wood the better it will bend,I also like to work the belly to a ring on the parts to be recurved to help prevent pulling splinters,,spray down with oil and preheat very well,, as you start applying heat pull down on the bow real easy when it reaches the right temp you will feel the wood give,, then we will start clamping do the first clamp then heat more between each clamp

[yazoo]

now we have brought the wood up to temp and tightened the clamps slowly one at a time,, now all we need to do is wait till woods cools , if you are not sure wait overnite,,once it cools do the other limb and your finished