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Chemical bending- anyone done it?
stuckinthemud:
I’ve seen a few articles on line about bending thin wood strips with vinegar and with alcohol. Anyone tried chemicals like these to modify bow shape?
Hamish:
Haven't tried it. I would do as much as I could to find out if chemical bending has any unwanted effects, like weakening tensile or compression strength(or perhaps even increasing them?).
With vinegar, you will likely get darkening/greying, a cosmetic change but I have no idea if it would affect to wood's suitability for a bow.
GlisGlis:
Someone mentioned also bending with ammonia in the post about fuming.
here a scientific note:
--- Quote ---Back in the 1960's, researchers discovered that wood could be plasticized by use of treatment with ammonia gas in a pressure chamber. The ammonia would dissolve the hydrogen bonds between the lignin and the cellulose fibers, allowing the fibers to slip past one another, and enabling extreme bends to be made. When the ammonia evaporated out of the wood, fresh hydrogen bonds would form, setting the bend permanently in place as if the wood had grown that way.
--- End quote ---
bjrogg:
--- Quote from: Hamish on September 01, 2024, 06:29:38 pm ---Haven't tried it. I would do as much as I could to find out if chemical bending has any unwanted effects, like weakening tensile or compression strength(or perhaps even increasing them?).
With vinegar, you will likely get darkening/greying, a cosmetic change but I have no idea if it would affect to wood's suitability for a bow.
--- End quote ---
That was my first thought also Hamish
Bjrogg
bjrogg:
--- Quote from: GlisGlis on September 02, 2024, 01:32:06 pm ---Someone mentioned also bending with ammonia in the post about fuming.
here a scientific note:
--- Quote ---Back in the 1960's, researchers discovered that wood could be plasticized by use of treatment with ammonia gas in a pressure chamber. The ammonia would dissolve the hydrogen bonds between the lignin and the cellulose fibers, allowing the fibers to slip past one another, and enabling extreme bends to be made. When the ammonia evaporated out of the wood, fresh hydrogen bonds would form, setting the bend permanently in place as if the wood had grown that way.
--- End quote ---
--- End quote ---
That’s really interesting GlisGlis. I’m guessing it wouldn’t be quite as strong as “grown that way”. Little difference in layers, humps and bumps. Still very interesting.
Bjrogg
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