Main Discussion Area > Bows
Making fast bows
Del the cat:
Heat treating time...
Presumably there must be some sort of rule of thumb for time/depth of penetration?
For steaming it's say 1 hour per inch of thickness... How much depth of penetration do we want for a heat treatment? 1/4" ?
When I heat treat with a hot air gun, I move the gun along every 4 minutes, but I use side cheeks to keep the heat along a fair section of the belly, so it probably is held up to temperature for at least 8 if not 12 minutes, I'd guess it goes to 1/8"- 3/16"
Dunno if that is any use as a comment ::) ;D
Del
Badger:
Del, as far as a rule of thumb goes, I heat the entire limb by keeping the heat gun moving from one end to another. I hold it close to the wood. I continue this until the opposite side is too hot to hold your finger on for more than about a second. This usually gives my just a slight golden brown color. One each end where I make the turn around it tends to get hotter, so toward the end of the process, the strokes get a bit shorter as I move it inward. I never really timed it but I would guess about 30 min or less per limb.
RyanY:
I’m putting more of my focus into fast bows with a goal of attending the flight shoot next year. I think recurves add more reflex easily than maintaining reflex along a whole limb. I also think they can be made light enough that they’re efficient. Definitely a solid heat treat and low set helps. Wood quality makes a big difference. I struggle with humidity at home.
sleek:
--- Quote from: RyanY on September 25, 2025, 08:20:08 pm ---I’m putting more of my focus into fast bows with a goal of attending the flight shoot next year. I think recurves add more reflex easily than maintaining reflex along a whole limb. I also think they can be made light enough that they’re efficient. Definitely a solid heat treat and low set helps. Wood quality makes a big difference. I struggle with humidity at home.
--- End quote ---
It would absolutely be great to see you out there! Ill help you as much as I can.
RyanY:
I appreciate that. I need to watch your video on flight arrows. Arvin and Alan have been great when I ask questions. I’d rather build 100 flight bows and 1 arrow so those have been tricky.
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