i would like to reflex one of the hickory bows im working on, and after some reading i hear steam bending works best on hickory. my question is how to go about steaming in reflex? i dont have the means to steam the entire bow right now unless i build a steam tube. would heat bending work to reflex?
Hahah, this is probably the most redneck way to do it, but here's what I did.
I placed the handle section of the bow over a pot, covered with alluminum foil and steamed it for about a half hour, you will probably need more. Then I took some oven mitts, grabbed the board, and pulled it against my knee until it bent.
I bent it a bit past where I wanted it because I knew it would flex back a bit after being set down.
EDIT: Come to think of it though, it wasn't a true reflex. It made the bow look like what I think they call an Assyrian bow.
lol i might try that with my short bow if i cant get a caul built. with this one though im trying to reflex the entire limbs so it will help offset any set that the bow takes. the stave already has some reflex, quite a bit actually but according to the bowyers bible "staves that are reflexed while drying are just pretending, they lose most of this reflex during tillering" it continues to say that the reflex induced during drying is not comparable to steam or heat bending as the wood cells do not plasticize.
Richard, I would lay it on a form belly up, clamp the handle and work out each limb with a heat gun and clamps. Work on one section of one limb then the same area of the other limb and so on until both limbs are done. Cook it until it is a nice chocolate brown color. This will temper the belly and add reflex all at once. Allow it to rehydrate for a week or so before stressing it.
Steaming dry wood can cause checking unless you seal the entire bow with shellac first.
thanks for the reply pat. ive been reading up on methods for reflexing the past few days, trying to figure out the best approach and the way you describe seems best after some thought. im sure hickory will benefit from the heat treating too. also should i reflex after floor tillering?
I like to get a stave to at least floor tiller for heat bending. Less wood to work with and not so stressed as if you wait to further in the process. You can do more heat treating later if needed.