I was wondering if you guys have a preferance for bending wood and what kind of setups you would use.

Rule of thumb...Dry wood, dry heat. Wet wood, wet heat.
 Now after saying that it all depends on the wood you want to bend. Dry osage bends very well with dry heat. I use a heat gun and cooking oil to prevent scorching. I also believe the oil helps to hold the heat longer and helps to distribute it better. If the osage is still wet, steaming works better and will actually help with the drying process.
 On woods like hickory steaming or boiling works better. It the wood is dry(seasoned) seal the area to be heated with shellac to prevent the wood from taking on moisture. Shellac can handle both the heat and moisture with no problems.

thanks Pat, I mostly have been useing hickory, d you prefer steam or boiling, bub

I use mostly osage so I use mostly dry heat. Steaming is probably easier to use especially when working in the middle of the bow. Either works well though.

thank's Pat, i've been building some hickory r/d bows and want to try a more recurved tip. thank's bub

If you plan to bend much recurve, its a good method to boil the tip. Leave it too thick until recurved because the belly side can split some. This thin split can then be worked down to remove the split part. Brad Merkel does this with his 90+ degree tips. A gentle recurve can be made with dry heat after the tips are finished thickness.

Can you put recurve in them after it is finished?

I wasn't planning a huge recurve,maybe start with one like Mark St Louis's in the Oct. primative archer.

Ranger, you can bend non working tips after it is finished. You cannot bend working areas of the limb after tillering - they will just go back to where they were and the bow will loose cast.

Bubby, I don't get PA anymore, but flipped tips or slight recurve can be done with dry heat. A recurve would be one bent far enough that the sting touches the limb at brace.

thank's for all the input,I'll finish up the 3 bows I'm working now and then start bending som wood. thank's, bub

QuoteOriginally posted by Pat B:
I use mostly osage so I use mostly dry heat. Steaming is probably easier to use especially when working in the middle of the bow. Either works well though.

When using the heat gun and oil on osage, does it hurt to heat the back of the bow?  I have been using the heat gun all the way around the bow when heating it.  I thought I read somewhere that this could be bad.

As long as you don't scorch the back you will be OK. You want the heat to go all the way through the wood, belly to back, so it bends with less chance if lifting splinters or cracking.

If you want to go as drastic as this I would say "boil", this is about a 60 degree  bend.

Pat B,
  How does the oil or shellac affect finishing later on? Thanks.

Swamp

Shellac can be removed with alcohol or a light sanding. I remove the oil with acetone or alcohol  if needed but usually the tips are thick enough that the oily wood is removed when I shape the tips.

Makes sense.  Since it doesn't sit forever, it(oil) penetrates less than you remove.  Just curious since trying to get some finishes to cure on an oily substrate can be challenging.  Not to mention it could cause "staining" under a finish.  Yet another reason to like rubbed oil finishes! Thanks

Swamp

I've noticed that the oil use when heat bending wood doesn't penetrate very much. Probably less than a 32th of an inch if that.