Anyone ever heard of using a cardboard box bow oven?
I need to save where I can on my bow build.
I'm thinking some appx 1/4" thick corrugated cardboard boxes stuck together to make a right sized oven might work well.
I plan on lining the inside with aluminum foil.
I also plan on using a few cardboard spacers here and there to space the foil about an inch from the walls.
Thinking 3-4 100-150watt bulbs on a ceramic base mounted to a 2x4 sitting in the bottom of the box for a heat source. Most likely a couple on each side to even out the heat.
Cardboard burns at 451˚F so I don't think I should have any fire problems.
What do you all think?
I have put on tips on existing limbs using a large cardboard box and a worklight. Got up to 140F and sometimes higher. I was worried about the box catching flame, but it has to get to 230F I believe. If you regulate the temp to under 150F, it can be done.
If I was going to go thru all that trouble, I would just build one for less than 30 dollars. I got my plywood from a giveaway on craigslist. Only thing that cost me was the foil insulation.
I would worry about a cardboard box as an oven. Foil lines foam board works very well, is fire resistant and will hold the heat better. A sheet of foam board and a roll of matalic tape will get the job done.
somewhere on-line I saw an excellent job done with a couple of sheets of blue insulation foam and duct tape. It was even collapsible for easy storage and re-use. I think the only board involved was a 1x4 across the top piece to mount the light sockets on. I think that for very little more effort and money than your cardboard box you could do something quite a bit better and more effective. The suggestion to check out building salvage places is a good one.
For my first glue-up I used two chairs facing each other. I set the form on the seats and draped a blanket over it like a tent with an electric space heater under the form. It worked fine but after that one I built an oven.