I have several staves from a really large walnut limb I got over a year ago. I have 2 that I roughed out and have been drying for a year, but they both need a little straightening. Any one have much experience bending walnut? Staves were taken from the top of the limb and have some deflex, would like to take it out and maybe reflex the tips some. They both are all white wood except maybe a little in the handle.
What I've heard/read in the past, it needs to be wide and longer because it's not the best selfbow wood. I have used it and will continue to use it as a suplemental lamination in my bamboo backed osage bows. It's a lively lamination wood.
Zero walnut experinece here. This is what I would do in your spot. I would seal and steam one just to find out! Hey, if it works you know something we obviously dont yet. Go for it and let us know. Walnut just seems like the kind of wood that wouldnt like dry heat. Again, no experince with walnut.
I have experimented with dry heat and even boiled a piece. Dry heat did nothing, it scorched and moved very little. Boiling was a result of impatiens while trying to steam same end result. I am not sure if it may need to be rehydrated then bent?
Seal the whole thing with something decent and steam the whole thing for 90 minutes. Take it out and straighten or reflex it to your tastes. Im curious about this because my neighbor has a 10-12" black walnut he wants gone and I havent volunteered my services yet. I want to know if I need staves or firewood!
Built right I like walnut, seems to be a fast wood like cherry. The trunk will have the heart wood closer with a better chance of mixing sap and heart wood...or you can reduce. I find no difference in function between heart and sap just looks. Treat it like good oak and you will be fine. It seems soft when it is wet like hackberry but stiffens up when dry and it needs to dry good. 68" NTN, 2" wide at the fades for 1/3 of the limb, tapering to 1/2" nocks.
I use walnut a lot I usually steam bend it. I don't think you have to let it dry for a whole year though. I let mine dry for about 6 months then I left a small layer of sap wood on it when I worked the stave. The sap wood served as a good backer. Be careful on bending it to much because the grain will lift easily.
QuoteOriginally posted by StoneAK:
Be careful on bending it to much because the grain will lift easily [/QUOTE/]From my experimenting this is what I have found,actually it tried to lift before it moved, that is why I tried boiling the tips. Should I have thinned a little more? (tips are about 5/8 x 1" wide)
I would try thinning a little more the last all walnut longbow I built the grain lifted because I bent the tips like a static recurve but all I did was thinned it out a little glued the lifted grain and backed it with sinew. The grain likes to lift I think if you work the stave soon after it is cut it may help the grain lifting issue some too.
Thought maybe some poor pics may help.
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p86/2manydogs_photos/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo0039.jpg) (http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p86/2manydogs_photos/Mobile%20Uploads/Photo0041.jpg)
I would thin it out some more before anymore bending that may help