straightening arrow shafts ?

[oneraindog]

been working on arrow making and straightening the shafts are a headache.
in class, around the fire i was using hot coals to heat the bends for straightening and that was working pretty good although i did get a small scorch we had a pot of water boiling on the coals as well but we all agreed that was crap. it would not come close to bringing the shaft to the right heat for bending. we figured we just werent getting it on enough hot coals.

but then at home, with a proper gas stove and a rolling boil i was still not able to get the shaft hot enough. but maybe i just wasnt waiting long enough? i know primitive technology involves a lot of patience but this is testing me.

so here are some methods i tried when the open boil was taking too long

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here i have a little grill over the pot with something or other over it (its my rommates i dont know what its for.)

when that didnt work as is i wrapped the top piece in foil to cover the holes and to concentrate the heat. didnt make a difference.

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next i tried a foil cover right on the pan with a hole poked in it to get a blast of steam going. this didnt work either.
i modified this set up by making a foil tent over the foil cover with the hole in it.
this didnt work either.

finally i resorted to holding the shaft directly above the open flame. high enough to heat it without scorching. this has been getting the shaft hot but maybe too hot too fast. i got a small crack and a little crease.

all in all this is kind of stressful haha.

so how is the boil supposed to work? am i just being impatient?

bowyers will use the steam method to heat entire bow staves for straightening. how the heck do they do this when i cant even heat a tiny arrow shaft?

[Mountaintrekker]

I saw a guy who made his own shafts in the bush and he would get 20 or so and tie them in a bundle. He would use 6 or 8 ties all down the lengthe of the bundle and let it rest evenly for several days and it seemed to work pretty good. I'm not sure how perfect you are looking at getting your arrows, but he sure shot his fairly accurately for what they were.

Just my .02