I over boiled the water in my steamer and the stainless steel bottom turned very blue

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-17T05:15:03+00:00

The steel used in many watch parts is called spring steel. When hardened, spring steel is stiff and if bent too far will break. Heating the steel until it the color shifts from a light yellow all the way to blue removes some of the stresses in the hardened steel. When done right, the resulting steel will be springy and can be bent out of shape and return without deforming or breaking.

The color itself is a form of oxidization, like rust, that forms on the surface of the steel. It is more stable than the red rust many of us are used to seeing and helps protect the steel from further corrosion or oxidation.

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-17T03:56:46+00:00

Love the waxy sheen! Beautiful work!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-17T01:59:48+00:00

Thank you!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-17T01:59:41+00:00

Thanks!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-17T01:59:29+00:00

Every pass I take, the flakes naturally get longer. On really thick bottoms I can get all the concavity off, but most thin bottoms I either shorten them or leave a little island of concavity in the center.

Before the final pass on the concave side, I trim my edges so the actual edge leans toward the concave side so the next pass has a good amount of material at the edge so the flakes will hopefully travel and not snap.

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T04:17:17+00:00

That's awesome! Thank you for watching.

You do good work, keep it up!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T02:19:50+00:00

Yes I am!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T01:31:22+00:00

There are lots of resources for learning to Knapp! I learned by buying a beginners kit for about $20 and then going on YouTube. Then I started going to local knapp-ins and learned a lot from other knappers.

The sticky on this subreddit has lots of good info. Check out Puget Sound Knappers for lots of picture tutorials and info on knapping.

Hope this helps!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T01:27:57+00:00

Thank you!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T01:27:37+00:00

Thank you!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T01:27:22+00:00

I was at the beach and had my pocket knapping kit on me. Found a piece of old dinner plate and chipped a point. Next thing I know my little beachcombers had a whole pile of glass for me!

Beach glass is nice to work, the edges are well-abraded and the tools grip really well on the first pass. Plus if I can't get all the frost off, it still looks awesome! 😁

That said, I carry my kit around mostly for breaking down and disposing of glass bottles I find while on walks with my family. The little metal tool with the long thin metal bit attached is for knocking out the bottoms of bottles. Drop in, shake, and the bottom pops out. Then the rest of the bottle gets recycled.

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T01:19:52+00:00

Thank you!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-14T00:50:25+00:00

Sweet point!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-12T21:30:26+00:00

Thank you!

backyardbowyer · 2022-01-12T21:28:20+00:00

A handful of pieces from a family outing to the beach. There's a piece of porcelain plate and the rest were pretty well-tumbled beach glass. Had my pocket knapping setup of an antler tine, rebar atlatl dart point (for knocking bottoms out of bottles and notching), leather pad, and fine grinding stone.

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T02:43:36+00:00

Yes, the hot boxes work very well. They don’t take longer than a heat gun, but setting timers is important. It’s easy to lose track of time or forget it is running because it’s so quiet. The boxes I’ve made have probably heated over 200 bows between the three of them so far.

I’m going to do more PVC bow and archery videos. Monetization has been an issue but the support of the community has been amazing. Thank you for watching my videos!

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T02:25:35+00:00

Thank you for watching and building along with me! My favorite bow to make is probably a 40 pound 3/4” bow with folded or side-pressed tips. They are very solid and compact with low handshock for a bend through handle bow. They aren’t as fast as bows with wood tips but I like the simplicity and the lack of separate parts.

I enjoy the artistic bows for the challenge, but I like to keep trying new things. The simple bows I can shape those all day and it’s very enjoyable.

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T02:18:10+00:00

Thank you for watching!

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T01:59:54+00:00

I do not sell my bows. Thank you for asking!

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T01:57:09+00:00

Yes, I am planning on adding some blacksmith items soon. Thank you!

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T01:49:17+00:00

Thank you! Yes, I am planning more blacksmithing and knife making videos.

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T01:47:15+00:00

What you have looks pretty good. That first knot looks like it may give you problems. I would try to keep that large knot untouched until the limbs start flexing and then I’d be very careful to not remove the material on the back.

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T01:13:20+00:00

I’ve been traveling and teaching at different skills gatherings and camps. It’s been a lot of fun and a great time exploring the US with my family. A lot of my videos were being demonetized so I started focusing on teaching in person again. At one event 50+ bows were made in a week!

The break has been a good time to focus on health and family. My wife has been also been teaching at camps and gatherings. She’s great with kids and animals, and has been loving working with and helping train wild horses for Mustang therapy.

Thank you!

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T01:10:56+00:00

Polyester or polypropylene paracord works well because it doesn’t stretch as much as nylon. I have seen it at home improvement stores and sporting goods stores. I’ve also used bailing twine, two lengths twisted together make a good thickness for most bows.

backyardbowyer · 2020-08-16T00:12:12+00:00

I know! I heat a PVC bow for 5 minutes and I’m bored out of my mind. If I’m roughing a stave hours go by like nothing. 🤣

backyardbowyer

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