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I was surprised by how much my CompWood arm
bow dried out overnight. It went from 20 percent moisture content to 12
percent moisture content. But I’m not ready to take it out of the
clamps yet, and Megan wouldn’t do it, either (she smelled a
trap/workers’ comp claim).
So I decided to do what I’ve done with
steam-bent arm bows: Put them in a homemade kiln. I first learned this
old trick from bodger Don Weber. Build a cardboard box and put it a
lightbulb in it. Then make some “Dukes of Hazzard” noises – “coo-coo!”
And wait.
I dug up two used boxes from the mailroom, swiped a
desk lamp from the cube of a co-worker who had been let go and had the
whole thing up and running in 15 minutes.
The contraption raises the ambient temperature by 10° Fahrenheit. I’m not sure how much that will help, but it sure can’t hurt.
— Christopher Schwarz
