Weapons

Dreamingfurther

Dreamingfurther

Baron
So, I have put together a new bow, made of pvc that I heat gunned to bend into a nice curving bow shape. Would this be allowed as core material for a pretty looking bow? :) Just wanted to be sure.
 
Do you guys allow ultra light cores from RET.505?
 
I believe they did say they allowed kitespar ultra lights... but I could have a fogy memory...
 
Say Dave, I've got a few questions regarding this heat gunning you mentioned while making your bow since I'm thinking about "upgrading" some of my weaponsmithing skills. Were you using a commercial heat gun or one that you can pick up at a hardware store, like say Northern tool & equipment? The reason I ask this is I want to know whether wattage is an important factor while using it to bend the PVC - this is particularly important since I know that the consumer Heat Guns I could buy at the store aren't as powerful (wattage wise) as some of the commercial one's at a company I used to work for. And you answer to that will help me with the next questions answers, how long does it take to heat it up for bending? And do you use cold water or air to cool the pipe down afterward?
 
Sorry for the wait folks.

Yes we do allow Kitespar reps, I believe ret 505 is generally accepted,

Yes you can absolute use bent pvc reps as long as they pass safety inspection.
 
tazoulti said:
Say Dave, I've got a few questions regarding this heat gunning you mentioned while making your bow since I'm thinking about "upgrading" some of my weaponsmithing skills. Were you using a commercial heat gun or one that you can pick up at a hardware store, like say Northern tool & equipment? The reason I ask this is I want to know whether wattage is an important factor while using it to bend the PVC - this is particularly important since I know that the consumer Heat Guns I could buy at the store aren't as powerful (wattage wise) as some of the commercial one's at a company I used to work for. And you answer to that will help me with the next questions answers, how long does it take to heat it up for bending? And do you use cold water or air to cool the pipe down afterward?
Click to expand...

So, the heat gun is one that I've sort of jacked inadvertently from a friend. Its a "Wagner" brand if that means anything, and has two levels, 600 and 1100 F. I'm pretty sure its something you could get at a local hardware store. I can plug it into any normal wall socet, 120 V. When I heat up pvc I generally spend 3-5 minutes "brushing" across the area I want to heat with the heated air from the gun and then its supple. I don't cool down the pvc with water, rather just holding that part of the pvc in the shape I want for another minute or two until its cooled down to the point its no longer so supple. The main thing is that I go through this heating/bending/holding process many times for one piece because I only heat a small section at a time, so its a time consuming process. Incidentally I have actually made some nice armor out of 1/4" pvc board using the same procedure and fitting it to my body. Does that answer some of your questions? I'd be happy to continue to explain. :)

And thanks for the re-assurance dave! I'll have weapons for the event that I'm confident will pass. :)
 
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