Korker dowel rods?

[3aminspirations]

Okay, I've just entered the wonderful world of korkers and have a couple of questions for those of you who have been making them for a while-

1: How many dowel rods can you bake at a time? Is it like frozen dinners-the more you put in the longer you have to bake them?
2: How many bakes/uses do you get from your dowel rods? Do they eventually crap out on you? Do you "treat" your dowel rods with anything before/after baking?

Thanks!

[mteresa86]

Hi i put about 12 rods in the oven at almost 250 and bake for about 20 min i have a gas stove and after i take them out of the oven i let sit untill they are not hot then i spray a stiffner on them and let dry then cut hope this helps

[hypatia23]

I put about 12-20 in oven 275 for 20 minutes, let cool completely, use my wood burner to cut while still on dowel, then spray with starch, let sit overnight, and then sew the next day...or when I get around to it. I've found this method works for me and saves me a lot of time cutting on the dowel verses off. I've used the same dowels about 10 times, but yeah, they are getting brittle. HTH

[ZanneMarie]

I have put as many as 25 in at once...the only limit is how many dowels I have and what will fit on the piece of tinfoil I bake them on. I bake at 250 for about 25 minutes...sometimes longer when I forget to set the timer for a while. I don't need to increase the times for more pieces in there.

The only thing I do on the dowels is bake them. I do my korker stiffening/starching after I make the korker up. My dowels are still as nice as the day I bought them and I have been making korkers for almost 2 years on some of them. I did starch some satin on the dowel once and it raised the grain and made them rough so I don't use those ones anymore.

[roxiej]

I bake for 25 minutes at 275. My dowels have gotten a little rough in places but they can always be sanded. I cut my dowels in half to fit the oven and I do about 12 at a time. Otherwise I feel like I'm overwhelmed with korkers since they are so time consuming. I don't spray mine at all. I've tried spraying before and after but I like the non sprayed version personally.

[lilag01]

I will bake about 100 or so at one time at 275 for about 25 minutes in a gas oven. I put mine on a cookie sheet to bake and don't spray anything. I have been korking on the same dowels for about a year now with no problems. I do let them cool completely before I remove them from the dowels.

[lpatscher]

THis is all great information thank you! I am new to bow making and I need all the help I can get!

[nicole29]

I bake 2 trays at a time, in total I fit 200 rods in, I bake at 225 for about 45 min to get a nice curl! Also the more you bake your rodes, the better seasoned they become and slide off easier! Just be sure when you kork black or a deep red NOT to put it by anything else LOL! I also kork my dark colors on 1 tray and light on another becasue you never know what will bleed

[jtgarrido]

I have been using my dowel rods for baking korkers since 1989. I only bake at 220 tho, I get them out when I think about. I've even left them in the oven overnight, they are still working great for me.

[lilsnapdragons]

I bake mine at 275 for 26 mins. I use about 15 of the 5/16 wooden dowels and get them from walmart. The really long ones from there you cut down to the size of your oven.