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I’ve decided to try some steam bending simply because I haven’t yet. Any suggestions on reference materials and equipment/tool manufacturers? I want to start with some long pieces (8-10′) and bend them every which way I can for the hell of it. What type of limitations might I expect regarding wood thickness -vs- steam time, maximum bends, or materials that are simply not steam worthy?
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When youve done your experimenting I for one would like to know your results.
May the force be with you.
*Never tried this myself, but have seen it done. On the to-do-someday list! What kinda steamer and box have ya rigged up? Jeff
*Saw a couple of guys bending trim on a remodel of a university building once.They had a piece of cast iron pipe as the steamer...maybe 8" diameter.The pipe was leaning on what was basically just a sawhorse so that one end was 3 feet or so above the other end. The lower end was over a propane cook stove, or at least something that looked like a propane cook stove.There was a cap on the bottom end and a cap on the top end too. (Must have been loose so nothing exploded.A few inches of water in the bottom of this steamer and they just slid the trim in to let it "soak"Don't know how long it was in there or any more details than that.
*The U.S Army Wood Engineering Handbook (or something like that) has some good stuff. There was also a Fine Woodworking article pretty recently about building a steambox. The very basic idea is: it's the heat that makes the wood plastic. The moisture helps prevent the wood from drying out too much. You want to use woods with long , stringy fibres, like oak, hickory, ash, etc, not short fibres like maple or basswood. You also have to calculate 'springback'; if you bend to a form, when you take the piece out, it will springback, so you have to overbend to compensate. How much depends on species, and radius, etc.; there are guidelines (I think you'll find some in the archives at Knots), but a lot of it is trial and error. Other ways to do it are laminating thin strips, and using industrial ammonia (really plasticises the wood; you can tie it in bow ties, do whole tree trunks, etc.) Also in the US Army book. Lee Valley Tools also sells some gear for bending; they have a website and all that.
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Well, my first attempt is a 10' piece of raingutter downspout, crimped at one end (not sealed) and capped at the steam inlet end. I drove nails through every few feet to act as a "rack" for the material. I arranged the steam inlet hose to act also as the drain so water could be reused. The steam source is basically a large 2 gallon steam kettle I picked up at a thrift store today with a piece of high temp auto hose clamped to the spout of the kettle and run through the capped end. I sealed the area around the hose inlet with high-temp RTV sealant you can get at any autopart store. Unfortunately, I'm limited to materials only a few inches wide but I have confidence in this first experimental attempt. I just threw in a 3/4"x2"x8' piece of pine just to see what happens. My form is a giant pegboard that should give me plenty of bendy options. I'm still open to any more suggestions, especially for larger pieces. Thanks for the Army Book info., I'll check it out tomorrow.
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Seems I saw something like that in a magazine article quite a while ago. In fact it might have been FHB.
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I would sure like to know what issue(s) all this bending business has shown up in. Anyone? I'll keep up the search on my end while my wood is a' cookin'.
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Just type in "bending"
http://www.taunton.com/cgi-bin/artresult-fh.cgi
*Plenty of old discussions on the topic all over this site. Type "Steam Bending" into the search facility, and ask it to search the "whole site." Sliante.
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Well, my first attempt wasn't a complete bust. I steamed that 8' piece for about an hour and fifteen and was able to get a circle, although the fibers started to separate in places. The next try will be with a strap of plumber's perforated strapping around the outside to try and compress (or stop from separating) the outside. The suggested Lee Valley Tools site had a whole bunch of valuable info. as well as professional versions of the rudimentary tools I thought I was so clever in "inventing" (pegboards, straps, clamps). It's worth checking out. I tryed many different key words and have only come up with discussions and not any FHB articles. It seems the "back issue" direct contact site is down, or unavailable because I couldn't access it. Keepin' at it.
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Try some oak; I'll bet you'e amazed at the difference from pine.
*I dont think they actually show you the article. They only tell you which back issue to purchase.
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I use my wallpaper steamer for the supply, it works well fed into a piece of 12" hvac duct, was tempted to use the steamer to bend some drywall to a tight radius, but managed with water and patience to get the bend without it.
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I've decided to try some steam bending simply because I haven't yet. Any suggestions on reference materials and equipment/tool manufacturers? I want to start with some long pieces (8-10') and bend them every which way I can for the hell of it. What type of limitations might I expect regarding wood thickness -vs- steam time, maximum bends, or materials that are simply not steam worthy?