Steam bending today
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- Posts: 6789
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- First Name: Richard
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- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1909 TR 1914 TR 1915 Rd 1920 Spdstr 1922 Coupe 1925 Tudor
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Re: Steam bending today
What did you use for the steam generator?
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Topic author - Posts: 730
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Re: Steam bending today
I use the cheap plastic one that woodcraft sells, Amazon has them for about $50. I used to use a 5 gallon metal gas can and a Cajun burner back when I was building small boats. The cheap one works ok for small stuff
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Re: Steam bending today
A still boiler would work quite well.
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Re: Steam bending today
I use a pressure cooker for steam and pvc pipe for a steam box. Looks good Danny!
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Re: Steam bending today
With the cost of distilled water, don't think that will pencil out. Now there are some other things that can be distilled that might!
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas!
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
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Re: Steam bending today
The fellow who builds the wood felloe wheels in New Zealand boils the timber blanks in a small trough, heated with a kindling fire. 10 minutes is enough to make hickory bend like licorice. Last time I tried with steam, I could not generate enough to make the wood pliable enough to bend more than a few degrees.
Allan from down under.
Allan from down under.
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Topic author - Posts: 730
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Re: Steam bending today
General rule is 1 hour per inch thickness . If you overcook it becomes brittle again. You wanna pick your wood grain wisely also. I used white oak. I had one crack but the boiler ran low on water in the middle of the steam
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Re: Steam bending today
I have some bent oak bows that the stays came off and have spread out a good bit. I have read somewhere that might try soaking and try rebending or I just have fire wood.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas!
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
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Re: Steam bending today
In a previous life, a woodworking friend and I built several Windsor chairs. Those required bent parts for the backs, and for the arms on some. We used a pressure cooker with a rubber hose into a long narrow box we built of redwood to hold the parts to be steamed. Heated the pressure cooker on a Coleman stove. It worked quite well.
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Topic author - Posts: 730
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Re: Steam bending today
Windsor chairs are a art form. Very cool when done right.
Mark
If they are old they will be very dry and brittle. You might be able to bring them back to shape though. After rehydrating a little pull and clamp into place then run a heat gun over them. Overbend a little as they will spring back when set free. Any cracks or splinters in a bend zone will split for sure.
Did Henry varnish or oil any of these top pieces? Paint?
Mark
If they are old they will be very dry and brittle. You might be able to bring them back to shape though. After rehydrating a little pull and clamp into place then run a heat gun over them. Overbend a little as they will spring back when set free. Any cracks or splinters in a bend zone will split for sure.
Did Henry varnish or oil any of these top pieces? Paint?
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Re: Steam bending today
Danny; Thanks for that information. At this point I have nothing to lose and everything to gain if it works.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas!
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
1925 Cut down pickup
1920 Dodge touring
1948 Ford F2 pickup
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Re: Steam bending today
Mark -- I had a set of steam-bent oak bows made by Jim Finney many years ago. They hung in my shop for several years, and the bends "relaxed." I soaked the bent corners in water for two days (one side at a time), then re-bent them. I pulled them past where I wanted them to end up, and left them to dry for a few days. They turned out great. Someone here on the forum suggested that I add something to the water, which I did. I don't remember what it was; maybe whoever suggested it will chime in.
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Re: Steam bending today
Saw reference to bending oak. I grew up in a boatbuilding shop in New Jersey and worked with my dad steaming ribs for clinkerbuilt skiffs. We boiled white oak for at least 2o minutes (1 1/4" thick and a little green, not kiln dried) and placed them in the hull while still very hot. Worked well. I was also told that you can only steam and bend wood once. Steaming a second time will not make the wood flexible. We did not use straps to control the length and different stretching/compressing between the outside and inside radius. Guy I talked to at Hershey told me how he uses a steel strap to control the length and prevent splitting. Maybe our radius was enough so that part was not necessary? Our steam box for boiling was 20' long a foot deep and 8" wide. heated it with an old coal fired water heater. Bending ribs after completing the planking was an all day affair and used dad, nyself and two brothers. Sometimes we stayed home from school to work on that part of the boatbuilding job.
Jon Crane
Rochester Mich.
Jon Crane
Rochester Mich.
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Topic author - Posts: 730
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Re: Steam bending today
Jon
I love the old boat shops
Mystic seaport used to be a go to every year. I took classes there and met some good people. Then I got into this hobby
I love the old boat shops
Mystic seaport used to be a go to every year. I took classes there and met some good people. Then I got into this hobby