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Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 2:01 pm
by dmdeaton
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 2:02 pm
by dmdeaton
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 2:53 pm
by Rich Eagle
Very nice work. You've got the knack.
Rich
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 3:39 pm
by Jack Putnam, in Ohio
What did you use for the steam generator?
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 4:05 pm
by dmdeaton
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
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 4:14 pm
by Art M
A still boiler would work quite well.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 4:19 pm
by Dallas Landers
I use a pressure cooker for steam and pvc pipe for a steam box. Looks good Danny!
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 4:23 pm
by dmdeaton
Art M wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 4:14 pm
A still boiler would work quite well.
Art
I like that, I have a 10 gallon still kit I need to put together. Someday I am going to distill water! You guys are great on here! I like the pressure cooker also.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 5:59 pm
by Mark Gregush
dmdeaton wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 4:23 pm
Art M wrote: ↑Tue May 11, 2021 4:14 pm
A still boiler would work quite well.
Art
I like that, I have a 10 gallon still kit I need to put together. Someday I am going to distill water! You guys are great on here! I like the pressure cooker also.
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!

Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 6:27 pm
by Allan
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.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 6:37 pm
by dmdeaton
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

Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 8:17 pm
by Mark Gregush
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.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 8:19 pm
by MWalker
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.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Tue May 11, 2021 10:02 pm
by dmdeaton
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?
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 10:55 am
by Mark Gregush
Danny; Thanks for that information. At this point I have nothing to lose and everything to gain if it works.

Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 8:01 am
by MWalker
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.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 8:25 am
by Mark Nunn
MWalker wrote: ↑Thu May 13, 2021 8:01 am
... 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.
I suggested Downey fabric softener to soften the fibers.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 9:50 am
by CraneJon
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.
Re: Steam bending today
Posted: Thu May 13, 2021 10:12 am
by dmdeaton
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
