Anyone into steam bending? I am just getting into it and wondered if anyone had any tips?
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If you go onto lee-valley's web site they have a fairly good manual on steam bending free for the downloading.
Wayne -
Wait for the next issue of Wood magazine. My old teacher, Russ Filbeck, will
be featured and I think he will be discussing steam bending. He made his own
rig out of a 6ft long, 8" diameter green sewer pipe. There's a can underneath
that sits on a gas burner connected by a hose that feeds steam into the
tube. There's a rack in the tube that keeps the wood out of any water that
condenses. The ends are loosely plugged with wood inserts.
When he makes legs for his rocking chairs, etc, he submerges the wood in a
vertical pipe of water that contains a small amount of Downy unscented
fabric softener. He keeps it in there for a few days before doing the
steaming. His general rule of thumb is he steams the wood 1 hour for every
1" of thickness. Once the wood is out of the steamer, you need to work
pretty fast so all your clamps and jigs need to be ready to go. The wood
loses heat pretty fast and its plasticity pretty quickly.
We made Shaker boxes in his class but rather than steaming, the thin wood
was pretty much simmered in a shallow pan of water for several minutes
until it was pliable to wrap around a form. Even with wood approx 1/8" thick,
we left it in the form for several days so the wood could dry and relax.
The chair legs sit in the clamped forms for a week before they are touched.
His forms are designed to bend the wood a little more because there is
always spring back.
Good luck, that's all I remember right now. Post pictures when you make
something.
PaulComment
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