Bending wood

[MBfreak]

Hi to all.
My SO is a very talented designer of decoration stuff. The order now is a coat stand hanger made up of 3/4 to 1 " diameter wood. Height will be aound 60" and bend radius at worst 15" over an angle of 60 degrees of a 15" radius circle.
I believe that beech or alder would be good materials, but I really do not know.
Would rattan work?
I am thinking of going cheap by using a steam cleaner to heat the wood and then use a wooden template to bend it into form and let cool off in.

Need three rather identical pieces.

Buying ready made is not going to happen
Ola

 

[SlappyWhite]

Some options....

It will be easier to run the piece through a band saw (ripping) to create thinner slices. You can also use a table saw but you get more waste due to the larger kerf of the blade. Steam and then bend these stacked together. Let them set and then glue them together. IMO straighter the grain the better.

Lots of options for a steamer. My favourite is an old kettle (without the auto shut-off) and a length of eaves-trough down-spout capped at the ends to form the steam box. Attach the spout of the kettle to one end of the down-spout steam box set-up, have the down-spout on a slight downward angle towards the kettle. Steam fills the box, condensation runs back into the kettle.

You could also use a length of PVC or ABS pipe as the steam box.

Add some spacers between the pieces while steaming.

Making a template (mold) is the way to go. You may need to experiment as you may get some some spring back.

 

[matt_i]

I think you want to laminate. I'm not an expert but something around 1/4" to 3/8" thick would seem about right.

Steam, bend, clamp to a jig and allow to dry/cool. I'd make 3-4 layers all the same, then laminate with glue on the same form.

Now you are ready to shape and finish.

 

[rlitman]

It is the heat, rather than the moisture that makes wood bendy. Wood is a good insulator, so it takes some time to heat it to the core. What this means, is that you'd need a box to contain the steam, and allow the whole section to heat evenly. I think that might be possible even with a steam cleaner, if you insulate it sufficiently.

As mentioned above, setup the steam box so that condensation has a place to escape.

If you're making this with rounds, I think that you could probably bend and steam in one shot. Thicker pieces would call for laminating, but laminating rounds is something you probably don't want to get into.

And yes, you'll get springback. So your bending jig will need to accommodate a slightly tighter bend than your finished product.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I am thinking of going cheap by using a steam cleaner to heat the wood and then use a wooden template to bend it into form and let cool off in.

They type of wood does not really matter that much. Proper steaming is the key.

Lot's of videos on YouTube.

 

[Richard Cranium]

My b.i.l. made a toboggan and made a steamer for his wood, then we wrapped it around an old scuba tank and clamped it until it cooled, We still use the toboggan.

 

[kbs2244]

If you need them all the same, make a jig to put the limp wood in.
The longer you steam it the limper it becomes.
24 hours is a min.

 

[yhprum]

If you can get naturally cured (not oven cured) wood, it will bend much easier.

 

[rsanter]

If you need three be ready to make 6
Difference in the grain can effect the spring back.
Choose the straightest grain possible with spacing as similar as you can get for similar results

 

[Kaizen]

I too recommend cutting as thin as you can to bend the radius-depends in the species and the quality. Make a firm out of 2x screwed to scrap plywood. Glue and clamp. Easier to get repeatable results


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[four.cycle]

"Steam, bend, clamp to a jig and allow to dry/cool."

^ emphasis added.

You will have to build some sort of jig to put the steamed/soaked wood on in order for it to retain the shape you want. Otherwise it will try to go back the way it was.

I only worked with small pieces - nothing really big. Did it in the bathtub. Only problem was getting enough boiling hot water going all at once to fully immerse the wood.
Be sure you mind which way the grain is going or you'll snap it right off.

 

[ez-duzit]

For continuity laminate over a form.

 

[tymbo]

Or you could get one of these!

 

[MoonRise]

To steam bend wood, you need:

- a source of steam;

- a 'container' for the wood and steam to interact, aka the steam box;

- a jig/form to put the softened wood into so you can get the desired size/shape and so that you can clamp the wood and allow it to cool into the new bent shape.

Some instructions are here:

https://www.leevalley.com/us/html/05F1501ie.pdf

And some info here:

http://www.learnsteambending.com/steam-bending

The Wikipedia page is actually pretty sparse.

For the wood, the 'best' would be straight-grained air-dried (NOT kiln-dried) ash or oak or hickory. Other woods can be steam bent, with varying degrees of success.

Rule of thumb is 1-2 hours of steam time for every inch of wood thickness, test and adjust as needed.

24 hours of steaming a piece of 1" thick wood is way excessive and not needed at all. You have to heat the wood with the steam just so that the heat goes all the way through the wood and allows the lignin in the wood cells to plasticize.

Do some test pieces in your desired wood species, have a good jig/form and plenty of clamps, and remember to let the wood completely cool and 'dry out' before removing the clamps.

Plan on making a few more than your needed number of pieces, so that you can be sure that you end up with identical pieces.

Remember, straight-grained and air-dried wood. Try to pick pieces of wood that are not only straight-grained but also consistent from piece-to-piece.

Steam bending some 1" thick wood to a 15" radius should be just fine.

Post some pictures and let us know how the project turns out.

 

[rlitman]

...For the wood, the 'best' would be straight-grained air-dried (NOT kiln-dried) ash or oak or hickory. Other woods can be steam bent, with varying degrees of success.

Rule of thumb is 1-2 hours of steam time for every inch of wood thickness, test and adjust as needed.

24 hours of steaming a piece of 1" thick wood is way excessive and not needed at all. You have to heat the wood with the steam just so that the heat goes all the way through the wood and allows the lignin in the wood cells to plasticize...

Remember, straight-grained and air-dried wood. Try to pick pieces of wood that are not only straight-grained but also consistent from piece-to-piece...

Just some comments (though your post is spot on):

One issue with kiln dried wood is that the moisture from the steam being rapidly introduced to a very dry wood may lead to cracking. But this can be alleviated if the wood has sufficient time to acclimatize. Still, starting with a higher moisture content will make your bending easier.

The 1-2 hours per inch of thickness refers to flat stock. It takes time for the heat to soak into the center. Just like boiling an egg. But the path the heat takes to the center is important too. In a 1" round, the center will heat up faster than in a 1x2 plank. I would expect a 1" round to heat up about as fast as 3/4" thick flat stock.

And it is the heat that primarily allows the bending. Though dry heat brings its own issues, too much steam may bring the moisture up too much too.

Yes, straight grain really helps, not only with the repeatability of the bend, but also with the chances of breakage.

 

[Sine Swept]

My Great Grandfather owned a basket factory, which my Grandfather also worked at. Before everything was shipped in cardboard boxes, everything was shipped in woven baskets. I would have been heir to a fortune!

I seem to recall beech and the woven pieces were approx 1/4" thick.

The factory burned to the ground twice!

 

[MBfreak]

Thanks for all the feedback.
However, SO has now made a redesign. The bent pieces will be made in copper pipe, dia around 3/4".20 mm.
I have the tools to form this without any schratches.

Parts will then be sanded down to a rather coarse finish and spraypainted with clear varnish. A sample has been made and appoved.

On a side note, the fantastic local wood supply company I have bought lots of special wood ( like american curved maple for guitar necks, 3 inch thick alder planks to make solid guitar bodies without glue joints) is under new managent and has stopped selling to amateurs! You do not even get in thru the door. Maybe good business sense, but is *****


Ola