bending a 2x4 with steam

[chris fresh]

Chris, I prefer 3/16" to a 1/4" max depending on the arc as it's easier to work by yourself in setting and clamping into the form. If you do briefly steam them (which will make them more pliable) then your working time with something like Gorilla glue is shortened as it reacts to the moisture in the wood to cure.

I also like titebond glues and their III product has around a 10 minute open time which would give you some time to level and "make flush" the strips while they are clamped in the jig. A roller, plenty of clamps, an extra set of hands (especially someone that doesn't mind four letter expletives when something does blows out from the clamps - maybe that just happens to me) and some cold beer waiting and your good to go.

A little advice that you probably already know... Make the strips a little wider then the finished width so that you can rip a clean edge to more easily take stain. Less stress than trying to keep glue off and easier to joint/ plane level one side and rip to final width.

good advise,i think i'm going to make them 3/16 with a little steam.i have plenty of clamps and a second set of hands that will get a slap if he doesn't do what i tell um.plus,he drinks PBR,so he's a cheap second set of hands.LOL.

as for the glue,i'm going to look at the III tightbond,i've had really good luck with it and i'm the kind of guy who sticks to what has worked before.as long as it is weather friendly.no problem on getting a good starter edge also,i'm screwing the jig down to my subfloor with a couple of layers of newspaper between the casing and the floor,because of glue sqeezing out.

i plan on making it 3 1/4 wide so i have room to trim down to 2 3/4,then i will face it with 1/4 material,making it 3'' finished.the 1/4 material will hide the laminating.think there will be any issues with the tightbond and moisture? or should i just go gorilla?

 

[TheGrooveking]

It's been awhile since I reviewed specs on pipe but I think most ASTM CPVC 40/80 pipe I believe is rated with a melting point closer to 360 degrees and a max operating temperature between 150 to 160 degrees under full pressure which if memory is correct over 200 PSI. I may have this way off as the memory is not what it once was so double check those numbers.

The current piece of CPVC pipe I use has steamed about 40 windsor and shaker style chairs parts so it's had it's fair amount of steam running through it but it's not under high pressure as it's vented. It also doesn't take that long to steam wood as too much can ruin the piece.

I think the OP would be better off laminating a piece. Correctly grain matched and you would have a hard time seeing that it was not one piece of wood and it would still take stain. It would also be stronger and easier to set in the form.

But hey sometimes we just need to try things for ourselves...

The OP listed PVC, not CPVC, most CPVC melting point is around 186/194 degrees F. I've done a lot of plastic welding of PVC, CPVC and polypropylene so I'm quite familar with its melting points.

TheGrooveking

 

[cdent]

....then i will face it with 1/4 material,making it 3'' finished.the 1/4 material will hide the laminating.....

You could also check to see if it's possible to make the facing material a little thicker. Might be the same work to make the facing 3" thick and use it as is and save the time on the laminate.

 

[chris fresh]

You could also check to see if it's possible to make the facing material a little thicker. Might be the same work to make the facing 3" thick and use it as is and save the time on the laminate.

at this point i have to laminate it,i can't do the steam thing in one piece,and i don't have a bandsaw or access to one,the one tool i don't own lol.i'm ready to start making the strips,only thing left is getting blades for my planer.i want to run the strips through to get them nice and flat.if all goes well,gonna start bending in the morning.

pics of progress to come

 

[johno]

As far as glue, I like West System epoxy for laminating.

 

[Duker]

....think there will be any issues with the tightbond and moisture? or should i just go gorilla?

If your going to steam them I would avoid Gorilla glue as it will cut down your assembly time as it will start to set up with that much moisture. If I want to accelerate Gorilla glue I spritz some water on both boards before assembly and it speeds up the set time so in this case I would either avoid the steam or the Gorilla glue unless you are super quick getting those boards into the jig.

Johno's suggestion of epoxy is a good idea as it gives you the strength, durability and long open working time. The only drawback to epoxy is usually cost. West is good stuff, I tend to use System Three http://www.systemthree.com/ as I can buy it locally cheaper.

 

[scott37300]

Another thought..........segmented pieces of solid lumber joined end to end at slight angles to form the arch, and then band sawn to an arc and routed for a profile. Will this be finished clear or painted?

This is the way to go. It is the easiest and best way to get the exact arch you want. Way better then laminating a bunch of thin strips and then facing them. Sometimes things get way overcomplicated, I know sometimes I have to step back and rethink things because I make them more complicated then they need to be!

 

[chris fresh]

this is the way to go. It is the easiest and best way to get the exact arch you want. Way better then laminating a bunch of thin strips and then facing them. Sometimes things get way overcomplicated, i know sometimes i have to step back and rethink things because i make them more complicated then they need to be!

to late!

it came out perfect! with only about 3/8 of spring back wich will be no problem.when i ran the side casing,i 45'd the joint,and now all i have to do is **** it in till i get the joint good.once good after fitting,i will glue and screw the joint on the back side.then the siding is 8'' high that will be cut to fit the arch.if i make the siding a hair long and have to tap it in,the arch can never mover either direction.

i'm really happy with my first ever bend project.and as far as the jig goes,i took 1/4" out of it before the bend because i figured i left the legs long and i could push up a hair if i had to and i knew i would have some spring back.think it's gonna work great.

after i fit it,then it will come back down and get 3 coats of stain/sealer.then up she goes.

thanks everybody for all the good info and help on this.

bending 2x4's,SHEEEESH!

 

[tomd]

nice job, well done.

 

[Duker]

Excellent, now get out there and take some pictures of the rest of the house and post them here! It looks like its going to be an awesome place.

 

[omr]

im confused chris , did you end up laminating or did you bend the 2x4 ?

 

[chris fresh]

im confused chris , did you end up laminating or did you bend the 2x4 ?

hahah,i'll never tell.

nah, i lam'd it. 8 strips of 3/16 thick,tightbond water proof glue,didn't have a bottle with a roller on it handy,so i went heavy and the misses followed me with a bondo spreader and made sure all was covered.then we thru it in the jig.started clamping from the center out both sides.worked out really nice.

you want some pics?

 

[chris fresh]

Excellent, now get out there and take some pictures of the rest of the house and post them here! It looks like its going to be an awesome place.

i have the entire build,from when we broke ground to where we are right now,wich is hanging rock.what would ya like to see?

 

[Duker]

...from when we broke ground to where we are right now

Yes to all of the above....

 

[omr]

you want some pics?

hello whats this forum all about lol

another thing you mentioned making the siding tight to help hold it together, depending on what type of siding it may expand and contract quiet a bit and you wont want it to buckle ..

 

[rockchucker]

bending 2x4's,SHEEEESH!

lmao!

I started this thread with a WTF he is crazy. I am glad you decided to do it the feasible way it should have been done. The Titebond 3 all weather is EXCELLENT Glue. I use it all of the time.

Looks good man!

 

[chris fresh]

Yes to all of the above....

i'm just goin out for cigarettes,i'll be right back!


seriously,i have it all,it's a lot of pics, a lot of house,that i have built pretty much by myself.this is year three of the build and we are building it out of pocket as we can afford,wich is hard when you want everything lol.

i'll give you guy's an idea of what we have before i start with the pics.

back story,

we had a small town house for about 5 years and started looking for property,we found 3 acres with a double wide on it.it had been completely remodeled inside,hardwood floors,sheetrocked,pedestal sinks,pretty nice as far as trailer goes.i had a friend in relestate,called him up and he told me it was a foreclosure and the bank wanted 55 grand.we bought it that day.that was dec of 05.first thing i did was clear front to back,next was my own shop on my own property (30x50). then we got married in march of 06,then we broke ground in june of 06.

i'll add as i go with pics,but heres what i've done,i framed the house with 6 guy's in about 16 days,i did the electrical,plumbing,security,insulation,doors and windows by my self,no help.only window i had help with is the big arch in the front.i set all the others with none one around.

friend own's a roof company and he came and did it with his guy's,i paid material and that was it.there nothing exciting about 74 sqaure of shingles in georgia heat.plus they knocked it out in about 2 days.

few things, the house is 5 bedroom,garage is 30 deep by 28 wide with a side mud room about 12x18,kitchen,liv rm,dining room,office,walk in pantry,3 full bath's,the upstairs is 3 bedroom's, full theater,and also full bar,along with a work out area.total under roof is 5950 and 44 and change heated.

 

[tcianci]

I read this whole thread with great interest. As everyone stated, attempting to bend the 2x4 would have been useless. One thing I didn't see mentioned was the weatherability of the pine, be it bent, segmented or laminated, it won't be anything near what you would be happy with as far as longevity without a good paint job. Don't everyone start saying that it's going to be stained...unless you apply a film-building coating to that piece, it's toast on short order and, don't forget you're going to need to fabricate a flashing for that casing as well. Use the casing as a form for lead flashing before you install the casing. The material works easily and with some care you can produce a flashing that will look like it was manufactured from a machine.

 

[srmofo]

I suggest you start a build thread on your home and shop, then you can just link to it whenever it comes up. It'll save you a lot of time later on.

 

[smschriefer]

Do not use gorilla glue as it will expand and you do not want that. Titebond II is water resistant but a work life of 5 minutes max. They also make Titebond Extend, but I haven't used it - longer work life.

I'd go as thin as you can for your glue ups. 1/4 seems thick to me, but hey. start with a starter strip and if it works you are golden, if not, go 1/8. Nice thing is if you use the same dimensional lumber to make the laminated curve nobody will know that it is a glue up but you.

 

[smschriefer]

bah, day late lol

Great job on the glue up!

 

[chris fresh]

hello whats this forum all about lol

another thing you mentioned making the siding tight to help hold it together, depending on what type of siding it may expand and contract quiet a bit and you wont want it to buckle ..

apparently you haven't read what i'm using for siding,or why i have to have casing 3'' thick,i'm using human flesh,so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[chris fresh]

I read this whole thread with great interest. As everyone stated, attempting to bend the 2x4 would have been useless. One thing I didn't see mentioned was the weatherability of the pine, be it bent, segmented or laminated, it won't be anything near what you would be happy with as far as longevity without a good paint job. Don't everyone start saying that it's going to be stained...unless you apply a film-building coating to that piece, it's toast on short order and, don't forget you're going to need to fabricate a flashing for that casing as well. Use the casing as a form for lead flashing before you install the casing. The material works easily and with some care you can produce a flashing that will look like it was manufactured from a machine.

we did some frames with the same stain 4 years ago that get direct sunlight,and they still look great today,as for the flashing,it won't be lead,it will be copper

 

[chris fresh]

Do not use gorilla glue as it will expand and you do not want that. Titebond II is water resistant but a work life of 5 minutes max. They also make Titebond Extend, but I haven't used it - longer work life.

I'd go as thin as you can for your glue ups. 1/4 seems thick to me, but hey. start with a starter strip and if it works you are golden, if not, go 1/8. Nice thing is if you use the same dimensional lumber to make the laminated curve nobody will know that it is a glue up but you.

didn't use 1/4'',but what size did i use?

 

[chris fresh]

heres some pics to answer some questions

 

[chris fresh]

I suggest you start a build thread on your home and shop, then you can just link to it whenever it comes up. It'll save you a lot of time later on.

uuuuhhh huh!, but this is GJ not HJ,so where to post the house build?

 

[smschriefer]

didn't use 1/4'',but what size did i use?

3/16 if you previous post held true.

 

[chris fresh]

3/16 if you previous post held true.

ahhhh! you went back and read dannel son, you'de be correct sir.

but i did do a trial run with a dry one,just to see,and it wrapped around like a champ with no effort,so then we got busy with the glue.there was less than two minutes of open air time in between layering,then we put the whole stack in the jig.went pretty smooth for the first go round.i'm very happy with it

 

[ibedayank]

laminated building has been used in BOAT building for years seal the wood...no problems

 

[chris fresh]

here it is out of the jig.i cleaned up one side with my hand planer to get it flat,then ran it thru the tablesaw and skinned the other side.between the two i lost about 3/8,so i will face it with 3/8 to get back to the full 3'' i need.as you can see i also left the legs long so that i had plenty to work with for fitting the 45's.

all said and done other than staining,i'm completely happy with it.