Steam bending

[TrimTheKing]

This is some section to be steam, bending!!!

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[Malc2098]

No different from me in my workshop when bending instrument sides….except I do mine on my own….with three bends in my stuff...with just my own strength…and his set up is a weeny bit bigger.

 

[Cabinetman]

That certainly was hunky! Not sue what the top layer of steel achieved though.

 

[Malc2098]

That certainly was hunky! Not sue what the top layer of steel achieved though.

I sandwich mine between two sheets of shim steel. In my setup it helps retain the heat and stops the timber from going out of shape, although I don't thinks there's much chance of that with his. I also note his steel has ends to it so it might stop the timber from sliding. Just watched again, it keeps the steam in. The top former is wooden and without the top sheet, the wooden former could absorb some of the moisture/heat. I think the steel also prevents any splitting off of the external fibres around the bend.

 

[Mike G]

Straight-grained Douglas fir, I reckon. That's renowned as being good for steam bending. I thought we were going to be looking at ship-building -sized lumps, which can be seriously big.

 

[GaryR]

I sandwich mine between two sheets of shim steel. In my setup it helps retain the heat and stops the timber from going out of shape, although I don't thinks there's much chance of that with his. I also note his steel has ends to it so it might stop the timber from sliding. Just watched again, it keeps the steam in. The top former is wooden and without the top sheet, the wooden former could absorb some of the moisture/heat. I think the steel also prevents any splitting off of the external fibres around the bend.

Yes, the bottom sheet of metal with the ends keeps the wood fibers on that side in compression. I'm guessing the metal on the inside of the curve protects the bending form from moisture.

 

[spb]

Straight-grained Douglas fir, I reckon. That's renowned as being good for steam bending. I thought we were going to be looking at ship-building -sized lumps, which can be seriously big.

The comment on Instagram says it's Larch, 130x110.

 

[Mike G]

The comment on Instagram says it's Larch, 130x110.

Ah, right. Thanks. Yes, it's a similar looking timber.........and whatever, it looked perfect for bending.

 

[Steve Maskery]

The biggest section I've ever steam-bent has been 1/8" stringing!

 

[TrimTheKing]

Straight-grained Douglas fir, I reckon. That's renowned as being good for steam bending. I thought we were going to be looking at ship-building -sized lumps, which can be seriously big.

Alright Mike, no need to p!ss on my chips!

I know what you mean though, I've just not seen something that size being steamed very often, normally much smaller sections.

 

[Raymedullary]

When I was in boatbuilding, (yacht joinery to be precise!) rock elm was considered one of the best timbers for steaming. I don't know if its even possible to obtain now.... this was 40+ years ago!

 

[Richard]

Yes, the bottom sheet of metal with the ends keeps the wood fibers on that side in compression. I'm guessing the metal on the inside of the curve protects the bending form from moisture.

To add to your comment, the purpose of the bending strap with the stops at both ends set on the convex face of the curve trapping the length of wood is to keep all the fibres across the width of the bend in line. Without the strap as the wood bends the fibres want to go out of alignment in the same way the pages of a magazine do when it's rolled up. Wood can cope with compression on the inside of a bend much better than it can cope with the tension experienced on the outside of the bend and trapping the wood in a bending strap reduces the likelihood of longitudinal splintering on that convex face. Slainte.

 

[Woodbloke]

Some years ago, there was a very well known steam bending outfit (who's name escapes me now, but it began with T) on the opposite side of the valley from our house on the A36 Devizes road. They specialised in high end furniture and as they were local and I was looking for a job, they gave me an interview so I had a look at the process of steam bending at the 'coal face'. They prided themselves on using locally sourced ash and made some pretty decent stuff.
I didn't hear from them for a while so I motored round one afternoon (literally 10mins) to the workshop only to find the place deserted! Apparently they'd 'upped sticks' and moved the whole operation to Wales - Rob

Edit - now called 'David Colwell' once Trannon