Bending Wood ?

This is done professionally by using steam ovens and weights. The timbers are laid on rafters in a big oven like room and varying weights are placed along the length with the heaviest ones in the middle. This even distribution of weigh gives the best results in making an even uniform shape. The oven is then filled with very hot steam for hours on end and this causes the timber to soften and the weights then pull it into shape.

To do on a small scale in possible using buckets of boiling water and standing in the middle of the batten while the ends are placed on piles of bricks or something. The boiling water is then slowly poured all over it until it softens enough for your weigh to form it into shape. This technique may take huge amounts of time and water and heating bills though.

I'd suggest going to your local timber yard and asking them to keep any badly warped and bent timbers they find and you may get them cost price if no one else wants them.

FOCUS make them, less hassle. Steve R

Edge join some pieces to cover the final width, mark out your arch and cut it out with a jigsaw.

Peter

This is done professionally by using steam ovens

An easy way to "cook" a length of timber is to put it inside a length of soil or drainpipe, stand vertically, plug the top loosely with a bit of cloth and run the hose from a steam steamer in the bottom. Half an hour does nicely for skirting board section.

"Reteplav" wrote | I`m attempting to make a 6` wide fence panel with an | arch-shaped" top and am looking for suggestions to bend | the wood for the top. I`ve tried cutting, assembling | and gluing ( plus screws ) 5mm strips of wood with | minimal success ( The ends refuse to remain bent)

You take one long piece of wood and, as well as steaming as described by others, you saw-cut on the inside (concave) of the curve almost but not quite all the way through.

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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|- BEND DOWN | | V ^^ concave side ^^ V

You then need to support it while it 'sets' Best to bend it a little too far and then relax it out to fit.

Owain