bendable wood

I will be dusting off and using my old copper steam wood bender this summer. I know cherry, maple and walnut lend themselves well to steam bending, BUT what other woods, including EXOTICS steam bend well too? tnx mm47

Reply to
mm47
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Can't help you with the exotics, but among native North American hardwoods, the classic easy benders are ash and oak.

Reply to
Doug Miller

Not an exotic, but ash is fantastic to steam bend.

Reply to
B A R R Y

American ash isn't _too_ bad to steam bend, but it's hardly that good...

...compared to European ash, F. exclesior that is. Now that's the perfect steam bending wood, so long as you use it green and split, not sawn.

OK, so you've got us beaten on the maples (and hickory, and osage orange)

Reply to
Andy Dingley

One woodworking shop near here uses a 4 ft long 1-1/2" plastic drain pipe capped on one end. They then slide in a moulding, or strips and then they fill it with Downey fabric softener. After a couple of days of soaking, you can practically tie knots in the strips. Supposedly, the dipalmitoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate does the trick by lubricating the fibers so they won't tear when being bent. I have this from 2 sources, but I have not tried it myself. After it is bent and attached in place (fire-place mantles), it is rinsed with a wet sponge and then, supposedly takes regular stains and finishes.

If you're waiting for a punch-line or some sort of pun...sorry.

Reply to
Robatoy

"mm47" ...

Red oak works well. As Andy pointed out, riving or splitting the stock instead of using sawn wood helps a lot in terms or grain run out.

Since we're talking steam bending again... my girlfriend and partner just got mail order plans for a cottage she plans to have me build. The terribly cute entry plans call out a 16 foot cedar

4x6 - steam bent to around a 20 foot radius. I wonder how cedar bends.

The capricious pen of the architect.

Reply to
Dean H.

Canoe guys like the stuff. You could laminate it in reasonably thick strips.

The good ol' "bet you can't build that" syndrome.

Reply to
Robatoy

when ash is metioned, it seems to always be generalized, not ever speaking of the various ash options. my thoughts go to black ash fraxinus negra, which grows mostly in the upper midwest, northen area of the U.S. for those that have never seen black ash it's on my website

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also sawn wood can be bent provided care is used in the sawing process, log must be shimmed to follow the gain, i have sawn everything from barrel staves, oak boat ribs to maple banjo hoops.

Reply to
Ross Hebeisen

Wife and I have used the Downy process very successfully on several occasions. We use black DWV also. To speed things along, we pour in boiling water, after the wood and 3 capfuls of Downy, then let it set in the Arizona sun for 2-3 hours. It's very pliable.1/2"X2" is the largest we've tried and it's all been qrtr sawn white Oak. Longer soaking would be neccesary, of course, for thicker stock. Gene

Reply to
DZIN

Great! Sometimes my friends try to trick me, but it is good to hear it works. I am also told that only Downey seems to work, that other softeners don't. Any input on that? Also, what do you do after you bend it? Rinse with plain water? Or isn't there enough Downey to matter?

TIA

r
Reply to
Robatoy

Canoe guys like the stuff. You could laminate it in reasonably thick strips.

The good ol' "bet you can't build that" syndrome.

Reply to
Robatoy

Never tried it but a couple of cabinet makers and a carpenter all told me the same thing.

Reply to
CW

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