Bending Wood Help

I saw a nice table in Wood magazine this month that uses the bending process for the legs. They say you can use kiln dried lumber soaked in water and fabric softener for a week then steamed and bent.

On the Lee Valley site they have an article on bending and say that trying to bend kiln dried lumber will not work even if it is soaked.

I have never done this before. Who is right? I would like to use kiln dried lumber if possible just because I have it.

Any suggestion appreciated.

Tim

Reply to
tdup2
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I would not bet the farm on that one.

You usually need green wood, heated in a steamer, to obtain bent shapes.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

I used to bend oak for boat ribs with a master boatwright, if that is the correct term. He definitely noted that green wood was best for bending, but was also aware that green wasn't always available. He would use dry wood as a last resort, but would not expect as much from it. I don't ever recall using kiln dried, though.

Harvey

Reply to
eclipsme

Depends on how thick the pieces are and the species. I bent some kiln dried canary wood (4"x3/8"x48") after steaming it for about 30 minutes.

Reply to
MB

A few years ago, the L/A maritime museum built a couple of 95 ft wooden brigs.

Having done this yourself, I'm sure you would have appreciated the oak laminated ribs on these boats.

Each lamination piece was probably about 3/4" thk, 8" wide, length as req'd, and glued together with resorcinol.

Forgot how many strips were required for the final rib, but it was a bunch.

They were fabricated in Wisconsin, then shipped here for final fitting and installation.

Same outfit also fabricated the replacement ribs for the Constitution in Boston.

BTW, some of that woodworking machinery must have come out of a museum some place. It was truly amazing.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

The old Peterson Brothers Inc. Shipyard in Stevens Point Wisconsin still does this kind of work every day. The equipment may look like it came from a museum, but it is real working equipment. I remember as a midshipman, going to PBI and seeing them work on one of the new Patrol Boats for the academy...What a wonderful time.

OBTW if you go, you can get a tour, you just need to call ahead and ask (or at least you could a couple of years ago). Also the beer from there called "Point" is one of the early and really good micro brews. Take a case or two home with you.

Reply to
Doug Houseman

Sounds like it might have been the place, can't be too many places in Wisconsin doing that work.

BTW, my "museum" comment made reference to the equipment here in Los Angeles, not back there.

Doesn't surprise me though, if the job doesn't change, why would the tools, IF, you stay competitive?

As an example, the band saw here was fed by putting the piece on roller conveyor and feeding into the saw. The saw blade was contained in a circular frame, maybe 36" dia, that rotated around the piece being cut, if an angular cut was required.

That saw could easily have been close to 100 years old.

Boat yards are fun places, at least for me, but then again, I've had fun spending most of my adult life poking around the industrial plants in this country. After all, they were my customers.

My trips back to the MidWest are rather limited these days, but I understand.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Shortage of consumable orphans to grease the works while they're still running.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

I have bend kiln dried lumber after steaming it for an hour per inch. Some pieces failed, others didn't. However, green lumber is much more successful. JG

Reply to
JGS

A little beyond what we were doing!

Harvey

Reply to
eclipsme

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