Bending Wood on the stove top

I need to bend some pine for the backs of dining room chairs. The largest is the upper back approx. 1" thick by 12 by 4. I count 12 pieces total that need to be bent.

After doing some major looking through google the only thing I have found is very large steamers using PVC or something similar for stuff like 2x4s.

What if I put the piece in a large pot suspended over water and steam it like a vegetable steamer?

Would something like this:

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work on wood?

If so I think I have some old steel toolboxes that might hold water that I can use.

Opinions welcome please.

Thanks,

Matt

Reply to
Matt S
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Matt, You have a number of options: you can bend thin wood 1/4" or less by soaking & bending over a hot pipe. (electric or propane torch heated)

You can make a bending jig & glue laminate thin dry pieces together- depending on the radius, your laminations will have to be thinner for a small radius.

you can steam the wood & put in a bending jig to dry. I did a quick search on woodweb & found this: there a number of ways to make your own steamer

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this helps Phil

Reply to
Phil at small (vs at large)

What's the radius? If you laid the edges down on the table, how high would the center be?

I'd just cut them out of thicker stock.

Reply to
Larry Bud

Phil,

Thanks for the link. That was one of the places I was looking, I read a lot of the initial material there. I'm going to have to go back through that site looked interesting enough to add to my links. (Just started collecting woodworking site links)

Larry,

Including the thickness of the wood (3/4") about 1.25-1.5 inches. But I only have Home Depot and Lowes at my disposal so that would leave me with gluing two pieces and then cutting them on a band saw. I don't think my band saw even has a 4" opening. But that is something to keep in mind.

Thanks,

Matt

Reply to
Matt S
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... as a bas idea, because of the short grain that such a sawing operation generates, weakening the piece.

Reply to
Juergen Hannappel

Search this newsgroups archive on "amonia freeze bend" (yes, it's spelled wrong). There is a reference to another bending technique using ammonia. I am not endorsing it, I just remember seeing recently.

Reply to
nlbauers

Stove-top steaming will work, but I prefer the electric kettle from Lee Valley, piped to a simple wood steam box. What kind of wood are you using? Some kinds bend better than others.

Reply to
kkfitzge

Hi Matt,

A lot depends upon how much you need to bend them. At 12 inches long you don't have much leverage. You will find the process easier if you bend the pieces when they are a bit longer. Then cut them to size.

But otherwise boiling is a perfectly good way to do it.

Gregg

Reply to
Saville

Well, if they are just 12"x4" you could probably do it on the stove using a big pan like a turkey is roasted in. Put the wood on a rack, and cover with foil. Keep an eye on it to make sure all the water doesn't boil off.

Mitch

Reply to
MB

Ok, in order:

Reply to
Matt S

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