Steam bending advice

[Phil Brown]

I need to bend some 3/16" oak and I know enough to know I shouldn't overcook it. Can some one give me a guideline on how long to leave it in? Thanks in advance, Phil Brown

[SonomaProducts.com]

Go to Google.

I found

"Now when I say "one hour of steaming per one inch of wood" I mean one hour of SERIOUS steam with NO interruptions."

[dadiOH]

How long is it and what kind of radius do you need? Unless it is quite short and/or you neeed a very tight radius, you can bend it dry. Oak bends quite well.

[Phil Brown]

Tried it dry, no luck. The bend is quite tight. Phil Brown

[GROVER]

I don't know if you can find it, but Norm of the NYW did a show on this exact subject. He bent oak into a victorian style hat and coat rack. Joe G

[StephenM]

Here is one data point.

I watched a chairmaking demo where the guy "cooked" his 1" square, green stock for an hour.

He was able to bend it to a 6" radius.

It was very cool.

[RicodJour]

Totally dependent on your heating setup and the ambient temperature. Rough guess, 15 minutes is all you'll need if the chamber is reasonably tight and you're putting a goodly amount of steam into the chamber.

R

[Upscale]

I took a seminar a Lee Valley Tools a few years ago on steam bending. Learned that wood compresses inside the bend to form the bend (not expands outside the bend) and that you can't uncompresses a piece of wood so bent. Might be useful info to any new steam benders.

[pete]

I recall that programme. From memory, didn't he split the wood, rather than cutting it, before it went in the steamer?

[Larry Jaques]

On Thu, 8 Jul 2010 11:34:18 -0700 (PDT), Phil Brown wrote the following:

God, I love it when people ask questions and fail, even when prompted, to give clear examples of what the hell they're trying to do. Next you'll be mad at me for not giving you the answer to an incompletely posed query.

[dadiOH]

Well, then, best I can tell you is that when a veneer plant is slicing oak the flitch has been steamed for 24 hours.

[eclipsme]

I would think about 20 minutes in active steam would be plenty. Pull it out periodically and get a feel for where it is at. start with samples. This should not be too difficult. If the bend is too tight and you get splitting, use a backer along the outer radius to support the fibers. I'm not sure I ever heard about over cooking. Guess it is possible, but you are mopre likely to under steam than over, I would think.

Harvey

[Jack Stein]

When you say a "reasonably tight" chamber it should be noted the chamber really needs to be reasonably loose, so steam can readily flow. A reasonably tight chamber will result in too little heating and too much kindling, at least by my definition of "reasonably tight":-)

[RicodJour]

Well, if the chamber isn't doing it's job, then it's being unreasonable.

Yes, some steam has to escape.

R

[GROVER]

Pete, your memory serves you well, he did split the oak stock rather than saw it.

Joe G

[Phil Brown]

Thanks, all. I've got a nice piece of PVC pipe, not too big, not too small, and I'll be steaming this weekend. Wish me luck. Phil brown

[sparky01]

Not sure how you escaped my " delete Smart a-- sender file", but I have corrected it now !

Sparky 01

[Phil Brown]

I just steamed the piece this afternoon and it went beautifully. Cooked it for about 9 minutes, put into the form and intallled it into the window. Thanks all. Phil Brown

[Josepi]

We need details!

How did you steam it and what kind of radius and length did you need?

I ask because I have a large front entrance that needs an extension for my

8" walls. The radius would be about 2-3' and about 6-7' across after bent. Not quite 180 degrees.

Previously I attempted to bend soem 2" cutoff trim in MDF. I left it in the closet for a few months and let it sloop naturally and slowly. I wasn't curved enough when I took it out, months later and when I went to increase the bend...it snapped! The stuff can't hold it's own weight but when you bend it...it snaps???? GRRRRRR...

[Robatoy]

Soaking a small diameter piece like that in Downy (Use a capped PVC tube) works very well. Reusable too. No heat.