William R. Watt wrote:

Old dry wood has to soak up moisture before it can be heated to bend.

Not in my experience. I've seen no difference in bending between dry
stock and the same stock that's been soaked in water for days or even
weeks. It's the heat that makes the wood bend-able, not the moisture.
Steaming is simply a way of heating the wood rapidly to the correct
temperature for bending, which - luckily for us - happens to be around
the boiling point of water.

Brian Nystrom ) writes:
William R. Watt wrote:

Old dry wood has to soak up moisture before it can be heated to bend.

Not in my experience. I've seen no difference in bending between dry
stock and the same stock that's been soaked in water for days or even
weeks. It's the heat that makes the wood bend-able, not the moisture.
Steaming is simply a way of heating the wood rapidly to the correct
temperature for bending, which - luckily for us - happens to be around
the boiling point of water.


I have no experience. Just quoting what I've read, eg. TF Jones who soaks
old wood before steam bending.

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William R. Watt wrote:
Brian Nystrom ) writes:

William R. Watt wrote:


Old dry wood has to soak up moisture before it can be heated to bend.

Not in my experience. I've seen no difference in bending between dry
stock and the same stock that's been soaked in water for days or even
weeks. It's the heat that makes the wood bend-able, not the moisture.
Steaming is simply a way of heating the wood rapidly to the correct
temperature for bending, which - luckily for us - happens to be around
the boiling point of water.



I have no experience. Just quoting what I've read, eg. TF Jones who soaks
old wood before steam bending.

When I've soaked wood, all it did was make is swell so it no longer fit
where it was supposed to, such as in a mortise. Either that, or if it
was trimmed to fit after steaming, it shrank as it dried and became
loose. Soaking didn't seem to make any difference in the bend-ability of
the wood.

Brian Nystrom says:

Soaking didn't seem to make any difference in the bend-ability of
the wood.

The old man always used to soak white oak before bending (24 hrs in the
bathtub), whether to see if it had a natural inclination to bend in a
particular direction, to help with bending, or some other reason I am not sure.
He was the builder, and I didn't question it.
He bent a lot of white oak ribs in his day.

Steve

Stephen Baker wrote:

Brian Nystrom says:

Soaking didn't seem to make any difference in the bend-ability of
the wood.

The old man always used to soak white oak before bending (24 hrs in the
bathtub), whether to see if it had a natural inclination to bend in a
particular direction, to help with bending, or some other reason I am not sure.
He was the builder, and I didn't question it.
He bent a lot of white oak ribs in his day.

If you're interested, try this test. Take a strip of whatever wood you
want to bend and soak it for 24 hours. Then, take a plane and see how
many strokes it takes on the surface to get down to dry wood. I scarf
thin stock for kayak coamings and the most penetration I've seen in red
oak or white ash is ~.010" on the sides and edges after soaking for 24
hours, with perhaps 1/4" penetration at the ends. I find it very
difficult to believe that this could possibly make any difference in the
bend-ability of the wood, since steaming alone will create similar
penetration in only a few minutes. As I mentioned previously, I found no
difference in bending between soaked stock and dry stock from the same
board, so I don't bother with soaking any longer. It strikes me as one
of those things that seems intuitively correct, but really doesn't help.

Brian N says:

It strikes me as one
of those things that seems intuitively correct, but really doesn't help.


I dunno. Dad had (at the tme I last saw him soaking oak) bee nbuilding,
designing and restoring boats for some 30-odd years. I know he wasn't a type
"A" personality, so can't imagine him wasting time or effort on something that
wasn't necessary to produce the perfect product.
Sadly, he died in '83, so I can't ask him to find out. I'll see if I can track
down his last apprentice and see what she has to say.
Steve

Stephen Baker wrote:

Brian N says:


It strikes me as one
of those things that seems intuitively correct, but really doesn't help.



I dunno. Dad had (at the tme I last saw him soaking oak) bee nbuilding,
designing and restoring boats for some 30-odd years. I know he wasn't a type
"A" personality, so can't imagine him wasting time or effort on something that
wasn't necessary to produce the perfect product.
Sadly, he died in '83, so I can't ask him to find out. I'll see if I can track
down his last apprentice and see what she has to say.

I'd be curious to know if he ever did a comparison between soaking and
not. I haven't seen any definitive tests and am just working off my own
experience and that of others I know who've tried it both ways.

Brian Nystrom ) writes:

When I've soaked wood, all it did was make is swell so it no longer fit
where it was supposed to, such as in a mortise. Either that, or if it
was trimmed to fit after steaming, it shrank as it dried and became
loose. Soaking didn't seem to make any difference in the bend-ability of
the wood.

softwoods would have more of a tendancy to swell. TF Jones writes that a
nice piece of 15-20 year old oak needs soaking before steam bending.

A 1"x1" piece of clear oak properly steamed can be tied in a knot. Not
something I've ever tried.

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On 7 Mar 2004 00:01:32 GMT, (William R.
Watt) wrote:


A 1"x1" piece of clear oak properly steamed can be tied in a knot. Not
something I've ever tried.

I'll try it sometime, and post pictures :-)

-m

Ive done it using 2" copper pipe heated on a gas stove
"Max Camirand" wrote in message
...
On 7 Mar 2004 00:01:32 GMT, (William R.
Watt) wrote:


A 1"x1" piece of clear oak properly steamed can be tied in a knot. Not
something I've ever tried.

I'll try it sometime, and post pictures :-)

-m