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how do you bend wood into the boat shape?
William R. Watt wrote: 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. True. Before I knew any better, I tried steam bending a pine breasthook (my first attempt at steaming anything. It sort of bent (it didn't need much bend) and I was so excited that I immediately pegged it in place and and planed it to shape. It looked great. The next morning, I came down and to my dismay, it had shrunk ~1/8" in width (it was only 2" wide) and ~ 1/16" in length (over 8 inches). TF Jones writes that a nice piece of 15-20 year old oak needs soaking before steam bending. I haven't worked with anything that old, but I fail to see where age would make any difference. Once the wood equilibrates to the humidity of its environment, it's not going to get any drier. If it bends well at a given moisture content, what difference would age make? A 1"x1" piece of clear oak properly steamed can be tied in a knot. Not something I've ever tried. Me neither, nor have I seen anyone do it. Having worked with green, clear oak that I've carefully cut from a log myself, I have to wonder what the success rate of such an endeavor is? I suspect that it's only possible with wood that has been split, rather than sawn. |
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